Lucia,
The Energy Coach is going to try to monitor many things that affect greenhouse gases including VMT and the number of EVs and so on. But a lot of the transportation stuff is being handled in the Transp Planning Dept by Nicole Freedman as part of the City’s sustainability efforts. The Energy Coach is meant primarily to help residential homeowners improve the energy efficiency of their homes. That’s a tall order all by itself.
I’d go further than ‘and’. Reducing VMT should be acknowledged as the higher goal, not an afterthought. It’s hard to believe any organization dedicated to saving the environment would think otherwise. It’s about much more than recreational bicycling and walking to the coffee shop. It should mean a serious analysis of why we take frequent vehicle trips and working to address them when we can. School-bound traffic should be near the top of that list (safe routes, new building design, etc.), as well as keeping eye towards zoning and land use to build a greener city, not one which increases our addiction to private vehicles.
What exactly is this energy coach? Is it some quasi-official position, or just part of Green Newton or some volunteer organization?
The city pays lip service to improving bicycle infrastructure, but in reality does very little. There aren’t any targets, no bicycle plan, and no funding dedicated to encouraging the use of bicycles as transportation.
Newton is far behind Brookline, Watertown and Cambridge when it comes to biking. Bicycles (and walking) are low cost, carbon-neutral ways of getting around. Plus they are fun to ride.
Practically every Newton household owns 1 or more bicycles. People want to ride them NOW and they would if there was less traffic (electric or not) and/or more bicycle infrastructure. We could quickly make a reduction in VMT if the city made a reasonable effort towards enabling safe biking to school, work and errands.
Electric cars aren’t a panacea - they have a place, but we need to remember that the batteries are toxic to produce and dispose of and electric cars contribute to traffic congestion just as much as gas powered ones.
What are the clear next steps? How do we coordinate a response?
The NCCE does indeed talk alot about EVs. But then again TAG talks a lot about the electrification of busses and trains.
TAG does not talk a lot about the electrification of buses and trains for its own sake, only as a means to increase throughput and get more people off the road (Regional Rail)
In either the EV or the bus/train case, Newton has very little leverage to make a significant blip of difference for the environment, that I know of. Mass transit is primarily state level. The biggest incentives for EVs are national policy. We can do things around the edges, like making sure people who own EVs can charge them in local developments, but ultimately the environmental impact of these kinds of local policies are beyond our (Newton’s, TAG’s) reach.
Yes our leverage is limited, but it is necessary for Newton’s politicians to lobby for double track stations and higher throughput on the Worcester line to take cars off the road, especially with the upcoming pike project. It would be a blip, but a significant one.
TAG will discuss CAP goals at it’s next meeting, this Wednesday, from 4 to 6. The meetings are open to the public, but you’d need the Zoom link. If you contact me, I’ll forward it.
I believe we need more than a response, we need ongoing action in Newton. While, EV commuter trains seems distant, it is local lobbying that moves our legislative reps to ask for them. Right now, transportation is only on Kay Khan’s priority list.
We also need to locally coordinate safe sidewalks and bus routes to transit stop and we can put pressure on local Universities and Colleges to move to EV buses, like Harvard.
We can also put pressure on our School Committeee to transition to EV buses.
We can also work on departing - narrowing corners reduces pavement and vehicle speed. We need to move beyond paint.
There are many local actions we can take, but they require long-term advocacy.
Maybe we should form a core committee, like the City’s snow committee, with TAG, Green Newton, Bike Newton, Economic Dev Comintern, etc. to advocate and monitor Newton’s CAP plan. Lucia
Adam and Lucia, here was the position description for Energy Coach, which is a City of Newton hire. It’s important work, just not transportation-focused.
The City of Newton is creating the position of Energy Coach to facilitate the implementation of its 2019 Climate Action Plan (CAP or Plan). The Plan provides a roadmap for reducing the use of fossil fuels, with the goal of carbon neutrality in Newton by 2050. The Plan details efforts across all areas of greenhouse gas reduction, including energy efficient construction, building energy retrofits, electric vehicles and other aspects of transportation. The City is also developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Eversource and National Grid to maximize the use of resources available through utility-sponsored energy efficiency programs over the next three years in order to help the City achieve its CAP goals.
The Energy Coach makes frequent contact with various citizen organizations, attorneys, engineers, surveyors, architects, city residents, city department employees, vendors and state and federal agencies. Contacts are made by phone, in person, by E-mail, or by written correspondence.
This position cannot be filled until after January 1, 2021.
RESPONSIBILITIES
QUALIFICATIONS
Hi - I’d like to propose a call for proposals to support the CAP’s goal for a 5% reduction in VMT in 5 years (5in5). Let’s meet next Sunday or Monday at 1 pm or 7 pm to discuss what proposals we’d like to focus on and how to move them forward with the City’s Climate Action Plan people. (Similar to Newton’s very effective EV Task Force)
Below is a suggested format with some ideas I took from Jenn and Molly.
5in5 Proposals
Title: Safe Routes Thru Newton Walking Maps
Summary: Create maps of reliable, safe, connected paths to increase walking for short trips
Use existing sidewalks and shared streets linking popular destinations
Use sidewalks and shared streets currently on City or Commercial sidewalk snow routes
City Asks:
Proactive policing of sidewalk obstructions including snow in commercial areas on maps
Gap coverage of residential sidewalks (yellow ½ block on BC/NC map) or prompt ISD enforcement
Assistance with mapping
Assistance with promotion
Timeline: Create 3 walking maps for areas in Newton by 2022
Cost: Low
Measurements: Bi-annual walk counts by volunteer groups, travel surveys at local businesses
Title: Sidewalk Prioritization
Summary: Facilitate meetings across groups, Council on Aging, Commission on Disabilities, SRTS, TAG, Area Councils, NNCC, to build map(?) for prioritization plan for new sidewalks based on proximity to public schools, village centers, and major roadways
City Asks: Advice for and review of prioritization plan, meeting space
Timeline:
Cost:
Measurements: Annual increase in complete sidewalk network
Title: Adopt NACTO standards for new bicycle infrastructure
Summary: Revise DPW guidelines to meet NACTO standards
City Asks: Who would have to approve this? Public Facilities Committee? DPW?
Timeline: NACTO adopted by 1/1/2022
Cost: Low
Measurements: New Bicycle Infrastructure meets NACTO standards
It’s been more than 13 years since Newton’s Comprehensive Plan (2007) was adopted. What’s the point of all these plans, studies, and policies if city government doesn’t implement the recommendations?
It says:
“Adopt and implement a bicycle plan that reflects Newton’s special circumstances. Although it is recognized that bicycle travel will only constitute a small number of trips in Newton, the use of bicycles constitutes a valuable functional alternative for those too young to drive, for some who use transit but don’t live near a stop, and for many others. The State mandates that street improvements involving State funds must accommodate bicycle travel unless there is such accommodation available over an alternative route.”
Newton’s Climate Action Plan calls for a 5% reduction in Vehicle Miles Traveled by 2025. There are many ways to achieve this goal - quarantining, depopulation, … A healthy way is to make walking and biking safe and convenient.
Bike Newton has created a petition for better, safer mobility with specific actionable items, several of which are routes to schools. I encourage you to read the petition and sign and share if you agree. Click here to view the petition.
To join Bike Newton’s email list click on the green “Join Us” box on their website: https://www.bikenewton.org
To add onto what Molly says. Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan 2020 says: " VMT (vehicle miles traveled) historically increased 22% between 1990 and 2013, raising concern that future VMT growth may offset vehicle efficiency and fuel carbon content gains." “Passenger vehicles are the dominant source of emissions from the transportation sector” p. 26 https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2017/12/06/Clean%20Energy%20and%20Climate%20Plan%20for%202020.pdf
NewtonMoves is a forum for constructive, inclusive discussion and exchange of ideas.
Fact-based critiques of policies is compatible with this philosophy. Subjective statements about what someone else thinks is not.
As the creator of this forum, I hold the level of discourse here to a high standard. I reserve the right to ask for edits to posts, or to edit and remove them myself. I do not take this responsibility lightly, nor do I especially enjoy actively enforcing it.
I have asked the author of this post to edit it. Upon further reflection, I note that the objective information about the BikeNewton petition is available elsewhere in the thread. As a result, I have deleted this message.
I’m belaboring this point because this is the first time I’ve deleted a post here. I would appreciate the community’s help in making it my last 
we should learn from other places…about how to reduce VMT by creating a network of bicycle infrastructure:
from the former mayor of Copenhagen…when you don’t have any money invest in bicycle infrastructure: Lessons from a Cycling City: with Morten Kabell | BYCS
“Copenhagen was very poor, as late as the early 1990s the city was on the brink of bankruptcy – so it had to invest in the cheapest possible infrastructure, which is bicycle infrastructure. They made it safe, easy, widespread, and slowly people really started using that mode of transportation as the easiest and fastest way to work, which was accelerated even further in the mid 2000s after a political shift at the mayoral level towards greener politics. Today 62% of Copenhageners use the bicycle every day to go to work and school, an unprecedented number.”
AND
“the City of Portland calculated that the city’s entire bicycle network, consisting of over 300 miles of bikeways would cost $60 million to replace (2008 dollars),whereasthesameinvestmentwouldyieldjustonemileofafour-laneurbanfreeway.” FROM: https://activelivingresearch.org/sites/activelivingresearch.org/files/Dill_Bicycle_Facility_Cost_June2013.pdf
Green Newton’s Emissions Inventory Report shows that Newton isn’t on track to achieve even it’s Very Modest targets to reduce greenhouse gases. You can read it here:
[Report Shows Stronger Effort is Needed to Achieve Newton’s Climate Action Plan]
Despite there being a climate emergency, I’m still not seeing much emphasis on reducing VMT in Newton, which is mostly dependent on things that the City of Newton controls such as bike lanes and sidewalks to destinations. Traffic (whether it comes from EVs or gas-powered ones) is a safety and quality of life issue that can only be solved by making it safer and easier to take transit, walk or bike and NOT drive to destinations for those who can do it. The heat-island effect won’t go away if we still have so much asphalt dedicated to cars. Traffic in Newton seems to be worse than ever, for greater parts of the day, despite so many people still working from home.