Collaborative transportation program wins LOHSC award

A project that seeks to meet transportation needs of several suburban towns and businesses along Route 2 on June 6 received the Peter Kirwin Distinguished Service Award from the Local Officials Human Services Council.

The project, known as CrossTown Connect, focuses on filling gaps in area transportation options, such as getting commuter-rail passengers to their jobs at local employers and enhancing service for the elderly and others with special needs.

The program grew out of a grant that the Acton Health Department received in 2009 from Community Health Network Area 15, which covers about a dozen suburban communities northwest of Boston. The grant funded a survey about the kind of transportation-related projects Acton residents wanted to pursue, according to Acton Health Director Doug Halley.

The grant, though modest, helped the towns lease two vans, one of which was used to enable people living in or near Boston to reach jobs in Acton and other nearby towns without using a car. The van picks up people at the Acton commuter rail station and delivers them to selected area employers, including companies housed in the Maynard Clock Tower office park.

The second van is used for a dial-a-ride service that helps seniors get to doctor’s appointments, for example.

In 2012, Acton and four other towns received a Community Innovation Challenge grant of $185,000 that was used to create a joint dispatch service that operates eight hours a day. Previously, each town had dispatch service just two hours per day.

In the following two years, the five communities received roughly $100,000 in additional innovation grants.

Local officials have been seeking to get more businesses involved in the transportation initiative, according to Halley. A presentation is scheduled for June 24 at Juniper Networks in Littleton.

Merchants in Kelly’s Corner, a commercial district bordered by Route 2 and Acton’s Main Street, could also benefit from shuttle services, not only for employees but customers as well, according to Halley.

The program also seeks to provide transportation for underserved groups in the region. Asians, primarily Chinese, account for about 18 percent of Acton’s population, according to Halley. The town currently provides once-a-week shuttle van service from senior housing and other locations to a Chinese grocery store in Littleton and a Market Basket supermarket in Westford.

Halley said the success of the shuttle van service could be replicated for other under-served groups in the region.

The late Peter Kirwin, for whom the LOHSC award is named, was the human services director in Falmouth and a LOHSC founding member.