Can Massachusetts avoid the return of horrible congestion?
Experts warn traffic could skyrocket this fall without action
By 
IF YOU THOUGHT traffic was bad before the pandemic, wait until this fall.
“I don’t think anyone wants to take the T,” said Emily, who has driven to work since last summer, but recently restarted taking the MBTA, due to the lack of a parking space and worsening traffic.
In 2019, Boston area drivers already faced soul-crushing congestion. While traffic dropped drastically during the pandemic, as of late June, MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said at a meeting that traffic on most roadways is back to 2019 levels, and travel times are returning to their previous lengths. And that’s with many Boston area companies deciding not to require workers to return to the office until September.
On this week’s episode of Mass Reboot, a Codcast series examining how COVID-19 affected Massachusetts and how the state is adjusting moving forward, House Transportation Chair Rep. William Straus and Monica Tibbits-Nutt, executive director of the 128 Business Council, a transportation management association and regional transit provider, talked about the anticipated uptick in traffic – and what can be done to address it.
Tibbits-Nutt worried that without steps taken to alleviate the problem, a horrific congestion situation pre-pandemic will morph into “a parking lot across all of our highway systems.”
One unknown is how many workers will return to the office. Many offices are envisioning a hybrid model of work permanently. But Straus said there is still a need for the full system of roads, bridges, trains, and buses. He noted that transit is needed not just to get to work, but for general mobility. And despite all those who can work remotely, there are many employees – like emergency service workers – who must work in person.
Tibbits-Nutt said a big part of getting people out of their cars is figuring out how to provide better transportation options. “You have to make public transit better and more convenient than using a car,” she said. For example, 128 Business Council is looking into using money from private employers to create shuttle services, with vehicles equipped with trays, tables, and wi-fi.
Straus stressed the importance of regional rail, like the planned South Coast Rail, which would connect Boston to cities like New Bedford and Fall River. Today, commuting from those areas could take two hours by car, due to traffic. Tibbits-Nutt said regional rail could help alleviate congestion if train service runs frequently enough and with affordable enough fares. Tibbits-Nut said she lives a 15-minute walk away from a commuter rail station – but the train runs infrequently, and it is cheaper for her to own a car than take the train.
Tibbits-Nutt talked about the importance of providing accessible bus service, with dedicated lanes for buses. Straus said there could be ways to use streets more efficiently, to provide more travel lanes while moving parking off the street.