The City of Somerville shared proposed designs at the second Western Washington Street Mobility Improvements Meeting on September 28, 2022.

The City is proposing to implement protected bike lanes on both sides of the street, expand bus stops, install new crosswalks, and build raised crosswalks in addition to repaving the street and reconstructing the sidewalks. The side of the street that has parking will have raised bike lanes and floating bus stops, and the other side will have concrete curbs to separate bikes from traffic.

Check out the presentation slides and recording of the meeting to learn more. 

We now want to hear from you! Take the survey to share your feedback on the proposed designs! What did we get right? What did we miss? The deadline for survey responses is October 31, 2022.

The survey is available in English, Español, Português, Kreyòl Ayisyen, नेपाली, 简体中文版, 繁體中文版.

You can also share comments, questions and ideas to our team by emailing transportation@somervillema.gov.

Learn more at somervillema.gov/westernwashington.

The Somerville Traffic Commission hosted a special virtual meeting on October 6 to review public comment and deliberate on the City’s new Holland Street Safety Plan Update. The presentation slides and meeting recording are available on the project website. 

This plan proposes adding protected bike lanes from Teele Square to Buena Vista Road to improve safety for all users. The plan was developed after a Somerville resident was killed while biking in Teele Square in August. In response to the crash, the Mayor directed City staff to prepare an enhanced safety plan for Holland Street that includes protected bike lanes in both directions from Teele Square to Buena Vista Road. This plan maintains parking on one side of Holland Street but restricts parking on the other side in order to create protected bike lanes. Loading zones and accessible parking spaces are increased. The new safety plan would be implemented this fall, pending approval by the Traffic Commission. 

In September, the Traffic Commission meeting held a three-week written comment period on the draft safety plan. At the Commission's September 21 meeting, Mayor Ballantyne and City staff presented the draft plan and the Commission heard public comment. The safety plan has since been modified based on public comment. The September meeting recording and presentation slides are available on the project website at somervillema.gov/hollandstreetdesign.

The Somerville Traffic Commission will vote on the draft plan at the regularly scheduled meeting on October 13 at 5:30pm.

The City of Somerville is working to expand access to public transit passes for low-income households in Somerville.

As a first phase of this program, the City will be distributing 1,200 free 12-month MBTA transit passes to eligible households through the School Based Community and Family Liaison program in the Somerville Public Schools. These passes are pre-loaded with monthly bus and subway passes and will be valid through Fall 2023.

A second phase, expanding access for low-income households outside of the public schools will be announced shortly.

For more information on this program and to stay updated with future updates please see the new Transit Benefits webpage.  

International Walk, Bike, & Roll to School Day is Wednesday, October 12th.

Share your iWalk fun by posting photos and videos to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using #MASRTS, #iwalked2022, and #irolled2022.

Schools that registered with Safe Routes to School (SRTS) will have events with giveaways like bookmarks and stickers to encourage safe, fun, and active participation.

SPS Wellness Champions or administrators will be supporting the celebration at their schools. 

The Massachusetts Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program works to increase safe biking and walking among elementary, middle, and high school students by using a collaborative, community-focused approach that bridges the gap between health and transportation. SRTS utilizes the six E’s to implement its program- Education, Encouragement, Engagement, Evaluation, Engineering, and Equity.

Visit the SRTS website for more information and resources.