Researchers Identify Economic Flaws in State Transportation Planning

By Leigh DuPuy

The MBTA, Route 128, Storrow Drive, the future "Big Dig." There may be many ways in Massachusetts to "get there from here," but UMass Boston researchers think the pathways to economic development are running into roadblocks. "Massachusetts does not have a centralized transportation planning system," explains David Terkla, professor in the Economics and Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sciences Department, "and it has significant impact on economic development in Massachusetts."

Terkla and Ph.D. Public Policy graduate students Phil Granberry and Steve Quimby recently completed the report "Transportation Planning and Development in Massachusetts: Recommended Changes for the New Millennium," which found Massachusetts to have one of the most fragmented transportation decision-making processes of 17 states surveyed.

The report was commissioned by the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, a nonpartisan, statewide public affairs organization of chief executive officers who represent the state's leading industry and business enterprises. They asked researchers at UMass Boston to analyze how Massachusetts uses positive economic impact factors in identifying transportation projects and the criteria used for selecting particular projects.

Beginning research in the summer 2002, Granberry and Quimby conducted primary research and then collaborated with Terkla to analyze data and interviews from other states to compile the report.

Terkla and his colleagues believe that Massachusetts has fallen behind considerably in transportation planning and development in comparison to other states, due in part to the lack of a strong central Department of Transportation and to the existence of separate transportation authorities, such as the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, the MBTA, and Massport.

Terkla is very concerned with its planning processes. "There was no economic justice in prioritizing projects, no clear, publicly available criteria, and no uniform statewide evaluation process," he says.

The report recommends improving transparency by installing a regular set of procedures that is accessible to the public. It also calls for a reorganized central department of transportation, an established criteria for project selection, and a closer look at design/build projects in the Commonwealth.

The results were presented before the MA Roundtable in late January and Terkla had the opportunity to discuss the report with top transportation officials, who expressed enthusiasm for the report's recommended reforms.

The partnership began through the university's strong relationship with the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, and was cultivated by Chancellor Gora and John Ciccarelli, assistant to the Chancellor for Economic Development. "It was a terrific opportunity to be able to connect the university with a prestigious trade association such as the Massachusetts Business Roundtable," says Ciccarellli.

"The research performed by UMass Boston's McCormack Institute for the Massachusetts Business Roundtable was unique, timely, and thorough"no stone was left unturned. The real value, however, was how we have been able to apply the research. Through the careful study of other states' transportation planning models, the report has made a strong case"both for economic development and political reasons"for change in Massachusetts," said John Sutich, director of public affairs.

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