Equal Employment Opportunity Circular

Federal Transit Administration

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is responsible for ensuring that grantees receiving FTA financial assistance carry out the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) provisions of Federal law, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Urban Mass Transit Administration (UMTA), FTA’s predecessor agency last issued EEO guidance in 1988. The Collaborative assisted FTA in developing a revised EEO Circular, which incorporates changes in laws, regulations, and guidance.

The Collaborative also developed Microsoft Excel workbook templates for grantees to use in preparing required analyses of employee utilization as well as analyses of employment practices.

Route 28X Enhancements Project Outreach

Massachusetts Department of Transportation

The Route 28X Enhancements project for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) represented a fast-track effort to program funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) to improve transit services in on one of Boston’s highest ridership bus routes.

The project’s effort included newsletters, the development of collateral materials in three languages, door-to-door outreach, distribution of meeting flyers on buses, and media relations.

I-93 FAST14 Bridge Replacement Project

Massachusetts Department of Transportation

This award-winning project involved the replacement of 14 bridge superstructures and related work over the course of ten summer weekends in 2011. As part of the team, the Collaborative led the public hearing for the design, developed traffic detour maps for use on the project website, prepared outreach and communications materials for use prior to and during project construction.

The work won the 2012 Grand Conceptor Award, honoring Outstanding Professional Design Excellence, as presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts.

Forest Hills Station Redevelopment Plan

Boston Redevelopment Authority, City of Boston, MA

In anticipation of three surplus land parcels being sold by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the Boston Redevelopment Authority engaged the community in the development of design and access guidelines for several development parcels in the area of the Forest Hills MBTA Orange Line Station.

As part of a team, the Collaborative examined transit operations, bicycle circulation, access, parking, and pedestrian pathways, and developed streetscape guidelines. The project included a series of short- and long-term actions to improve traffic operations, pedestrian and bicycle access, and streetscape improvements. These recommended improvements will better incorporate the station with the surrounding residential and park resources.

United We Ride

Community Transportation Association of America

To promote the efforts of the United We Ride program, the Collaborative developed an information campaign around the concept of “One Vision, One Call.” The program’s aim is to make it easy for all Americans to make one telephone call to arrange for a ride. The strength of the One Call vision is that it simplifies the conversation about how to better coordinate human service transportation. One Call shifts the focus to riders. Products included a primer for community leaders, meeting and web informational materials, technical assistance fact sheets, and other materials.

Chris Zeilinger, Assistant Director of Governmental Affairs and Training for the CTAA remarked, “I have been continually impressed, sometimes even astounded, by your firm’s dedication, cooperation, patience and perseverance as we’ve worked together to get a product completed to everyone’s satisfaction. It has been a pleasure and an honor to work with you, and it will be a delight if our paths can cross again in the future.”

Anacostia Line Light Rail Corridor Demonstration

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

The Collaborative worked with DMJM/ Harris/ AECOM Consulting to plan for the next generation of public transit in Washington DC. This 18-month study explored the concept of introducing a third transit mode into the District to bridge gaps between the Metrorail subway system and the Metrobus system. This third mode will possibly be surface transit using light rail technology. The system additions are aimed at providing a network of efficient, high-quality, high-capacity surface transit connecting communities while attracting economic development opportunities to neighborhoods throughout the city.

Our role was to assist in launching an innovative public outreach process by providing graphics for publications and community meetings and branding this collaborative process as an opportunity for citizens to help shape the District’s transit future. We actively participated in the assessment of community impacts associated with new transit alternatives, including potential opportunities for stimulating community development within the corridor. A major challenge in this effort was considering ways in which the District could leverage this transit system concept to improve mobility and promote economic and community development in the District’s lowest income neighborhoods.

Program For Accessible Transportation Infrastructure

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

The Collaborative is part of a team supporting the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Program for Accessible Transportation Infrastructure (PATI) project, a multi-year data collection and prioritization effort to improve accessibility. The team is assessing nearly 8,000 bus stops and more than 250 rail stations throughout the Boston metropolitan area. The Collaborative’s ADA experts have guided development of the data collection phases, trained field assessors, and contributed to the quality assurance project, PATI is already informing the MBTA’s capital improvements program and will have increasing influence on the types and extent of future accessibility improvements throat the system.

Bay State Greenway

Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation

As part of a larger land use planning process, the Collaborative conceived of a four-mile long linear park through the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Running east from Boston Harbor to Belle Isle Marsh and partially following the MBTA’s Blue Line transit corridor, the greenway is a series parks and open spaces connected by a multiuse trail. The greenway serves as an important open space buffer between this thickly settled residential neighborhood of over 40,000 and Logan Airport. Nearly complete, the greenway provides a critical urban recreational amenity that has helped stabilize and grow the East Boston community.

Richard Dimino, Former Commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department said, “With the multi-use trail connecting different neighborhoods, your vision for an East Boston Greenway is a superb example of linear park planning, urban design and how greenways support healthy communities.”

Statewide Pedestrian Plan

Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation

The Collaborative is a key member of a team developing the Massachusetts State Pedestrian Plan, whose goals are to improve accessibility, safety, and maintenance and recommend prudent investments. The plan is examining demographic changes, regional pedestrian planning efforts, and other resources to establish a framework for better integrating MassDOT’s pedestrian guidelines with local infrastructure. The Plan is also inward looking in order to identify strengths and opportunities within MassDOT to improve policies and operational practices that benefit walking. The Collaborative’s comprehensive demographic analysis is being used to support the development of policy-level improvement strategies.

Human Services Transportation Study

Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services

Human Service Transportation refers to agencies, jurisdictions and non-profit organizations working together to maximize transportation services for people with disabilities, low-income populations and older adults and the elimination of service gaps. Various state and federal funding streams have different administrative and eligibility requirements, which complicate the coordination of public and human service transportation.

The Collaborative was part of a team that worked with the Massachusetts HST Office analyzing brokerage management costs and operational data for cost savings and opportunities for interfaces with other transportation systems. They also met with the existing brokers to understand service challenges and opportunities for better and more cost-effective service.