Bill would curb obstructions for bus riders

Anyone who rides MBTA buses knows how tough it is when you're dropped off 6 feet away from the curb and forced to dodge traffic to get to a sidewalk.

Add a baby stroller, a wheelchair, or sight impairment and it gets trickier, if not impossible - "especially if it's snowing and sleeting and there's already 2 inches of ice on the ground," said Don Summerfield, a disability advocate from Cambridge who uses a cane.

The culprits are often drivers of private cars who can't find a parking space and then decide a bus stop will do. Maybe they just need a tube of toothpaste from the drugstore and figure no one will mind if they stay three or four minutes.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and advocates such as Summerfield hope a bill now on the governor's desk will discourage that practice. The bill, approved by the Legislature last week, would raise tickets to $100 for parking at bus stops. Governor Deval Patrick's spokesman said his staff is still researching the measure to decide whether he will sign it.

Under current policy, each city sets its own fine. Boston's is $55.

"We write people tickets, but it doesn't seem to get their attention at $55, or whatever it might be in their community," said Daniel A. Grabauskas, MBTA general manager.

He said he hopes a higher fine - coupled with enforcement by Transit Police and local forces - will help drivers remember. "We wanted to make sure people knew it was a serious matter, that was impacting the safety of all passengers," he said.

The inability to get to the curb is a top complaint of both passengers and bus drivers, Grabauskas said. The T has been training drivers to do a better job in that effort as part of the $310 million class-action settlement with disabled passengers in 2006, he said.

Still, members of the T Riders Union have continued to complain publicly about obstacles for disabled riders, including rude behavior from drivers and long distances to the curb. A spokesman for the riders' union could not be reached Friday.

Summerfield said he is hoping that if the law passes, the T and others will work to get the word out. "If a motorist understands there's a new law with a very, very steep fine, they're going to think twice," he said.

Bernard Cohen officially stepped down as state secretary of transportation on Friday after submitting his resignation last month. But his replacement, James A. Aloisi Jr., will not start for a few weeks.

Does this mean anarchy at the executive office of transportation at a crucial time?

The governor and the Legislature have both promised that fixing the T, the Massachusetts Turnpike, and the rest of the state's transportation system is at the top of Beacon Hill's agenda when the House and Senate return to formal session later this month. The secretary of transportation is supposed to be the point person in that debate. He will also be a key player in state efforts to lure some of the billions of dollars President-elect Barack Obama has promised to dole out to jump-start the economy.

Klark Jessen, the transportation spokesman, promised in an e-mail that the transition period would not delay Patrick's promise to submit a specific plan to fix the ailing transportation system sometime this month. Meanwhile, undersecretary Jeffrey Mullan will continue to handle day-to-day operations in the transportation office, according to another spokeswoman.

Cohen has said he would probably stick around to handle some special projects for Patrick. Jessen said "details are still being worked out" on that front.

Even many casual commuters are now interested in the debate over the state's transportation finances - thanks to a whopping toll increase proposal that is getting ever closer to reality.

The turnpike authority is scheduled to take a final vote this month on changes that would double cash tolls to $7 at the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels and raise them from $1.25 to $2 at the Allston-Brighton and Weston booths.

Representative David P. Linsky, a Natick Democrat who leads a caucus of legislators from the western suburbs, is one of many lawmakers trying to find a way out of it before April, when the new rates would take effect.

Linsky hopes some recent good news for the authority could at least buy the state a few more months before the increase is imposed. The authority recently settled one of its bad investment deals from earlier this decade that had been threatening to cost it tens of millions of dollars. Last month, the state reached another Big Dig-related legal settlement, netting $16 million from a contractor. And before that, turnpike authority director Alan LeBovidge boasted that job cuts and other savings have saved more than $30 million in the authority's budget.

Linsky said the authority should have enough wiggle room to meet its immediate needs and put off some of its major repair projects with the promise that the Legislature would find another solution soon. In the meantime, he suggested that the Legislature could vote to let the authority use the Big Dig settlement money to plug its budget deficit.

"Forcing toll payers into a 100 percent toll hike in the midst of a recession is bad economic policy when there are other alternatives going forward," said Linsky, part of a group that advocates raising the gas tax instead.

LeBovidge has said he needs the money, one way or another, to keep the road in good condition. His spokesman, Mac Daniel, said last week that the recent news - the settlement of the old investment deal and the newly announced budget savings - do not affect that need. He said the budget already accounted for the lower costs and the authority would not get any new money from the investment settlement.

The next few weeks could offer some twists in the toll debate. Aloisi, who will also lead the turnpike authority board when he takes over as transportation secretary, has said he would give the toll increase proposals a fresh look before passing judgment, even though Patrick has said they are unavoidable. That sets up some room for negotiation between the Legislature and the Patrick administration as they figure out how to pay off the state's transportation debts in the coming weeks.

The turnpike authority is trying what it calls an experiment this month, in an attempt to reduce some of the 3-mile traffic backups near the Weston interchange during the morning commute.

From Jan. 12 through Jan. 23, eastbound passenger cars will not be allowed to use exit 16 in West Newton, between 6 and 9 a.m. Daniel said engineers believe free access to the turnpike at that entrance is tying up traffic.

About 950 cars an hour enter the road there on a typical morning, Daniel said. All of them, except emergency vehicles and buses, will be directed to enter at interchange 17 in Newton Corner, or interchange 15 in Weston. Police officers stationed at the ramp will enforce the temporary rule.

Daniel said engineers will measure the impact on traffic and share the information publicly before deciding whether to make the change permanent. The ramp will be open to regular traffic on the weekend, as well as on Jan. 19, the federal holiday designated to honor Martin Luther King Jr.

Please send complaints, comments, or story ideas to starts@globe.com The column and a listing of major road closures and other transportation advisories can be found at www.boston.com/starts.