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A Vision for Boston: | ||||
Day 11: Transportation
What are your top 3 priorities for transportation-related projects? How do you expect to fund them? Boston's transportation system is the life-blood of our economy. We depend on it to move residents, students, employees, customers, and goods throughout the city. While the Big Dig represents some of the newest construction, much of Boston's transportation infrastructure is aging, outdated or misaligned with current needs. Over the past two years, much has been reported both here in Massachusetts and across the country about the dire state of disrepair into which much of our transportation infrastructure has fallen. Investing in maintenance and modernization of existing assets will, in the long run, save money, facilitate new construction and contribute to the creation of permanent jobs and access to them. However, achieving these objectives is difficult politically given the many demands for expansion. Among the expansion projects advocated by various constituencies are the Red-Blue Line Connector, the final segment of the Silver Line and the Urban Ring, to name just three, but there are not enough resources to do everything. As Mayor, you will have only indirect influence on the main sources of transportation funding, which is insufficient for the region's needs, but what you will have is a bully pulpit to guide the priorities of Boston's regional planning body and the state's transportation policy. Your challenge will be to advocate for funding and attempt to direct its allocation. Name your top 3 priorities in the area of transportation and explain why. What is your strategy for funding them?
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