Brookline Joins Effort To Expand Transit, Cut Costs

BROOKLINE, MA — The Town of Brookline has joined several other Boston-area municipalities and transit organizations to expand multimodal transit while cutting construction costs, the MBTA announced on Tuesday.

According to the a news release, the MBTA, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, MassDOT, Massport and 13 Boston-area municipalities have entered an agreement to procure bus and bike lane markings at a lower costs.

MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said cost savings are especially helpful throughout the coronavirus pandemic. The New York Times recently estimated Boston will see between 4 and 8 percent of its usual revenue lost in 2021.

“This is another example of the region working together to move everyone forward. Increasingly, we all need to collaborate in new ways to better serve our riders and constituents,” Poftak said. “This agreement will ensure that public agencies like the MBTA will be using their funds as cost effectively as possible, especially throughout the current public health and economic crisis.”

In the new agreement, partners will be able to obtain red bus lane material for $4.70 per square foot, what the MBTA calls a "very competitive" price compared to the $7 to $12 that was available previously.

The MBTA estimates the new cost sill save taxpayers some $2 million over the next year.

MAPC Transportation Director Eric Bourassa said more affordable materials help lower the entry barrier for municipalities around Boston hoping to fuel the economy with more multimodal transit options.

“Establishing more bus and bike lanes is critical for the region as we continue to re-open the economy during this pandemic,” Bourassa said. “By reducing costs for the MBTA as well as cities and towns, we can stretch our public dollars further to make public transit and cycling better and safer.”

The 13 municipalities involved in the procurement effort are:

• City of Boston
• City of Cambridge
• City of Somerville
• Town of Brookline
• City of Everett
• Town of Watertown
• City of Quincy
• City of Chelsea
• City of Revere
• City of Medford
• City of Malden
• Town of Arlington
• City of Lynn