Connect Arlington Gets Select Board Blessing

ARLINGTON, MA — The Select Board unanimously endorsed Connect Arlington, the town's long-range sustainable transportation plan, at its July 19 meeting. The plan is a 20-year strategy to provide a safe, reliable, multimodal network, building upon the Master Plan and its recommendations.

Connect Arlington is split into four distinct parts: Executive Summary, Strategies and Implementation, Factbook and Public Engagement Summary.

The plan includes a brief overview of the purpose of the plan, the process for developing it, and the strategies for implementation. There are eight strategic goal areas covering safety, mobility, walking, biking, public transit, sustainability, infrastructure and policies, and responsiveness and transparency. An implementation table recommends timeframes, responsible parties, and estimated costs for each strategy.

The transportation Factbook utilizes maps and graphics to provide a description of the existing transportation network in Arlington in the context of demographics, zoning and topography of the town. This section describes the facilities and services for various transportation modes, analyzes travel patterns and reviews existing transportation safety issues.

Connect Arlington was funded by $60,000 from the town and $20,000 from the Arlington Community Development Block Grant Program. Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates was selected to assist in the development of the plan following a proposal process in the fall of 2019.

The planning process began in January 2020 and included public engagement over the course of 2020 and early 2021. This included online surveys, public forums, focus groups, an interactive map and presentations to town committees. The final plan describes these efforts and provides visuals of the various survey results.

Plan progress was guided by the Sustainable Transportation Plan Advisory Committee, which consisted of residents, business owners and town staff. Implementation of the strategies outlined in the plan is underway and includes collaborations with the MBTA, Arlington schools and other regional advocates. To view the final plan, visit the Department of Planning and Community Development Transportation Planning web page.

For more information on Connect Arlington, contact Daniel Amstutz, Senior Transportation Planner in Arlington's Department of Planning & Community Development, at 781-316-3093 or [email protected].