About ARRPAC

ARRPAC is a citizens' advisory committee sponsored by the MBTA, to provide community input into the design of new Green Line service in Jamaica Plain. Formally called the "Arborway Rail Restoration Project Advisory Committee", ARRPAC consists of about 40 people, and meets about once a month (frequency varies depending on the stage of the project). ARRPAC meetings are open to the public, and we welcome your presence and participation.

Regular ARRPAC meetings

ARRPAC meetings are usually held on selected Wednesday evenings, from 7 to 9 pm, at either the State Labs (South St near Forest Hills) or Agassiz School (Child St). Dates and locations are selected a few weeks in advance, and will be posted on this website. The public is welcome to attend, however public comment is limited to the first 10 minutes. This is because the ARRPAC meetings are primarily intended for letting the committee members hash out complex issues in an efficient manner, and ARRPAC must keep focus to be effective. Therefore, if you have comments, please come prepared at 7 pm sharp.

While the meetings are relatively formal and structured, please feel free to contact ARRPAC members outside the meetings. It is usually possible to talk with many of us before and after the regular meetings, and we will attempt to represent your concerns during ARRPAC's discussions. In addition, many of us can be contacted between meetings, either in person or via e-mail.

ARRPAC / MBTA community feedback meetings

ARRPAC and the MBTA will periodically hold special meetings with the express purpose of soliciting community feedback. These meetings will probably be held every few months, or at critical junctures in the process. ARRPAC will present a summary of its discussions and recommendations, and seek feedback. What we hear will be taken seriously into account, and these hearings will provide an opportunity for plans to be amended before they become definite. If you have comments or suggestions, please attend these meetings.

Origins of ARRPAC

The MBTA announced the creation of ARRPAC in the summer of 2002, and invited members of the public to apply for positions on the committee. The MBTA received an overwhelming response, and selected a few dozen people to provide a wide range of community perspectives. In addition, several members of ARRPAC were nominated by politicians representing the Arborway district in the Boston city council and the Massachusetts state legislature. ARRPAC also includes a number of technical experts on streetcar operations and traffic issues, and representatives from each of the emergency service agencies.

The primary function of ARRPAC is to provide a working space for finding viable plans that integrate community preferences and engineering realities. With a wide range of perspectives present -- business owners, residents who rely on public transit, bicyclists, Green Line managers, firemen and policemen, city traffic engineers, etc -- it is possible to have a productive conversation about the difficult questions involved in the design of a new streetcar line.

Scope of ARRPAC's mandate

The purpose of ARRPAC is to advise the MBTA on questions regarding the restoration of the Arborway line. This mandate includes matters such as the location and design of new stations, the frequency of service, integration with existing traffic patterns, ensuring adequate parking, mitigating community impact during construction, publicity regarding the new service, etc.

The mandate for ARRPAC specifically does not include questions regarding the virtue of Green Line service on this route, or the decision to restore service (made in 2001 by the state Department of Environmental Protection). While we are aware that there is significant community concern over bringing streetcars back to Jamaica Plain, and some people are strongly opposed to the restoration of service, these matters are decided in higher places. Therefore, we will not discuss this question within ARRPAC. The appropriate venue for this matter is with the MBTA and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

If you are opposed to streetcar service, however, we are very interested in hearing your concerns. If the service is restored (as it very probably will be), ARRPAC is the appropriate forum for mitigating the negative effects of streetcar operation. If you tell us your concerns, we can try to help find ways of minimizing the problems.

List of ARRPAC members

ARRPAC is composed of the following people:

David Baron

Neil Blackington

Mira Brown

Peter Calcaterra

Karen Caplan Doherty

Terry Carney

Arva Clark

Thomas Davis

Kosta Demos

Nancy Doherty

Catherine DuBeau

Rosalyn Elder

David Fargen

Jeffrey Ferris

Elizabeth Fixler

Vineet Gupta

Richard Krasner

John Kyper

John Maxfield

Marta Mejia

Theresa Miele

Kevin Mochen

Kevin Moloney

Srdjan Nedeljkovic

Peter Nersesian

Thomas O'Malley

Jeff Parker

Michael Reiskind

Adrien Saks

Franklyn Salimbene

Andrew Schell

Joy Silverstein

Merlin Southwick

Sean Sullivan

Larry Van Zandt

Karen Wepsic

George Zoullalian

Sal Zirilli