Cape Cod leaders are reflecting on the legacy of Tom Cahir, a longtime transportation advocate known for his devotion to public service.
Cahir was administrator of the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority and a former state representative. He died unexpectedly Wednesday at age 72.
He served in the House for 14 years after his election in 1985, but he was known for much more than that, local leaders say. They call him the driving force behind bringing the seasonal CapeFLYER train to Cape Cod and behind the elimination of the traffic-clogged Sagamore rotary.
The CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, Paul Niedzwiecki, said Cahir “was basically single-handedly responsible for the flyover and the elimination of the rotary on the north side of the Sagamore Bridge, which really helped improve traffic.”
Eliminating the rotary, he said, clarified that the bridge was a problem and needed to be replaced — another project for which Cahir was a major advocate, he said.
Cahir’s passion for transportation issues and his relationships in the community would be difficult to replicate, said Mark Forest, a Barnstable County commissioner.
“Tom was such a leader on rail transportation to the Cape that I think there's a real concern that without his leadership, it might not be sustained,” he said. “So I think it's incumbent on all of us that care passionately about that, to step in and help fill that void.”
His interests were not limited to transportation. Forest said Cahir served in the House at a pivotal time. He was involved in passing laws to create the Cape Cod Commission and the Cape Cod Open Space Land Acquisition Program (often known as the Land Bank).
After he left the House, he moved to the executive branch, becoming deputy secretary for transportation programs at the Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works, according to a biography provided for a speaking engagement at the OneCape Summit. There, he oversaw the state’s 15 regional transit authorities.
When he left his job in Boston to become administrator of the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, Cahir never stopped helping members of the public.
Cape leaders said that sometimes it seemed like he was still providing a legislator’s constituent services, which was no small thing, according to Niedzwiecki, who said, “He ran the best constituent services I've ever seen.”
Kathy Jensen, his deputy administrator at the Regional Transit Authority who became a good friend, agreed.
“He would always, you know, take somebody's issue and get it fixed for them,” she said. “And he touched so many people's lives on the Cape. He really did.”
He was also quick to give credit to others.
“He was always very gracious,” said Wendy Northcross, executive director of the JFK Hyannis Museum and a former chamber CEO. “He would always compliment people for all the things that they would accomplish. And I always would kind of chuckle to myself because I'm thinking, ‘But that was what you accomplished!’”
In recent years, Cahir said he was proud to open a new app-based ride-hailing service, SmartDART, to change the perception that public transit on Cape Cod may not be able to efficiently get riders where they need to go.
He also became a supporter of the Bourne Rail Trail, and in 2023, with encouragement from the Federal Transit Administration to use federal stimulus money for bike and pedestrian facilities, he pledged $20 million from the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority to the rail trail.
A funeral Mass will be held Tuesday at 11:00 am at St. Patrick’s Church in Falmouth. More information is available here.
