TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

We can cut poverty and pollution at the same time. We urge you to move forward with a regional program that prioritizes the needs of communities overburdened with pollution and underserved in mobility options.

As a resident and small business partner in Massachusetts, I am very concerned about the threats that climate change poses, especially since it will reach every level and facet of our society. I fully support the Transportation and Climate Initiative and hope our leaders will seriously consider and implement bold measures to transform the transportation sector. We need to show that our region and country can lead the way in reshaping our transportation from a highly polluting stain on our society to one that is innovative, accountable, clean, and healthy for its citizens.

As someone involved in local business, I would love to be able to transition my company’s fleet of vehicles to cleaner, sustainable options, but large scale transformation needs to take place so that these vehicles become mainstream and the infrastructure is there to support local communities and businesses to transition as well.

Thank you for your attention to this crucial issue.

Having traveled through European countries with fast, clean, reliable trains, buses, and subway systems, I have wished for many years that we could have similar transportation options in the US. And there's no reason why we can't -- except for old habits that die hard, old attitudes that die hard, and government officials who can't get their act together to promote public transport and who don't make the needed effort to mobilize funding for it.

The Transportation and Climate Initiative is a step towards decarbonizing our transportation system. As an owner of an electric vehicle I am particularly concerned about the need for real infrastructure to support electric vehicles. We also need high speed rail to connect urban and rural areas to make long distance driving less necessary. Though I love my EV I would rather take the train to Boston!

To disregard the potential dangers of climate change by those with the responsibility and authority to take reasonable precautions to mitigate these dangers is nothing short of a crime against humanity. Certainly, the detrimental effects of clogging our air and water and earth with greenhouse gasses, particulate matter, various chemical byproducts, many of which are toxic not only to humans but other organism in the ecosystem upon which humans rely for their own health, welfare, and even survival, are already reshaping life on the planet. However, it is all too easy to disregard climate change since the effects seem so small and distant in terms of either time or geography (ie a mere 2˚C, or effects which tend to occur in poor regions, or effects that will not substantially impact most people's lives for decades to come). But as moral and ethical creatures, we have an imperative to leave the planet in as at least as good a condition as we first inherited it. It would be breathtakingly selfish, inhumane, and ignorant for us not to act and act swiftly to protect the lives of every single living creature that will ever exist. Yes, that is unarguably what is at stake. The health and wellbeing of every single organism and conscious creature that will ever exist. The number of human beings yet to be born and live on this planet FAR outweighs the number currently living or even the total number that has ever lived. Any hardship or sacrifice we must make, which we should think of as an investment in the health and welfare of our children, our grandchildren, and indeed all of our descendants for as long as our race shall continue to exist, will yield dividends that will dwarf any sacrifice we must make to ensure a safe and habitable future for our species.

As far as how any of this relates to the TCI regional pliocy now under consideration, there are so many steps that can be taken to improve public transportation infrastructure which don't even really require great sacrifice, but will actually improve our current economy and quality of life, which simultaneously benefit the environment and address all of the overriding concerns stated above. For example, rail transportation is much more efficient per passenger mile than car, bus, or air travel. If we made a commitment to using only renewable energy (such as solar or wind generated electricity to power these systems), then we would be expanding the economy to develop new technology, addressing wealth inequality by providing a more comprehensive public transportation system, reducing wasted human hours in inconvenient and inefficient existing transportation systems), and make an enormous contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There are countless examples of efficiencies to be found. Another example is that the more people utilize public transportation, the more we can reduce real estate devoted to roads and parking and create bike paths and greenspace which in turn contribute to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The examples are endless. It is a no brainer. Of course it is a big investment, but it will pay dividends for countless generations to come and most of us will see the benefits within our own lives both in terms of improvements to the environment (air quality in particular), and economic benefits. Please work towards making the most comprehensive, efficient, cost effective, evidence based system that you have the power to make. You have a responsibility not only to your constituency, but to humanity.

We can't dilly dally about climate change. It is the overwhelming issue of the day--health care reform, education etc will be irrelevant if we fail.

Transportation is the number one source of climate pollution in the United States. In order to cut emissions, and to slow the impact of global warming, we need to reimagine the way that we transport people and goods.

The states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and the city of Washington, D.C., are working on a groundbreaking policy to modernize the transportation sector under the Transportation and Climate Initiative.

We need a plan that holds large transportation polluters accountable for the pollution they create and invests in clean transportation solutions including:
• More public transit and electric vehicle infrastructure in rural areas
• Expansion of commuter rail, electric vehicles, and streets in the suburbs that are safe, walkable, and bikeable
• Sustainable and equitable housing near transit and electric bus fleets in urban communities

I fully support this and I urge TCI to aggressively promote and adopt innovative initiatives. I live in a suburb of Boston, where traffic is terrible and public transit is, too! For the most part, unless we work in downtown Boston or Worcester, we are forced to drive. We need alternatives that allow growth and economic vitality with minimal additional pollution.

I want to see a Transportation and Climate Initiative that makes bold changes to improve the usage of all modes of public transportation. Individual transportation is a climate & time-wasting disaster. Public transportation should be incentivized while individual transportation should be disincentivized. Housing development should have incentives that support improved access to public transportation. Denser housing focused around public transportation nodes will reduce the problems caused by the last mile of travel.

It is way past the time to say, "the planets warming" and leave it at that. It is time to deal with the effects of that warming and that is why I fully support the Transportation and Climate Initiative. The city of Boston, in my state, is already facing rising sea levels that will flood the city. The animal kingdom is under severe stress. It's time to act and theTCI is movement in that direction. The fossil fuel industry moguls, only concerned with their company's immediate quarterly earnings and the effect of lower earnings on their personal wealth, opposes any remedial action. We must not be paralyzed into inaction by their greed.