Bill > S1669

This bill directs the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), a public agency responsible for most public transportation in the Boston metropolitan area, to install sound barriers in Quincy and Braintree. Specifically, the MBTA must conduct a sound study along the Red Line train extension from the Neponset River Bridge to the Braintree Red Line Train Station. This study will measure the background noise level, defined as the A-weighted sound pressure level exceeded ninety percent of the time during operating hours over at least twenty-four hours, and then subtract the noise from existing MBTA trains. If this study reveals that Red Line trains generate noise exceeding the ambient level by ten or more decibels in residential areas, the MBTA is ordered to install sound barriers to reduce this noise pollution. The design of these barriers must be approved by an acoustical engineer hired by the MBTA, and then by the MBTA itself and local Boards of Health Departments after a public hearing.