Smart Transportation Week, June 25-July 1

Cape Cod Commission Senior Transportation Engineer Lev Malakoff (right) presents the MassRide Eco Awards 2017 Leadership Award to Board of Regional Commissioners Chair Leo Cakounes (center) and Commissioner Ron Beaty.

Alternative transportation modes are the focus for Smart Transportation week, an effort by the Cape Cod Commission, Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority and regional transportation partners.

The Board of Regional Commissioners proclaimed June 25 to July 1 as Smart Transportation Week in Barnstable County, unanimously supported the annual designation at its May 31 meeting.

Throughout the week, activities promoting alternative transportation that reduce single-occupant vehicles traffic impacts are scheduled across the Cape.

From world-class bike trails to the Steamship Authority and Hy-Line ferry services, Cape Cod has transportation choices move people out of cars to the places they need to go.

Smart Transportation Week supports ongoing work by the CCC and the CCRTA to plan for and assist in implementing improvements to the region’s transportation infrastructure and services. It is scheduled to raise awareness just as the Cape’s millions of visitors arrive and may be seeking alternative modes of travel.

The promotion of these transportation options is not limited to the various events during Smart Transportation Week, but are integrated in the development of all major transportation documents for Cape Cod and in the review of projects that come before the Cape Cod Commission.

As stated in the 2016 Regional Transportation Plan, “As a region, Cape Cod we face a number of challenges that will have to be addressed over the coming decades. The region faces limited vacant land, a lack of housing affordability, potential loss of habitat as a result of development pressure, impaired watershed from excess nitrogen loading, tourism dependence with a lack of year-round jobs paying a living wage, automobile dependence, and increased risks of flooding. In different ways, smart transportation investment decisions can help to address these challenges facing the region.”

The Board of Regional Commissioners were also presented a copy of the MassRide Eco Awards 2017 Leadership Award, given to the Cape Cod Commission and Barnstable County as part of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

It is the eighth straight year the Commission and County were selected for the award, and ninth overall.

A full schedule of events will be posted to the Cape Cod Commission website when available, www.capecodcommission.org/smart.