Nicholas Russo is a senior transportation planner at the BRPC.
“We don't have any kind of county government specifically in Berkshire County," Russo explained to WAMC. "So we're kind of a hybrid sort of organization where we're mostly publicly funded, either from contribution from towns or from, like, state highway funding helps to support our staff, at least in the transportation department, but we have public health, we have community planning, we have economic development, we have a lot of different services at BRPC that we can assist towns with who might not have that sort of technical knowledge or the staffing levels to do some sorts of studies.”
The commission plays a significant role in how grant money is dispersed, especially for the crucial issue of transportation.
“We are the kind of the go-between between the towns and the state and federal government in terms of prioritizing our needs here, and also keeping us up to date and certified to receive federal funding and state funding for transportation projects,” said Russo.
Every four years, the BRPC reevaluates how to allocate funding for transportation projects over the next five to 20 years.
“So, we're starting now to look at where we're at right now, our current conditions, we're going to get lots of data about, you know, our roads, bridges, bus routes, bike paths, anything to do with transportation, and sort of digest that and report out on what we have," said Russo. "And then we also want to reach out to the public and learn from them.”
Public input will be worked into the eventual transportation report the commission will release on funding priorities next fall.
“In the most general sense, the two pools we can pull from are highway and transit," said Russo. "But we can break those down into any number of different things- Say, new buses, new bus stops, increased service frequency or destinations, which we would work with our partners at [Berkshire Regional Transit Authority] with. And then from the highway side, we can look at anything from replacing old bridges, reconditioning highways, either on state jurisdiction Route 7 or Route 8 or helping support towns with more resources to repair their local roads, where do we want new bike paths to be, where do you want to extend, say, the Ashuwillticook or other towns in Berkshire County? Do they want to see more bike infrastructure, bike share programs? Things like that.”
The shifting demographics of the region over the coming years will also play a role in planning.
“We see from the census we've been declining a bit in population in Berkshire County in general," said Russo. "But we also have seen some towns growing, some towns shrinking. So, we can look and see, oh, do we need to focus resources for, say, a new housing development? Is there going to be an increase in traffic, or if there's going to be a decrease in traffic somewhere, how can we how can we adjust to that shrinkage or reduction, even, because I think that's an important thing to look at too, is both smart growth and even smart reductions in some cases if it's going to be shown the population will be changing or declining.”
To assemble this funding shopping list, Russo says the commission needs a chorus of voices from the public.
“If you travel around Berkshire County, then we'd love to hear from you," said the planner. "So even if you just walk around the corner every day or drive across the county to go to work, whatever your situation is, if you travel in Berkshire County, then you have some valuable information that we'd love to hear from you about.”
Residents will have their first opportunity to talk transportation with the BRPC Wednesday at 5:30 at the Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield, followed by a session in North Adams city council chambers on November 10th and at the Great Barrington firehouse on November 16th.
