Where is Maine’s future going? Regardless, it’s going there on a ZOOM bus. Or at least, that’s the hope of the 26 co-sponsors of LD 673, the bill that proposes to expand the ZOOM bus system to serve additional locations based on rapid growth in demand. The ZOOM bill was the focus of a well-attended press conference held today at the state house in Augusta by the Maine Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST), the steering committee of which includes CLF’s own Jane West. The press conference featured speeches by three of the bill’s co-sponsors–Rep. Bradley Moulton (R-York), Rep. Ben Chipman (I-Portland) and Sen. Justin Alfond (D-Portland)–as well as other local transportation advocates. More >

ZOOM Press Conference
Tuesday March 22 at 12 p.m.
Welcome Center at the State House, Augusta, ME (map)

CLF and the Maine Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) will be hosting a press conference on the new bill to expand the ZOOM commuter bus service between Portland and York County and add new service between Portland and Lewiston and Auburn and between Portland and Augusta to keep up with rising demand.

Those in attendance will include Jane West, CLF staff attorney and steering committee member of MAST; Representatives Bradley Moulton (R-York) and Ben Chipman (I-Portland), both sponsors of the bill; Nicola Wells, communications director and organizer at the Maine League of Young Voters and steering committee member of MAST; and Christian MilNeil, citizen activist. Read the full media alert >

Learn more about ZOOM

MBTA General Manager Richard Davey likes to say “We’re only as good as our last rush hour,’’ and by that standard the T is not doing very well right now. The long delays throughout system on a recent frigid day have enraged commuters and discouraged new riders from getting onboard, as Boston Globe reporter Eric Moskowitz wrote in an article published in yesterday’s paper.

The T, to its credit, did not pretend it was surprised it gets cold in Boston in January. When it discusses the T’s “aging fleet” the Globe hints at the real reason for these delays:  a long list of necessary repairs to its system that the T estimates will cost at least $2.7 billion to address.  Despite the ingenuity of MBTA’s employees to keep the system running, the only way we can ensure that the T runs smoothly in the future is to raise sufficient revenue to pay for much delayed improvements.  While few in government right now want to talk about raising revenue, investment in public transportation infrastructure, not just for the MBTA, but throughout the state, is critical for encouraging economic development, slashing the greenhouse gas pollution changing our climate, improving air quality, and providing affordable and efficient transportation for everyone.

The Maine Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST), the statewide coalition of which CLF is a steering committee member, has submitted a proposal to increase commuter transit options, reduce household expenditures on gasoline and diesel, increase employment opportunities and productivity and reduce government expenditures by expanding the routes of the highly-successful ZOOM Turnpike Express bus services along the Maine Turnpike corridor. The program would also establish a fund for the improved maintenance of Maine’s roadways.

“Financially, this bill just makes a lot of sense for a fiscally-strapped state like Maine,” said CLF Maine Staff Attorney Jane West. “Instead of spending $56 million on a tollbooth or $150 million to widen a couple of miles of highway, this bill will serve thousands of commuters, reduce traffic congestion and provide a much-needed alternative to paying three dollars and more per gallon at the pump, for a fraction of the cost of any other solution.” More >

Boston’s iconic Longfellow Bridge serves as a poster child for public transit. Every few minutes, the bridge transports Red Line commuters between Boston and Cambridge, affording its passengers a breathtaking view of the Charles River and Boston skyline– and the parallel lanes of bumper-to-bumper vehicle traffic that the speeding train leaves in its wake. While that’s a positive situation for MBTA riders, it’s a dangerous one for the rest of the city’s commuters who don’t cross the bridge by car– cyclists and pedestrians.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Highway Division had released plans to rebuild the historic bridge as is. In May 2010, CLF advocated for an alternative plan that would make the bridge more bike and pedestrian-friendly. In response to CLF’s call to action, MassDOT created the Longfellow Bridge Rehabilitation Task Force, which recently released its recommendations on what alternatives should be included in the project’s Environmental Assessment to submit to the Federal Highway Administration.

Last week, CLF submitted written comments to the Administrator of the Highway Division at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) in response to those recommendations. In a letter to MasDOT Highway Division Administrator Luisa Paiewonsky, CLF explained that to comply with federal and state law, MassDOT should include at least one strong alternative plan for presentation and analysis that retains the current structure of the bridge throughout while altering its traffic pattern so that only one lane exists in both directions with a two-lane release into Charles Circle on the Boston side. Such an alternative would uphold the structural and architectural integrity of the bridge, help the state reach its health and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and improve safety for bikers and pedestrians.

Learn more about what CLF is doing the improve transportation alternatives in communities throughout New England.