The Boston MPO should adopt project evaluation criteria that explicitly address the alignment between proposed projects and local zoning, land use plans, and the regional plan.  The highest ranking should go to those projects that support a land use plan that will efficiently utilize new capacity to support sustainable growth.  Projects that promote unsustainable growth patterns inconsistent with MetroFuture should be given a very low priority, and the MPO should work with those proponents to revise the project design and land use plans to support sustainable growth.  

Each year, over a half a billion dollars in state and local transportation funding is programmed through the annual Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).   However, land use impacts are not clearly quantified, and play a small role in the overall project ranking.  As a result, the MPO spends millions of dollars on projects that generate unsustainable land use impacts, while deferring other projects needed to support compact growth.  

Even those unsuitable projects that are not actually prioritized by the MPO end up costing money.  Because projects—even those with very land use scores or transportation benefits—are never outright rejected by the MPO, they may remain on the list for many years.  Municipalities invest money and effort designing and advocating for a project that is not likely to be funded.   

Stronger land use and economic development criteria will allow the MPO to make determinative decisions about whether proposed projects are consistent with MetroFuture.  These criteria will require an assessment of zoning and land use controls, secondary land use impacts, and relationship to other projects.  Proponents should be expected to demonstrate that every major investment is preceded by or accompanied by land use, alternative mode, and TDM efforts to reduce single occupancy autos.  

The MPO should also adopt a policy to reject proposals that fail to meet a minimum threshold based on these proposals.  As a correlate to these stronger criteria and rejection policy, MAPC and CTPS should provide technical assistance to help proponents revise project design and land use plans to improve the potential for funding.  

The MPO should also consider a general moratorium on new highway interchanges inconsistent with MetroFuture objectives of focused growth.  Creation of new interchanges stimulates more dispersed growth, which causes more congestion on nearby local roadways, which then requires additional transportation investments.  

2.a    The MPO should strengthen land use and economic development criteria to be aligned with MetroFuture’s principles and best practices

2.b    The MPO should make it standard policy to reject (not defer) projects that score below an evaluation threshold

2.c    The MPO should strongly discourage TIP consideration for construction of new interchanges on existing limited access highways

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