Allston Multimodal Project and Reknitting the Allston Community

Where: Eichenbaum Colloquium Room, 610 Commonwealth Ave, First Floor
When: Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 4:00 – 5:30 PM ET

Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities and the City Planning & Urban Affairs Program for a special discussion on the mega project realigning the Massachusetts Turnpike/I-90. The project will open up land in Allston for new development and improve roadway, transit, and active transportation in the region. In addition to the local lens, the discussion will focus on efforts by the US Department of Transportation to identify and fund projects designed to reconnect neighborhoods that were split apart due to highway expansion. Featured speakers include former MA Secretaries of Transportation Fred Salvucci (under Gov. Michael Dukakis) and Jim Aloisi (under Gov. Deval Patrick), who will share lessons learned from the Central Artery project.

About the Speakers

Fred Salvucci
Fred is currently a Senior Lecturer at MIT. He is a civil engineer interested in infrastructure, urban transportation, and public transportation. He has over 30 years of contextual transportation experience. He served as transportation advisor to Boston Mayor Kevin White between 1970 and 1974 and then as Secretary of Transportation of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under Governor Michael Dukakis between 1975 and 1978 and from 1983 to 1990. In those roles, he participated in much of the transportation planning and policy formulation in the Boston urbanized area and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts over the past 35 years, with particular emphasis on the expansion of the transit system, the development of the financial and political support for the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, and the design of implementation strategies to comply with the Clean Air Act consistent with economic growth. Other efforts include formulating noise rules to reverse the increase in aircraft noise at Logan Airport and the development of strategies to achieve high-speed rail service between Boston and New York.

Jim Aloisi
Jim is a Boston-based lecturer, writer, transit advocate, and strategic consultant. He lectures on Urban Transportation Planning and Policy and directs the MIT Transit Research Consortium. Jim was a partner at two prominent Boston law firms, Hill & Barlow and Goulston & Storrs, where he led a Public Law & Policy practice. He played a central role in creating Boston’s Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. In addition to serving as Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation in the Administration of Governor Deval Patrick, Jim’s public service includes service on the Boston Human Rights Commission, the Massachusetts Transportation Finance Commission, and the Massachusetts Port Authority Board. As Massachusetts Transportation Secretary, Jim guided a landmark transportation reform and restructuring initiative. He authorized a pioneering effort to release a complete MBTA data set at no cost to improve transparency and encourage the development of web-based and mobile applications. He also established Boston’s Silver Line 4 service using federal stimulus funds to improve transit connectivity and social equity. Jim is the author of four books, including The Big Dig, The Vidal Lecture, and Massport at 60. He is a regular contributor to Commonwealth Magazine and serves on the Board of TransitMatters, a Boston-based transit advocacy group.

Registration

We've reached capacity for this event. Please email liting@bu.edu if you would like to be placed on the waitlist. We will follow up if spots open up. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to you.