SASS recently had the opportunity to sponsor a project by students in the Tufts graduate program in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning. They looked at pedestrian access in Davis Square from an urban planning perspective. Stephanie Galaitsi (a longstanding member of the SASS organizing committee) partnered with the students as they defined requirements, did the research, and presented the results.

You can download the final report as a PDF, and if you’re interested in this sort of thing – Tufts has put all the other projects online as well.

We’re all pretty thrilled with how it turned out.

Bus Network Redesign Draft Comments Due July 31, 2022

If you haven’t heard about the Bus Network Redesign, the MBTA is currently proposing a redesign of the 50+ year-old bus network, with changes planning to roll out over the next few years, starting next spring. Comments on their draft proposal are due July 31, 2022. We encourage SASS members to  submit comments to help preserve bus access for our community. While we were glad to see the creation of high frequency  routes, ending bus routes such as the current 87 route along Somerville Ave, and the 80, 88, 89, and 91 routes would disproportionately impact residents in Clarendon Hill, Winter Hill, Mystic Ave; working-class residents, students, seniors, disabled residents, and others without cars who aren’t within a 5-10-minute walk of the new GLX, or who want to travel to destinations that are outside the area of the GLX, such as Davis Square, Dilboy stadium, or Market Basket.

Some other puzzling oversights:

• Broadway, which was heavily featured in the MBTA’s own TikTok video, will not be seeing increased service, even though it has a bus priority lane
• No increased service on the bus priority lane on Mystic Ave, where residents rely on buses to get to jobs, appointments, and supermarkets
• No bus routes along McGrath Highway
• No bus routes along Alewife Brook Parkway (access to Dilboy Stadium, connecting West Somerville, East Arlington, Medford to Alewife Station)
• No bus routes connecting to 3 of the 6 new Green Line Extension stations: Ball, Magoun, and Gilman.

If you see a new or missing route that would help you get around by bus easier, please submit your comments either on the feedback form accessible at the bottom of this page [https://www.mbta.com/projects/bus-network-redesign/update/bus-network-redesign-proposal] or by sending email to BetterBusProject@mbta.com  before July 31, 2022.  Please include some of these asks for your neighbors. SASS has also submitted a letter, which you can read (feel free to borrow parts or all of it) here.

Somerville Bike Network Plan

The City has released the first draft for Somerville’s bike network plan and is taking public input. Please take a look and provide feedback on what you like or would want changed so that the plan can provide an all-ages-and-abilities connected bike network. In particular, does the plan provide safe access to schools, grocery stores, daycares, and other key destinations? Does the plan show good connections to nearby cities and towns? Will the plan get you or your kids to places you need to go safely and comfortably on a bicycle?

Please weigh in on the City’s public input map. There is currently one more pop-up event happening this month where the City is collecting input:

July 26, 3:30pm – 5:30pm, Assembly Square on Great River Road

Somerville Citywide Parking & Curb Use Study

The city shared some draft recommendations in some virtual public meetings last month. These are currently recommendations, so make sure you are signed up for updates as this project moves forward. We at SASS plan on making sure we prioritize our limited parking resources for those who need it most and reduce our reliance on cars wherever we can by creating safe and pleasant alternatives. Our city cannot meet our climate and safety goals while dedicating so much space to vehicle storage.

Update on McGrath and Mystic

Construction is well underway and the safety improvements are starting to take shape. While many aspects of the current in-progress project are not ideal, it feels so good to see things that everyone in SASS helped advocate for start to take shape. Take a virtual walk with Chris Dwan’s twitter thread, though with the rapid progress and raised crosswalks being completed later today, even this might be outdated soon.

Safe Streets on Halloween

Children ages 4 to 8 are about 10 times more likely to be killed by motor vehicles on Halloween night than they are during other autumn evenings (citation). This year we’re encouraging more folks to close streets for Halloween – there are a few closures around Somerville (eg Lexington Ave) and they’re very popular with the kids. All you need to do is file a block party permit and the city will close the street to traffic for a few hours. Permits take at least 1-2 months to approve, so start thinking about it now. To file the permit, you’ll need an example of the fliers that you’ll hand out to notify your neighbors – feel free to download this flier as a template. Once you’ve got approval, let please folks know on our listserv or Facebook!

You can stay connected with SASS in between newsletters by joining our listserv, our Facebook group, or by following members on Twitter.

After Tuesday’s election results, we are optimistic for positive changes coming to our streets, and Somerville is about to host several meetings and community input activities that will determine streetscape layouts all over the city for the next generation. These are our neighborhoods and local hangouts, and we want to have a strong showing at these community meetings of Somerville residents and street users who support SASS’s commitment to safe, accessible, and beneficial streetscapes. 

Your engagement matters! This fall we can show up and use our voices to support bold changes. Here’s how to get involved:

1. If you can, attend community meetings and provide public comment. Speak to your personal experience and why the safe street change matters to you in your life. Be clear that you support (or oppose) the plan/design. If you are speaking in opposition, focus on the design, not the person making the presentation. Include your name and Ward (or address)
2. If you can’t attend the meeting, write an email. Follow the same principles as in public comment. Send your email to the Mobility division (transportation@somervillema.gov), the mayor (mayor@somervillema.gov) and the City Council (citycouncil@somervillema.gov). Please cc: SASS (somervillesafestreets@gmail.com) on your emails. (link for all four email addresses)
3. Register for SomerVoice so that you can make comments on that platform.
4. Keep your eyes out for additional opportunities to get engaged via SASS! 

Together we can make a better Somerville. We’re thrilled to see the improvements that are already happening (if you haven’t checked out the new speed humps on Kidder, Morrison, and Lowell, get yourself over there and enjoy the safer street!). But we’re not resting until everywhere and everyone is safe. 

All the best,

The Somerville Alliance for Safe Streets

FALL PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

EMAIL ACTION – Boynton Yards – Object to Excess Parking at the Land Use Committee Meeting (no public comment) on Nov 8 – send email by Nov 7

There are a lot of plans for future streetscape build-outs in Boynton Yards. Check them out here. However, the developers are requesting a variance to build more parking than is allowed under the zoning. More parking invites more cars to our streets and more pollution in our air. We want the developers to find tenants willing to have a wider range of transportation options that only cars (there will still be cars). Email your city councilors (citycouncil@somervillema.gov) to support striking the language from the city ordinance that allows developers to request more parking than the parking maximums provided. Read more here and you can listen to the city council meeting discussion on November 8, 6:30pm at this link.

COALITION BUILDING – Alewife Brook Parkway Traffic Calming Coalition-Next meeting Nov 9, 5:30 PM. Zoom 

SASS wants to make roads safer in Somerville, and we have set our sights on Alewife Brook Parkway. Managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, this corridor has a lot in common with MassDOT-controlled Mystic Ave and McGrath Highway, because they’re both outside the control of our city government. We need sustained and coordinated pressure to change the streetscape that separates our community from the civic amenity parks and stadium. We are seeking abutters to participate in monthly meetings as we grow our coalition, which also includes residents from Cambridge, Arlington, and Medford. The next meeting is November 9 at 5:30 pm. If you are interested in joining the coalition, send an email to kencarlson8@gmail.com.

COMMUNITY MEETING – City Wide Parking and Curb Use Study, 12:30 pm Nov 9 or 6pm Nov 10.

Somerville has initiated a study to understand how we use our curb space. Often streetscape improvements conflict with parking expectations, but if we better understand demand and usage, we can make informed decisions that benefit the widest possible range of stakeholders in the community. Learn more by attending and participating in one of the two upcoming community meetings. Link.

PUBLIC COMMENT ONLINE – Assembly Square Neighborhood Plan. Deadline – Nov 12

This neighborhood also requires that we assess and develop an infrastructure framework suited for the needs and pressures of what is becoming one of Somerville’s major new Regional Centers. Read about the project here and you can comment on the detailed plan here (the section on Mobility starts on page 81, which you can navigate to by typing it into the page display). The deadline for public comments on the plan has been extended to November 12. You can also follow developments on this plan at the Planning Board meeting on Nov 4. 

COMMUNITY MEETING – Spring Hill/Highland Ave Design Project – Wednesday, Nov 17, 6:30

We want to support safety, accessibility, traffic calming, bike lanes, and bus transit. The main contention here will be Highland Ave, where parking removal will be necessary to better support more forms of transit. Expect some spirited discussions about this. Find out more about the project here and register for the community meeting here.

COMMUNITY MEETING – Gilman Square Streetscape Redesign – Monday, Nov 22, 6:00pm to 7:30pm

At this meeting, City staff will provide an update on present and future projects in Gilman Square, present the feasibility study for an accessible path from Marshall Street to the Medford Street Bridge and Community Path extension, discuss options for protected bicycle lanes on Medford Street and Pearl Street from the School Street to the Skilton Ave intersections, and gather public feedback. Find more information about the meeting here and register to attend here.