A System for Growth: Funding the Transportation System the Massachusetts Economy Needs
Massachusetts is a global economic leader because of our culture of innovation, but our transportation system is holding us back. Employee commutes are becoming longer and more unpredictable. Our status quo transit network concentrates growth and wealth only in certain communities, driving up housing prices and the costs of doing business. Employers and employees alike are stressed and frustrated, and it is time to take action. We must invest in a new vision for transportation and connect with our legislators to build a revenue package that will move Massachusetts beyond a state of good repair and invest in a system that reflects what our economy should be.
In March 2019, Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka asked the business community to develop revenue solutions to respond to the current transportation crisis, and we took action.
Here you will find a set of recommendations that business leaders across the Commonwealth have developed. Over the past six months, ACEC/MA joined forces the Kendall Square Association and other business associations to discuss the issues impacting our communities and developed solutions to invest in a transportation system that works for us all.
While this is a statewide issue, Metro Boston businesses generate 84% of the state’s GDP and account for 74% of its jobs. The solutions outlined will allow us to transcend beyond a state of good repair and serve our economy immediately and over the next generation.
Having reviewed a range of options to raise revenue for transportation, the attached recommendations are invaluable tools that reduce congestion and generate the revenue needed to invest in our system- wide transformation.
We understand that this problem is complex, and that it will take a lot of people coming together to solve it— but solving complex problems is what we do in the Greater Boston business community and we look forward to remaining part of the solution.
Please contact us to let us know if you can help.