Published in the November 27, 2020 edition.

WAKEFIELD —Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts to slow the spread, the MBTA has seen a precipitous drop in ridership. According to the MBTA, in 2019 riders took 1.26 million daily trips. In October 2020, riders are taking around 330,000 daily trips — or 26% of daily ridership compared to 2019. As a result, the MBTA is proposing significant cuts in service, some of which would directly impact Wakefield residents, including the elimination of the 136 bus route, elimination of all weekend commuter rail service and elimination of remaining commuter rail service after 9 p.m.

The MBTA is accepting public comment on the proposed service cuts until Dec. 5. Residents may comment on the MBTA’s website at mbta.com, under the heading, “Forging ahead.”

The town of Wakefield has taken a firm stand against the proposed cuts in MBTA service that will impact Wakefield and has made its opposition known in the form of letters to MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak. Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio wrote wrote a strongly-worded letter opposing the cuts and the town’s state legislative delegation of Sen. Jason Lewis, Rep. Donald Wong and Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian have written a joint letter to the MBTA on behalf of the town.

“I write to express Wakefield’s strong opposition to the proposed cutbacks to MBTA service,” Maio wrote in his letter dated Nov 17, 2020.

“The impact on our commuters, neighborhoods, small businesses will be considerable and will slow an economic recovery should a vaccine become available in the next several months. Furthermore, the elimination of Bus Route 136 completely disenfranchises an entire section of Wakefield from public transportation. In fact, recently a low-income housing development was built to specifically take advantage of Bus Route 136. It is appalling that these citizens, who continue to service the public as “essential workers,” will be rewarded with the elimination of critical public transportation should the proposed cuts in service be enacted. The argument that there is still “reduced” service available on Bus Route 137 is disingenuous as the nearest stop on route 137 is two-plus miles away. I can’t stress enough that the removal of the 136 line is going to be devastating to our lower income residents, workers, elderly, students and anyone else who depends on bus transportation in the North Ward of Wakefield. While I appreciate the need to bridge the budget gap, I question why a reduction in frequency of trips on route 136 is not first considered? A complete elimination is too draconian.

“The Town of Wakefield has completed an enormous amount of planning work and zoning reform to encourage transit-oriented development,” Maio continued. “As a community, we have adopted zoning changes to take advantage of Smart Growth. We have taken to heart the governor’s plea to build more market rate and affordable housing. We have hundreds of units currently under construction within walking distance to the commuter rail and bus routes. The elimination of evening and weekend service will only lead to additional car trips as a recovery takes hold, creating additional challenges to meeting our goals of becoming Net Zero by 2050. Or citizens will eschew the extra car trips resulting in less leisure visits to Boston, a fact which will only harm that business community. For the working class, the lack of night and weekend service, will severely restrict the ability to arrive at work and/or return home, as many lack sufficient resources to utilize private transportation. Thus, these proposed cuts are bad housing policy, bad economic policy, bad social policy, and bad environmental policy.

“Based on public feedback received during our annual Wakefield 101 events, (a program designed to connect new residents with Wakefield town departments and civic groups) public transit access is one of the main reasons people move to Wakefield,” Maio noted. “Our housing production goals are primarily focused around transit. These cuts will be a tremendous blow to our efforts and to the Commonwealth’s objectives and represent a huge step backwards. While I recognize the MBTA faces a significant fiscal challenge, these “temporary” measures create unacceptable obstacles to the economic and environmental future of our Town and the entire region.

“I am also curious if with reduced service we will see a reduction in the MBTA assessment?” Maio asked.

“I strongly urge you to reconsider these cuts and continue to work with our state and federal delegation to find the resources to support these critical transportation services,” Maio concluded.

The legislative delegation of Sen. Lewis and Reps. Wong and Lipper-Garabedian have also voiced their strong opposition to the cuts in a letter to the MBTA .

“We write today to express our deep concern and strong opposition to proposed service reductions and other cuts in the MBTA’s Forging Ahead plan, including those directly affecting the Town of Wakefield,” the legislators wrote. “As drafted, the proposal will cut in half the available bus service in Wakefield, and the reduction of commuter rail service will significantly challenge the Town’s long-standing economic development and housing production efforts. While we understand the global pandemic has caused a significant decline in public transit ridership and reduced fare revenue for the MBTA, we firmly believe these proposed cuts go way too far, are premature, and will inflict major harm on Wakefield. We call on you to immediately shelve this plan or, at the very least, to significantly scale back these cuts.

“Reliable, accessible and affordable public transportation is critical to our residents, businesses and local economic development,” the delegation’s letter continued. “We are particularly concerned about the disproportionate impact that these cuts will have on lower-income residents, persons with disabilities, and small businesses.

“Despite the pandemic, many of our constituents still rely on public transportation to get to their jobs, school, medical appointments and elsewhere,” the town’s representatives on Beacon Hill added. “Furthermore, we expect the economy to continue rebounding next year — particularly once a vaccine becomes available — and public transit ridership will start growing again just as these harmful cuts are implemented.

“Access to public transportation is also critical to our local and regional economic development strategies, including downtown revitalization efforts and the production of badly needed affordable housing. Wakefield has pursued zoning reforms and transit-oriented development, which has been strongly encouraged by the Baker administration, and these efforts will be severely impacted if the MBTA proceeds with these cuts.

“Furthermore, use of public transportation is critical to our state’s strategy to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions, improve air quality and public health and reduce health disparities that disproportionately impact communities of color. Additional cars on the road will return us to the days of grinding road congestion in the greater Boston region.

“In Wakefield, the commuter rail and bus routes are an essential part of the town’s downtown redevelopment plan. Wakefield has worked for years on the Envision Wakefield initiative, which aims to make the downtown accessible to pedestrians, cyclists and mass transit riders. Wakefield also has worked hard to introduce more transit-oriented development and to make the commuter rail a more integral part of the community. Hundreds of units are currently under construction within walking distance from commuter rail and bus stops. The commuter rail service reductions and the elimination of bus route 136 will harm both Wakefield’s economy and the MBTA’s customer base. Any suggestion that bus route 137 can fill the gap created by the loss of bus route 136 is frankly not realistic; large portions of the different lines’ route stops are miles away from each other. The added time and hassle this will create for public transit-dependent riders, who are often the most economically vulnerable, is enormous.

“Large portions of Wakefield’s population commute to Boston using the commuter rail on a regular basis. While many of those jobs are currently remote, the proposed reductions in the commuter rail schedule will kick in right when folks are starting to go back to work in Boston. Many commuters in this area have vehicles, but if they dispense with public transit and drive to work, we will be back to the headache of endless traffic and gridlock. If residents attempt to continue using public transit, and decide that taking the bus to Oak Grove in order to get to Boston works best for their schedule, that will be significantly harder if the 136 is gone. Again, the elimination of that bus route cuts in half available bus service in Wakefield. The result will be a long-term loss of future customers and revenue for the MBTA.

“As you consider your proposed service cuts and capital project delays, we question whether these actions now are well-timed. The state budget process for FY21 is currently underway; the FY22 budget process will kick off shortly; and there is a strong likelihood that with a new Biden administration there may be additional federal relief funds for public transit agencies. To take drastic action now poorly serves our public and our communities who are working hard to rebuild and recover from the pandemic.

“Reducing service levels, closing stations, and shelving critical capital projects will have lasting negative impacts for public transit ridership, local economic development, housing production and our efforts to fight climate change and improve public health.

“We reiterate again our strong conviction that the MBTA not move forward with this current plan,” the legislative delegation’s letter concludes.