Transportation Number One On Regional Agenda
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The 495/MetroWest Partnership advocates for the region in many ways, including economic development, workforce housing and training as well as water infrastructure, but last year's focus was overwhelmingly on transportation needs, according to its recently released annual report.
"Transportation and economic development are innately connected and we're moving forward in a very significant way in both areas," said Paul Matthews, director of the partnership, during its annual meeting last week.
The four-page report outlines the group's efforts and looks ahead at future advocacy priorities. In the coming year, the partnership plans to call for a 495 corridor study so short- and long-term infrastructure issues can be identified. It also hopes to release an energy conservation and efficiency guide and issue a report on workforce housing alternatives.
Toward its goal of furthering transportation issues, the partnership is a member of the Massachusetts Transportation Project Delivery Task Force, which was set up by the state to help choose the best use of federal stimulus funds for transportation projects.
Matthews said the partnership provided regional input to the task force, which led to $33 million in funding to double-track the Fitchburg commuter rail line between Acton to Littleton so many employees can make the reverse commute from Boston to the suburbs.
Roads Less Traveled
Companies like IBM, with its software lab in Littleton and Cisco Systems, which has about 1,700 workers at its Boxborough campus, would like to see more workers able to commute by train.
Last year the partnership also advocated for federal funding to redesign the intersection of Interstate 495 and Route 9, according to the annual report. Rep. James McGovern, D-Worcester, announced in March that the federal government would provide $285,000 toward planning, design and engineering of the new interchange at the intersection of the two roadways.
McGovern has also requested $80 million for the project in a list submitted to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which is considering high priority projects for the federal transportation authorization bill.
Matthews also said the current state administration understands and appreciates the MetroWest economy, since it is the second largest regional economy behind the Boston area.
Three of the state's top recent commercial projects are in MetroWest: Genzyme Corp.'s Science Center in Framingham and now a cell manufacturing facility nearby; IBM's software lab in Littleton and Westford and the next phase of the Kraft Group's Patriot Place project in Foxborough. The Kraft Group's project proposes 1.45 million square feet of office and medical space and 150,000 square feet of retail space near Gillette Stadium.
"They (the state) know it's not merely parochial pleading," Matthews said about efforts by the partnership to lobby for certain transportation and other infrastructure funding.
The organization also works on natural resources, including lobbying for federal stimulus dollars to upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure. It's pushing the federal government to make the money for these projects available to communities as grants instead of loans, according to the annual report.
Enabling economic development, including helping the Massachusetts Alliance for Economic Development identify, develop and market priority commercial sites, has also been worked on by the partnership over the last year.
The 495/MetroWest Partnership is public-private organization based in Westborough that advocates for 32 communities along the I-495 corridor. It addresses transportation, water resources, workforce development, housing and permitting issues. Every year it issues an annual report that shows its progress on these issues at its annual June meeting.
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