State Senate would create transportation superagency

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statler

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Boston Globe - January 14, 2009
State Senate would create transportation superagency
January 14, 2009 02:45 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size ? +

By Globe Staff

State Senate leaders today unveiled a proposal to restructure the state?s transportation system that would bring the Turnpike, the MBTA, and the state Highway Department, under one agency titled the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority.

The new quasi-public agency would also oversee roads and bridges managed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Tobin Bridge, which is currently owned by Massport.

The new superagency would simplify operations and reduce costs, with potential savings of up to $6.5 billlion over 20 years, the leaders said in a statement.

?The idea is to streamline, eliminate redundancies between agencies, and make sense of the current system,? said Senate President Therese Murray. ?We think this plan does that.?

?As the Senate has stressed all along, we need to look at all opportunities to reform the current system and make the best decisions for the Commonwealth. Creating the most efficient system must be our first priority,? Murray said in a statement.

Governor Deval Patrick has said he is working on his own proposal to restructure the state's transportation system, but no details have been released.

The Senate proposal comes as financial problems loom over both the Turnpike and the MBTA. The Turnpike has preliminarily approved a steep toll hike, inspiring some lawmakers to search for alternatives, including an increase in the gas tax.

Murray and Senator Steven A. Baddour, Senate chair of the Transportation Committee, said the Turnpike should freeze the tolls while the Legislature works on a broader solution. At the same time, the Senate plan did not call for a gas tax increase. Murray said the Senate was emphasizing "reform before revenue."

Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei said in a statement that the plan was the first that "fully addresses the complicated financial and structural problems we are facing."
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So who thinks this new agency would be auto-centric?
 
Er, I don't think they've gotten that far in their thinking.

A true cynic would say it helps them because, as a percentage of revenues, the debt load goes down.
 
Theoretically it would reduce overhead by reducing layers of management, and increase coordinated transportation strategies by having all the agencies work together.

In reality it will just add a layer of management and there would be years of squabbling about the roles of specific players within the new superagency - plus opportunity costs would be sky-high (e.g. if the state were serious about cutting costs in the long term, it might have to invest in programs that would train a reduced staff of maintenance workers to be able to deploy to both roads and tracks). Homeland Security is the paradigmatic example of a failed superagency.
 
On paper merging all road and bridge related agencies makes sense, to eliminate the redundancy of maintenance crews, equipment, management, reduce the parceling of related projects into separate ones based on agencies, share debt load, and have better coordinated planning regionally. Merging the MBTA makes sense from a planning standpoint, as does relieving DCR for dealing with roads.

However, I believe this will cost both the MBTA and DCR control and priority over certain important aspects. The MBTA is going to have its rail shortchanged for any asphalt related projects, and DCR might see parkways insensitively expanded with little regard to protecting their surroundings. We also have to remember this is Massachusetts, and no one who should have their job eliminated by mergers will. Equipment costs, planning, etc. may be cheaper. But every warm body with a pulse is going to continue to be employed, in whatever invented position necessary, to ensure they get a full pension down the road.
 
You guys couldn't be more correct. Streamlining is great, but I bet the state will screw this one up. This new agency will most likely create hundreds of more useless jobs.
 
Boston.com - June 26, 2009
Patrick signs transportation overhaul
By Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick today signed a bill overhauling the state transportation system and consolidating a patchwork of agencies that govern roads, rail, and bridges.

"The meaningful, long-lasting reforms we will make to our state's transportation system will rebuild public trust and put an end to the old ways of doing business," Patrick, who signed the bill at his Western Massachusetts office, in Springfield, said in a statement. "Today, we are inaugurating a new era of streamlined and efficient delivery of transportation services to the residents of Massachusetts."

The bill, a key part of what Patrick is calling his "reform agenda," creates a new state Department of Transportation that will oversee highways, mass transit, aeronautics and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. It also eliminates the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and ends some perks at the MBTA that critics have seized on as symbols of waste and abuse in government. Patrick's administration says the new law will save tens of millions of dollars annually.

"This law eliminates the antiquated and inefficient transportation structure in Massachusetts and brings considerable cost savings," House Speaker Robert DeLeo said in a statement.

Senate President Therese Murray added, "Seven months ago the Senate called for reform before revenue in our transportation system, and today thanks to the cooperation and hard work of the Legislature and the administration we have achieved our goal."

The new law gives Patrick another legislative accomplishment, adding to a pension system overhaul he signed earlier this month and a toughening of state ethics laws he's expected to sign next week.

But Patrick now faces a thorny political problem as he heads into next year's reelection campaign. He has said he would agree to lawmakers' plan to raise the sales tax only after they agreed to significant government reforms. Now, Patrick is all but compelled to sign a provision in next year?s state budget to increase the sales tax from 5 percent to 6.25 percent, which will surely draw heat from his opponents and some voters.
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Boston.com - Sept 15, 2009
MassPike chief to head new state transportation agency
By Andrea Estes and Noah Bierman, Globe Staff
Jeffrey Mullan, now director of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, was named chief executive officer and secretary of the new state department of transportation today, the governor's office announced.

Mullan had previously served as undersecretary of transportation and general counsel to the state transportation department. He lives in Milton.

He replaces James A. Aloisi Jr., who announced Friday that he would be stepping down Oct. 31, after less than a year on the job that was often marked by controversy.

"Jeff brings a critical commitment to reform and high-level of expertise to the table," Governor Deval Patrick said in a statement. "He possesses the vision and know-how we need to effectively lead a unified transportation organization that eliminates waste, saves taxpayer dollars and improves the delivery of transportation services across our Commonwealth."

The turnpike authority will be abolished under a transportation law that takes effect Nov. 1. The law will put virtually every bridge, road, bus, and subway under the control of a single board of five people. Mullan will serve under that board and oversee the day-to-day management of the new mega-agency, known as MassDOT.

Mullan said in the statement released by the governor's office that he was grateful to the governor and looked forward to "delivering the cost-effective, quality transportation services our citizens expect and deserve."

The statement said Mullan will work with Aloisi in the coming weeks to prepare for the November start date of the new law.

Mullan has served in top state transportation leadership jobs since 2007. Prior to that, he worked for 14 years at the Foley Hoag LLP law firm. Before that, he worked for the Massachusetts Highway Department. He lives with his wife and three teenage sons in Milton.
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vanshnookenraggen said:
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
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Maybe I'm grumpy cause I'm still at my office at 1:00 a.m., but I feel the same way. A "super-agency" will do what, exactly? Other than provide an additional layer of bureaucratic obfuscation, will anything change? No.

Unless the union contracts are busted and re-negotiated, it's all just so much more of the same, with extra red tape added in the name of "oversight."

The high hopes I had for this governor have dwindled to only hoping things don't get worse. A job at which Governor Patrick failed at spectacularly with this announcement.
 
It's not being superimposed on the existing agencies, as the moniker "super-agency" implies, but replacing them. It will actually reduce red tape, but increase the power of the people in charge.
 
Why would you have high hopes for Deval Patrick? When he ran for governor, he had no previous history of every running any major entity successfully.

I don't understand these people who think people like Barrack Obama or Deval Patrick are so wonderful when there is nothing at all in their history that shows any tough leadership at all. It was sad to see Bill Richardson, a UN Ambassador, Cabinet Secretary and cheif executive of New Mexico be passed over for the flashy media creation that was Barrack Obama. I'll never understand it. In today's politics, having a record of achievement has become a liability and being "fresh-faced" is suddenly the must-have trait.
 
Well, this took a weird turn.

I was expecting a conversation about how a guy whose previous job was Mass Pike chief is suddenly in charge of allocating transportation resources for both auto-based projects and rail based projects and how that may effect transportation spending in the commonwealth.

But if you want to use it as a jumping off point to bitch about national politics, have fun.
 
It was sad to see Bill Richardson, a UN Ambassador, Cabinet Secretary and chief executive of New Mexico be passed over...

Getting caught in a Pay for Play corruption scheme usually ends political careers. But this is Massachusetts.....
 
statler said:
Well, this took a weird turn.

I was expecting a conversation about how a guy whose previous job was Mass Pike chief is suddenly in charge of allocating transportation resources for both auto-based projects and rail based projects and how that may effect transportation spending in the commonwealth.

But if you want to use it as a jumping off point to bitch about national politics, have fun.
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pelhamhall, I'm reading your post as an inference that I voted for Mr. Patrick and Mr. Obama simply because they were a fresh face, or a brown face, or a Chicago face, or a Harvard face. It assumes I swallowed their cult of personality persona (I didn't), or that I voted for either of them (also, untrue). I didn't intend to devolve this into a left-right discussion.

My remark re: high hopes for Gov. Patrick referred to the limbo the commonwealth
was left in when Mr. Romney strapped his dog onto his car roof and motored off to run for president. I hoped a stable governor's office would include a governor to LEAD. And by lead, I mean overhaul flailing agencies and organizations. That hasn't happened, in my opinion.

Specific to this announcement, my biggest concern is that not only will nothing change at the MBTA/MBCR due to the union stranglehold, but that we'll see the largest roads expansion since the Big Dig. All at the expense of sensible public transportation alternatives.



Edits: to be less of a menstruating bitch. And for clarity.
 
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Haha - sorry, I was also menstruating. I'm a whiny bitch in the morning when I don't have coffee.

I just never understand why somebody would buy a product with a slick marketing campaign but few tangible features. That's all I'm saying.
 
pelhamhall said:
Haha - sorry, I was also menstruating. I'm a whiny bitch in the morning when I don't have coffee.

I just never understand why somebody would buy a product with a slick marketing campaign but few tangible features. That's all I'm saying.
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Yes, we get it. You feel the Columbia University graduate, president of the Havard Law Review magna cum laude Juris Doctor, University of Chicago professor of constitutional law, grammy award winning #1 New York Times selling author, elected United States Senator and President of the United States of America lacks tangible features. That uppity negro is all flash and no substance.
 
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