Clean Air Matters in Mattapan

Hard to believe it's been five years since Mattapan Environmental Action Network (M.E.A.N.) featured this video to launch its quest for ongoing assessments of the air quality in Mattapan, MA.  

According to the MA Department of Transportation, on average 80,000 cars and trucks blow through Mattapan every day.  Since fewer than 50% of Mattapan residents own a passenger vehicle, the vast majority of these trips are commuters passing through here. Add to that the multiples of MBTA bus lines tripping through Mattapan 20-30 times a day, and you can begin to get a sense of what the air quality must be like here.

Of the 30,000 people who live here, the elderly and children under 18 (the two age cohorts most susceptible to developing respiratory conditions from breathing bad air) together constitute 40% of Mattapan's population.  So the rates of asthma and emphysema have spiked in recent years.

While the volume of traffic continues to build, the number of large trucks-- especially semis with diesel engines--have increased as well.  Some enter, park, and idle here in conjunction with commercial operations or real estate developments; others appear to simply use our streets in ways other than permitted--e.g., an alternative route to an interstate highway connection.  

Whatever the case may be, the emissions make walking down the street or standing at a bus stop untenable for many.  M.E.A.N. hopes to gather air quality data and/or create opportunities for us to crowdsource potential infringements of air quality standards. So HELP!

Transit Woes: Why is it...?

Recent observations while riding the T brought this old track to mind. 
Here are just a few of the questions keep surfacing while riding the T:  

1. Are MBTA buses exempt for having to comply with Boston's anti-idly law, the Clean Air Act, etc.?
2. Why is it that...MBTA fares are structured so Mattapan commuters have to pay more to get around the city?
3. Why does dollars on a Charlie Card go farther than the same amount of dollars on a paper ticket?
4. What's the justification for honoring transfers in some instances, but not in others?
5. Why are outbound trips between downtown and JP less expensive than outbound trips between downtown and Mattapan, for example?

The list could go on, but enough said for now.  We're interested in crowdsourcing other "questions" Mattapan commuters might have as a result of their experiences using the MBTA, so feel free to comment here.

Future posts will seek to explore the answers to such questions.

"Why We [Still] Can't Wait"

Mattapan is an absolutely beautiful place to live (quiet, even). There are great places to explore the outdoors (if you don't mind getting your shoes dirty); and public parks provide opportunities for outdoor recreation. Yet Mattapan has the highest obesity rate in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Why?

Although there's a Mattapan-based food and fitness coalition it's not exactly creating a groundswell among Mattapan's 25,000 residents given two key factors:

1. 26% of Mattapan residents are between 5 and 18 years old;  
2. living in 2800 Mattapan households.

So while Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition is a wonderful community asset, it doesn't reach the vast majority of Mattapan households with children.  Why not?

Overall health indicators in Mattapan have persisted over the last 15 years, at least.  Asthma rates have skyrocketed at the same time, especially among its children; no doubt due the 80,000 fossil-fueled trips transiting through our neighborhood every day.

The Neponset River rushes on; a metaphor for the experience of living, working, and playing in Mattapan today.  Like the river, Mattapan can be a lure, but it can make you sick if you 'drink the water.' 

The Neponset River is now thoroughly polluted: after a very long period of paper mills dotting its shores, dumping chemical contaminants into it, the Neponset River can no longer sustain life. 

Accordingly the need for action is great.  Organizing the community to reflect, connect, and mobilize for change is the mission of Mattapan Environmental Action Network.  

5 Steps to a Stronger Messaging Strategy

The Library Is Open

5 Steps to a Stronger Messaging Strategy

MBTA Public Information Meeting: Blue Hill Ave Station

At the outset, I should acknowledge two things that surprised, and irritated me throughout this meeting: first, the Community Room at the Mattapan Branch Library functioned (for the first time, to my knowledge) as intended (respond if you'd like me to say more about this); second, the ratio of bureaucrats to community residents seemed skewed to me. 

Even though there was 'standing-room' only, that is, by the time MBTA's General Manager, Dr. Beverly Scott rose to frame the issue, 'the die was [already] cast,' so to speak.  

Dr. Scott spoke eloquently (I thought) about the need: 50% of Mattapan residents depend on public transit systems; it takes, at minimum, 45 minutes-- including transfers and wait times, to get from Mattapan Square to downtown Boston; so providing access to the commuter rail is critical so Mattapan residents can have greater access to economic opportunities.

Needs Assessment: Executive Summary

  Fairmount Corridor Improvements Project

In sum, then, a "one seat ride to downtown Boston,"  a direct "[c]onnection to other neighborhoods along the Fairmount Corridor" coupled with a new (reduced) Zone 1A fare structure would bring ridership in line with access to the commuter rail via the proposed Blue Hill Ave Station. (Public Meeting, MassDot/MBTA handout, 9.15.2014)

This then set the stage for presentations by the Blue Hill Ave. Station Project Team; most notably, Jacobs Engineering's Mark Thompson. He explained why, 

after considering alternative sites for the proposed station, the Project Team settled on situating it at Blue Hill Ave.  Mr. Thompson also described how the Team had come up with a redesign to accommodate abutters' concerns about construction: 

Sierra Khan @iBizZee · Sep 15

Design charette is adapting as community concerns are absorbed. Current design anticipates a neutral platform @ BlueHill Av/Cummings Hwy.

A few members of the audience expressed relief that the proposed station redesign kept access for the 'differently-abled' in mind. While others took a more dismissive tact, complaining that access is meaningless if it's blocked when snow isn't removed.

Wrapping up his presentation, Mr. Thompson noted the following:

Sierra Khan @iBizZee · Sep 15 

Pre-construction survey re: current design concept for the Fairmount-Indigo line is due @MBTA this October. Concerns abound.

The Team's management of the meeting appeared to break down somewhat when the Q & A Session came around. After some back & forth about how it would be handled, we were 'off to the races.'  
The abutters reiterated concerns about what impact station construction would have on the quiet enjoyment, and the foundations of their homes. The Project Team gave assurances: 

1. contractors will comply with all noise ordinances;
2. noise and vibration levels are expected to decrease, not increase, once the station is completed;
3. the center island platform re/design will reduce construction-related impacts; and,
4. pre-construction video surveys will provide before/after documentation to better assess liability, in the event damage occurs in the interim.

At least a couple of abutters requested an insurance binder be purchased to cover such contingencies, but the $500,000 - $1,000,000 coverage amount was so excessive (none of the abutting homes have property values even close to these amounts) the requests were effectively dismissed.

Sierra Khan @iBizZee · Sep 15

Construction schedule for proposed Fairmount-Indigo line expects a Sept 2015 start date; with new station coming online in 2017.

BackStory: Fairmount-Indigo Corridor Planning

Rebutting "AdvanceMattapan: The (Under)Development of Mattapan"

A few years ago the Mattapan Environmental Action Network clearly agreed with AdvanceMattapan's critique of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and the (now defunct) Mattapan Community Development Corporation (MCDC). It was all too easy then. 

The BRA’s big show in Mattapan—namely, the Mattapan Economic Development Initiative (MEDI)—had brought a great deal of hope that the City of Boston was ready to make Mattapan a priority.  Perhaps this was true, once upon a time.

Problem was, the BRA took far too many cues from the (now defunct?) MCDC; the primary one being, resurrecting a Main Streets initiative in Mattapan.  Since Mattapan has two competing 'main streets,' this meant choosing between Morton Village and Mattapan Square—reifying a di/vision antithetical to a "united" Mattapan.  It also meant, apparently, that the BRA no longer had a need for the MEDI’s Community Working Group, which dissolved as the Mattapan Square Main Streets initiative took hold.

While the Mattapan Square Main Streets initiative is still ‘in the air,’ it’s not at all clear how its activities constitute a “driving force in rejuvenating the communities [sic] passion in transforming Mattapan square into a thriving and robust commercial district” (http://www.mattapansquaremainstreets.org/).  

All to say, Mattapan Environmental Action Network is less than impressed that Mattapan Square Main Streets will, actually, bring Mattapan Square “into the 21^st century” (ibid).  Mattapan Square property owners have not 'greened' their buildings, for example; and WiFi hotspots are nowhere to be found there.

Mattapan Environmental Action Network calls upon AdvanceMattapan for programming related to dis/covering why Mattapan doesn't see developments comparable to other Boston neighborhoods. After years of watching Mattapan
residents resist change, we're ready for a 'sea change.' 

Last night's MBTA Public Information Meeting regarding its proposed Blue Hill Ave Station construction was an eye-opener--about which we'll have more to say in the next blogpost.