Boston's five-year $1.8 billion capital plan is an investment program for the City's future. The program name, Together We Can, reinforces the idea that cities are neighborhoods, and the capital plan is a strategic tool shaped by many hands and designed to enhance the livability of a City that draws strength from its neighborhoods.
The City's Capital Plan is managed by the Office of Budget Management. OBM coordinates the evaluation of capital requests and recommends the allocation of current and future capital resources.
The FY14-18 Capital Plan is broken down along the program areas below.
72% of the FY14-18 capital plan is financed with bonds issued by the City. Roughly 1/4 of the capital plan is funded through state and federal grant programs. Construction costs for most of the major road or bridge projects in the plan rely heavily on state and federal funds. 6% of the plan is funded by other sources, including City surplus property funds, street cut fees and private grants.
Like many municipalities, Boston plans its capital investments using a five-year plan. Not only does a five-year plan accommodate multi-year projects more readily than an annual budget, it also provides a snapshot of how the City will be investing in its infrastructure in the near future. Some projects, like street reconstruction, are done on a yearly basis, but other projects, such as the reconstruction of the traffic flow, pedestrian access and parking issues are done over multiple years. The entire Capital Plan is revisited each year, so FY18 will look very different four years from now than it does today as the final year in the current plan, but by plotting out projects we can better plan for the future of the City's infrastructure.
The charts below illustrate the actual process for the study, design and build-out of the East Boston Branch Library and a typical School Yard renovation project which has been completed at over 80 BPS schools.
The Capital Plan and Transforming Neighborhoods:
In addition to the practical aspects of planning out a multi-year capital plan, the five-year plan also allows the City to look at the bigger picture and how one project can lead to a total transformation of a city street, a block or an entire neighborhood. For example, when the decision was made to invest $119 million in a new Dudley Municipal Center, we knew that more needed to be done to change the face of Dudley Square. The capital plan also called for a new piece of art to be commissioned outside of that building; a new entryway to be installed at the Library to make it more inviting and obvious; a redesign of the surrounding streets to improve traffic flow for cars, pedestrians and cyclists; and the demolition of the old B-2 police station to make way for other development. Each of those projects by themselves would be a nice improvement, but together they can transform Dudley Square for the people who live, work and shop there.
The projects listed below have scheduled completion dates for the years ahead.
