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GRAFTON, Mass. – Members of the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce had questions for Richard A. Davey, director of transportation and CEO of the state Department of Transportation (MassDOT).
Will passenger rail service ever connect the Massachusetts and Rhode Island sections of the Blackstone Valley? Does the state remain committed to a Blackstone River bikeway between Providence and Worcester? Why should residents at this end of the state pay for the MBTA when they don’t use it?
All valid questions, Davey said at the Chamber breakfast on Wednesday, and all tied in to important decisions residents will have to make in the coming months – what kind of transportation system do they want and is it a system they can afford.
Gov. Deval Patrick merged all state transportation departments into one entity in 2009 and appointed Davey its CEO in August, 2011. His job, Davey said, is to reform MassDOT while providing a safe, reliable, effective transportation network.
The first step in the process toward reform, Davey said, is “advancing the conversation…. decide what we want in the next 20 or 25 years.’’ He’s also been charged with making MassDOT “touchable and feelable,’’ transparent, and managed like a business.
Reform is working, he said. Under one umbrella, bureaucrats are focusing on the customer instead of themselves; health care costs are less this year than last, pension requirements have been tightened, and the state is investing in accelerated bridge projects.
A major issue in the transportation puzzle is the MBTA, Davey said, which has a budget deficit of $185 million and public hearings are being held across the state on proposals to raise rates or reduce services.
“We can’t afford what we have now,’’ Davey said, so he’s encouraging conversations and suggestions.
Public transportation would be welcome in the Valley, noted Chamber President Jeannie Hebert. “We have no choice but to use our fossil fuel cars to get around,’’ she said.
“It is something we should be talking about,’’ Davey said. “We need to be pushing people to public transportation.”
The big question for all transportation projects, however, is funding. “A lot of new projects are worthy of consideration. But we have to be honest about our current system… we need to have honest conversations across the Commonwealth,’’ Davey said.
Guest speaker at the next Chamber breakfast, scheduled for March 7, is Senate President Therese Murray. The breakfast will be held from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Blissful Meadows Golf Club, 801 Chockalog Road, Uxbridge.
Cost is $25 for members, $35 for nonmembers.
To pre-register only, call the Chamber at 508-234-9090 extension 100 or register online http://www.blackstonevalley.org/events.
