VHB’s involvement began when Partners HealthCare System, MGH’s parent organization, retained VHB to provide transportation planning and design services for its campus. As part of this effort, VHB worked closely with various architects and Partners’ planners to plan for site access and circulation for a 640,000 square foot hospital expansion. The Yawkey Center was the first phase of that expansion and included a 725-space underground parking garage. The second phase was the Lunder Building, which required a new Institutional Master Plan.

VHB worked with the hospital and City officials to develop an acceptable access and circulation plan, including a project mitigation plan with a strong focus on Transportation Demand Management (TDM) measures to reduce traffic demand and increase the use of alternative modes of travel. VHB also worked with the hospital and its architects to identify physical and operational changes that would contribute to improved roadway operations on campus streets. These included the establishment of additional points of ingress and egress for the hospital campus and a change in circulation on one of the roadways on campus.

Permitting efforts for MGH included successful Article 80 IMP and Major Project Review for the City of Boston, and project review under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act.