Engineering and Safety Inspection and Complaint Records for Newtonville Commuter Rail Station (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA))

Dear Robert Bono,
Your request has been received and is being processed.  Your request was received in this office on October 28, 2019 and given the reference number R000645-102819 for tracking purposes. To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

1) A full record of all safety and engineering inspections, scheduled and unscheduled, that took place at the Newtonville MBTA station between 1 January 2009 and the date that this request was processed, including the following data points:

1A) The name of the inspector(s), OR a unique identifier, such as an employee ID, that can be used to establish common patterns of behavior between inspections,
1B) All details, recommendations and warnings related to the stairways at both the EAST and WEST entrances of the Newtonville MBTA station, including whether they were inspected visually or by instrumentation, as well as the maintenance and repair of the concrete platforms and wooden slat fences separating the platform from I-90.
1C) Any relevant safety or engineering baselines concerning the safe use, maintenance and repair of the EAST and WEST stairways or their component materials, such as an acceptable degree of "lean" or "tilt" (ex, a 5 degree limit), a maximum weight rating, maximum capacity, conditions in which the stairs would be considered unsafe to use (e.g, snow, ice, etc)
1D) Detailed specifications on the types and quality of materials used in the construction, reconstruction and repair of the EAST and WEST stairway platforms of the Newtonville station, including the type of wood, whether it is pressure-treated, sealed, the type and rating of steel used for the lifts, etc.

2) All complaints, both internal and those received from the public, regarding maintenance and upkeep of the Newtonville MBTA station. Names or personally identifiable information of complainants should be redacted.

3) Any internal "whistleblower" reports mentioning the Newtonville MBTA Commuter Rail station

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Robert Bono

Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/
You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed. Click Here to View Your Request (https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/wf/click?upn=Ow1KccipsoIsnXbuEgm-2FN5CmmBOs9GyjBHZJOifMs2S6JwfvEM4fGgmGp5PP4woLtkVjr6cYYGnWVTmfQsjDgHiwWRTGs5qFFTsxyPOVWuonpfc6w-2FetkurUEb5VOSWK1H-2BUWBIzb1wMHdyyg5buTw-3D-3D_TR9-2FDpt3Onywa0Et-2B0OQ3QfUTh9RhH9JdL5ae49ZLu-2FQ1-2BL-2F15OXqLoJ6i3yEiRxT7eSVNMAO7KUfmOaIYVKjsbxzl5qnMdz5-2BoujbCV5auUBuahBNj-2FPWieyxJkrOXHPL1mjUdIPZyqQ2fgh24QMEBPihnjgbE8qplNsPlOkvQghhYTiblzfHOMSqwsHOZWEuCAKs135c78HFCq16GLYLhtUJ6aCevkEd-2F6CweSR9p8R71lLJ-2BeCM7sfsDBwibtEWIlFMIcLy4l1G90TWynjCHKn-2BYo37GuJiki1243ULzLidFudbUKEmpoZw95Lk-2B2Lg1JWcHFryw3-2BOVX7HgSqCZLIrRPDK2kkPZH6lHZJZjbHMrT-2BAlGMqDqJ-2F59hR5g0tyGjkazvL65AYFDrQhBOQ-3D-3D)
Thank you for using the MBTA’s Public Records Center.
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

--- Please respond above this line ---

November 04, 2019
Robert Bono MuckRock News DEPT MR 82162 411A Highland Ave Somerville, MA 02144
Re: Public Records Request for “To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

1) A full record of all safety and engineering inspections, scheduled and unscheduled, that took place at the Newtonville MBTA station between 1 January 2009 and the date that this request was processed, including the following data points:

1A) The name of the inspector(s), OR a unique identifier, such as an employee ID, that can be used to establish common patterns of behavior between inspections,
1B) All details, recommendations and warnings related to the stairways at both the EAST and WEST entrances of the Newtonville MBTA station, including whether they were inspected visually or by instrumentation, as well as the maintenance and repair of the concrete platforms and wooden slat fences separating the platform from I-90.
1C) Any relevant safety or engineering baselines concerning the safe use, maintenance and repair of the EAST and WEST stairways or their component materials, such as an acceptable degree of "lean" or "tilt" (ex, a 5 degree limit), a maximum weight rating, maximum capacity, conditions in which the stairs would be considered unsafe to use (e.g, snow, ice, etc)
1D) Detailed specifications on the types and quality of materials used in the construction, reconstruction and repair of the EAST and WEST stairway platforms of the Newtonville station, including the type of wood, whether it is pressure-treated, sealed, the type and rating of steel used for the lifts, etc.

2) All complaints, both internal and those received from the public, regarding maintenance and upkeep of the Newtonville MBTA station. Names or personally identifiable information of complainants should be redacted.

3) Any internal "whistleblower" reports mentioning the Newtonville MBTA Commuter Rail station

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Robert Bono

Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/
Our Case No.: R000645-102819
Dear Mr. Bono,
The MBTA is in receipt of your request for public records dated October 28, 2019 regarding the above-referenced matter; this request was received by our Records Access Officer on October 28, 2019.

During our initial search, and in an attempt to comply with your request, it has been determined that based on your initial request the amount of records is beyond the basic purpose and intent of the public records law.  "A requester does not need absolute precision, but an agency is entitled to more than a general category of what may be thousands of documents." See The David Project, Inc. v. Boston Redevelopment Authority, 22 Mass.L.Rep. 361 (2007).
Specifically, the records custodian of inspection reports does not have immediate or easy access to reports going back to 2009. Locating reports before 2017 would involve numerous hours of searching in various archives and databases. We can more efficiently and affordably provide you with reports between January 2017 and October 2019 - please let me know if you will agree to limit that part of your request to this time period. In addition, he records custodian of complaints does not have immediate or easy access to complaints going back to 2009. The current database houses complaints going back to May 2017. Locating complaints before May 2017 would involve numerous hours of searching in various archives and databases. We can more efficiently and affordably provide you with complaints between May 2017 and October 2019 - please let me know if you will agree to limit that part of your request to this time period. Please reply at your earliest convenience to clarify, or assist in the modification of the scope of, your request so that we may more efficiently or affordably accommodate you. We are unable to do any further work on this request until we receive your response.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Julie Ciollo
Assistant General Counsel/
Records Access Officer