Environmentalists upset at earmark to fund Salem garage

State legislators are quietly advancing a plan to build a parking garage in Salem that would deplete most of a $20 million state fund that was intended to encourage housing and walking paths near T stations.

State environmental and transit advocates are livid that Representative John D. Keenan of Salem, with the help of Representative Charles A. Murphy of Burlington, used a behind-the-scenes maneuver to divert $15 million from the fund toward the proposed garage.

"Projects from all across the state compete for relatively scarce resources," said Carrie Russell, a lawyer for the Conservation Law Foundation. "For a $20 million program, [pulling out] $15 million to go to a parking garage undermines the entire thing."

Murphy, a Democrat who inserted the earmark at Keenan's behest, said the 1,000-space garage has been in the works for a decade and is needed. The garage would be shared by MBTA commuters in Salem who use the Rockport/Newburyport train line and users of a planned district courthouse in the area.

Murphy, who is vice chairman of the Legislature's bonding committee, inserted the amendment during the committee's consideration of the bill, which could come to the House for a vote this week.

"It's a legitimate project," Murphy said. "It's not like we're hiring someone's uncle to do something. I'm not going to apologize for getting something done here."

But the single-project earmark probably flies in the face of the fund's original intent.

The "transit-oriented development" fund, put in place in 2004 when lawmakers set aside an initial $30 million, has been used in the past to encourage people to live near public transit and to make it easier to get around without cars. Governor Deval Patrick has spoken often about his desire to encourage more people to live near public transit stations to encourage economic development around the stations.

The Salem garage, under the amendment inserted by Murphy, would circumvent a competitive review process used to award money from the fund. Normally, individual projects are capped at $2 million each, said Todd Fontanella, manager of alternative transportation for the state's Executive Office of Transportation. Garages are allowed under current rules if they are connected to a project that mixes housing and commercial uses, he said.

Russell said keeping the process competitive has encouraged city and town planners to think creatively about how to develop housing around transportation.

Since the fund was set up in 2004, it has awarded $13 million to about two dozen projects located within a quarter-mile of a subway, commuter rail, bus, or ferry station. Projects included designs for improved bicycle and pedestrian access in Chinatown, Framingham, Holyoke, and Worcester. The program spent $1 million to improve walking and biking around Harvard Square and put $2 million toward a Dorchester housing development called Dudley Village.

The money is supposed to be used for "getting people out of their cars," said Andre Leroux, executive director of the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance, a coalition of seven statewide advocacy groups. "So ideally, we won't be spending all of our money on one project that houses cars."

The $20 million program is a relatively small item in a $2.9 billion transportation borrowing bill now making its way through the Legislature. The size of the bill allows for many lawmakers to tuck in hometown projects. The Salem garage, which is estimated to cost a total of $34 million, was added only in recent days. It was not included when Patrick's office submitted the bill late last year, and it was not included when the bill passed the Joint Committee on Transportation this year.

Keenan, also a Democrat, did not return a message left with an aide.

"This is an effort to help out a part of the state that needs parking," Murphy said. "We have a bond bill that comes through, and we do what we can to assist."

Murphy said he was not familiar with the parameters of the fund where the garage money came from.

The MBTA has a 340-space parking lot near the Salem Commuter Rail station. MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera said the lot is usually full.

The bond bill is expected to go before the House Ways and Means Committee and the full House this week, but could be amended.

Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.