PVPC Comment Letter

Ms. Rebecca Tepper, Secretary Executive
Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston, Massachusetts 02114

Attention: MEPA Unit
Reference: Review Comments on the Expanded Environmental Notification Form (EENF) for the Downtown Complete Streets Corridor and Intersection Improvements on Main Street (Route 9) Project, EEA # 16817.

Dear Secretary Tepper:

The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) has the following review comments on the EENF for the above-cited project. As proposed, the project in Northampton, MA consists of the reconstruction of Main Street to improve safety and accessibility in the downtown area.

A request has been made to allow a Rollover/Single Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed project. The PVPC concurs with this request.

The PVPC Transportation staff assisted the Pioneer Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization (PVMPO) and Joint Transportation Committee (JTC) in the review of the Northampton Downtown Complete Streets project (MassDOT Project #609286) for consideration in the regional Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). First approved in 2015 as an intersection improvement project, this project is now a “Complete Streets” corridor project which means the project includes elements to accommodate all modes of transportation. Staff have scored the Complete Streets project using the MPO approved Transportation Evaluation Criteria (TEC) each of the last 8 years. The project scores 75.5 out of 100 possible points making it the highest ranked project in our region. The project is programmed in the PVMPO Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) in FFY 2025, with an anticipated advertisement date of March 1, 2025. The estimated project cost is $29,677,629 as of March 2024. The PVMPO is in the process of developing the FFY 2025-2029 TIP, it is anticipated that this project will remain on schedule for funding in FFY 2025.

Thank you for the opportunity to offer our comments on this proposed project.

Sincerely,

Kimberly H. Robinson,
MUP Executive Director