Category Archives: Government Reform

Government Reform

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: Three Choices, None Simple

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Steve Miller

There can be no question about the transformative power of today’s metropolitan economy.  Major cities around the country hope to ride the wave of the growing financial, research-based, and digital business sectors.  City leaders are doing what they can to make the place attractive to exploding numbers of higher-income young professionals these firms employ as […] Continue reading →

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THE PURPOSE OF TRANSIT: Neither Reform Nor Revenue are the Needed Starting Point

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Steve Miller

It’s now semi-official – everyone agrees that the MBTA needs both reform and revenue.  No one says (publicly) that the current T and Commuter Rail budget is too big for its mission.  And that’s where the agreement ends – with the question of what is the MBTA’s mission, vision, and values:  what exactly are we […] Continue reading →

Posted in Government Reform, MassDOT Transformation, news, transit, Transit & Livability | Comments Off on THE PURPOSE OF TRANSIT: Neither Reform Nor Revenue are the Needed Starting Point

THE PURPOSE OF TRANSIT: Neither Reform Nor Revenue are the Needed Starting Point

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Steve Miller

It’s now semi-official – everyone agrees that the MBTA needs both reform and revenue.  No one says (publicly) that the current T and Commuter Rail budget is too big for its mission.  And that’s where the agreement ends – with the question of what is the MBTA’s mission, vision, and values:  what exactly are we […] Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Government Reform, MassDOT Transformation, transit, Transit & Livability | Comments Off on THE PURPOSE OF TRANSIT: Neither Reform Nor Revenue are the Needed Starting Point

PARKWAYS MOVING FORWARD: DCR is Not The Highway Department

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Steve Miller

It’s a pleasure to be able to praise a government agency: civil servants who try to live up to their public service mission are over-worked and underpaid relative to private sector peers – and always under appreciated! It’s particularly a pleasure to praise the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR), a woefully underfunded agency whose […] Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, Government Reform, news, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE | Comments Off on PARKWAYS MOVING FORWARD: DCR is Not The Highway Department

PARKWAYS MOVING FORWARD: DCR is Not The Highway Department

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Steve Miller

It’s a pleasure to be able to praise a government agency: civil servants who try to live up to their public service mission are over-worked and underpaid relative to private sector peers – and always under appreciated! It’s particularly a pleasure to praise the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR), a woefully underfunded agency whose […] Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, Commentary & Analysis, Government Reform, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE | Comments Off on PARKWAYS MOVING FORWARD: DCR is Not The Highway Department

STABILIZING EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES: Gentrification, Displacement, and Markets

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Steve Miller

It wasn’t long ago, when regional rail-trail conversions were the leading strategy for creating multi-use non-motorized travel corridors, that the biggest opposition came from suburbanites fearing that the bike paths would bring intruders (meaning poor or Black people) into their backyards and lower their property values.   Today, as the action has shifted to our reviving […] Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE, Government Reform, news | Comments Off on STABILIZING EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES: Gentrification, Displacement, and Markets

Project Selection Criteria: Public Hearing Testimony

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Steve Miller

The following was submitted to the state Project Selection Advisory Council at their 7/29/14 public hearing in Boston. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this incredibly important topic. And thank you for all the work that you have already done on this incredibly complicated issue. My name is Steven E. Miller; I’m a […] Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE, Government Reform, MassDOT Transformation, Road Design | Comments Off on Project Selection Criteria: Public Hearing Testimony

Project Selection Criteria: Public Hearing Testimony

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Steve Miller

The following was submitted to the state Project Selection Advisory Council at their 7/29/14 public hearing in Boston. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this incredibly important topic. And thank you for all the work that you have already done on this incredibly complicated issue. My name is Steven E. Miller; I’m a […] Continue reading →

Posted in CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE, Government Reform, MassDOT Transformation, news, Road Design | Comments Off on Project Selection Criteria: Public Hearing Testimony

MOVING BEYOND CAR LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS): Criteria for Transportation Investments, Project Designs, and Development Mitigation

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Steve Miller

Scaled from A to F like an elementary school report card, automobile Level of Service (LOS) metrics are easy to measure and easy to understand. LOS is, essentially, the average amount of delay compared to a “free-flowing” road where everyone is moving at full design-speed – congestion! It is a powerful indicator: it has a […] Continue reading →

Posted in Climate/Energy/Environment, CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE, Government Reform, MassHighway/DOT, news, Project Management, Road Design | Comments Off on MOVING BEYOND CAR LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS): Criteria for Transportation Investments, Project Designs, and Development Mitigation

MOVING BEYOND CAR LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS): Measurable and Meaningful Criteria for Transportation Investments, Project Designs, and Development Mitigation (revised)

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Steve Miller

Scaled from A to F like an elementary school report card, automobile Level of Service (LOS) metrics are easy to measure and easy to understand. LOS is, essentially, the average amount of delay compared to a “free-flowing” road where everyone is moving at full design-speed – congestion! It is a powerful indicator: it has a […] Continue reading →

Posted in Climate/Energy/Environment, CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE, Government Reform, MassHighway/DOT, news, Project Management, Road Design | Comments Off on MOVING BEYOND CAR LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS): Measurable and Meaningful Criteria for Transportation Investments, Project Designs, and Development Mitigation (revised)