News from the Offices of State Representative Aaron Michlewitz and State Senator Anthony Petruccelli:
Representative Michlewitz & Senator Petruccelli lead the way in
clearing Boston streets of Hazmat vehicles
Boston Delegation unanimous in support of Hazmat ban
State Representative Aaron Michlewitz and State Senator Anthony Petruccelli have taken the lead in advocating that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation uphold the City of Boston’s proposal that vehicles carrying hazardous materials through city streets are potentially dangerous and should be banned.
Joining with Mayor Menino, Senator John Kerry, and Congressman Michael Capuano, every member of the Boston Delegation in the Legislature signed on to a letter urging MassDOT to uphold the findings of the city’s study to ban hazmat vehicles from city streets.
“The Boston Delegation is one of the most diverse groups of legislators in the state. When they speak with one voice it sends a powerful message,” said Representative Michlewitz. “Public safety is of crucial importance and the city’s hazmat study clearly shows it is highly dangerous for these vehicles to be traveling on narrow city streets.”
The proposed ban was the result of a study that the Federal Motor Carriers Administration required the city to conduct in order to properly regulate hazmat traffic. In 2006, the City reverted the route back to Cross Street and added restrictions to the hours that trucks carrying hazardous cargo could travel on this route. Upon concerns expressed by the trucking industry, the Federal Motor Carriers Administration requested that the City of Boston perform an extensive review of hazardous cargo transport in accordance with a process laid out by the federal government.
The study was released in May and was sent to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. MassDOT will make a final determination on whether or not to accept the City’s study findings and where to reroute the trucking routes.
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