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APTA Honors Seven Members for Sustainability Commitment

APTA recognized seven members that have achieved higher recognition in its Sustainability Commitment at an Aug. 4 event during the Sustainability and Public Transportation Workshop in Boston, bringing the total of members that have achieved bronze, silver, gold, and platinum recognition to 24.

“This is an impressive cross-section of our membership—large, medium, small, new, and legacy systems alike,” said APTA Chair Peter Varga, chief executive officer, The Rapid, Grand Rapids, MI. “We look forward to many more of you excelling in your sustainability efforts in the future,” Varga said in remarks during the workshop event.

Four APTA members achieved the Gold level: the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, Urbana, IL; workshop host Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA); Metro Transit, Minneapolis; and Société de transport de Montréal, which hosted the 2014 APTA Rail Conference and was also recognized at that time.

Lane Transit District, Eugene, OR, achieved the Silver level. Bronze level recipients were Metrolinx (GO Transit), Toronto, the first solely commuter rail recipient, and Stacy and Witbeck at its Portland, OR, offices, the first construction firm member to receive recognition.

Also at the luncheon session, FTA Deputy Administrator Therese McMillan spoke about the interconnection of economic, environmental, and social sustainability. She pointed to the importance of public transit in taking people to work, the link between high-quality transportation and healthcare, the role of public transit in creating and maintaining affordable housing, and the way public transportation investments can help build neighborhoods.

Regarding Congress’ passage of Highway Trust Fund legislation that also extends surface transportation authorization through May 31, 2015, she said: “You’ve spent decades convincing local leaders to take sustainability into account. To do that, we need to be able to plan for decades, not six months at a time.”

The chair and vice chair of APTA’s Sustainability Committee, Susannah Kerr Adler, executive vice president-marketing and business development, SYSTRA Engineering Inc., New York, and J. Barry Barker, executive director, Transit Authority of River City, Louisville, KY, joined Varga in making the presentations.

Other workshop highlights included a Host Forum addressing the green design and transit-oriented development elements of MBTA’s Green Line Extension; a plenary session on programs, policy, and innovations for sustainable communities; seminars on integrating sustainability into an organization; a session examining international perspectives on sustainability; and peer exchanges describing how public transit agencies are working with planners, architects, and developers.

APTA Chair Peter Varga, chief executive officer, The Rapid, Grand Rapids, MI, second from left; TARC Executive Director Barry Barker, vice chair, Sustainability Committee, far left; FTA Deputy Administrator Therese McMillan, third from left; and SYSTRA Engineering Inc. Executive Vice President Susannah Kerr Adler, chair, Sustainability Committee, far right, congratulate APTA members who received higher recognition in the association’s Sustainability Commitment. Among those recognized were, at center, Karl Gnadt, managing director, Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, and Beverly Scott, general manager/chief executive officer, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Photo by Susana Hey, courtesy of MBTA

Participants gather to visit Hingham Shipyard, one of several Sustainability in Action tours conducted by host agency MBTA during APTA’s recent Sustainability and Public Transportation Workshop. Hingham, MBTA’s most frequently used terminal in its ferry system, has been transformed from a former shipbuilding facility to a mixed-use community. MBTA is constructing a new ferry terminal building, which includes many sustainable design elements. Photo courtesy of Peter Varga

 

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