The City Council sent this letter to Chairs Michlewitz and Rodrigues of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, requesting their support for $85 million in the Supplemental Budget for the MassDOT Commuter Rail Accessibility Improvements project in the City of Newton. The Council cited four major project benefits and reasons why this funding is critical – the dire need for accessibility of the stations for all users, needed improvements to service on the entire Worcester-Framingham line and make the trains more efficient, transit-oriented development (“Newton is in the midst of rezoning our village centers to allow increased housing development by right with a view to compliance with the MBTA Communities Act. The renovation of these 3 stations is a key element in making this rezoning believable and acceptable to our residents”), and the environmental benefits of getting more people out of their cars and onto public transit as transportation accounts for 40% of Massachusetts greenhouse gas emissions.
