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Somerville’s second Shared Streets route, which connects West Somerville and Davis Square, is set to open Tuesday, June 23. The Shared Streets initiative opens up low-volume or residential side-streets to pedestrians, cyclists, and other users while still allowing vehicle access for residents who live on the street or who need to use the street to get to their homes, first responders, delivery drivers, sanitation trucks, and street sweepers.
The city’s first Shared Streets route opened in early June and connected Winter Hill and East Somerville and passed by several food resources and schools. The second route will provide access to the Stop and Shop on Alewife Brook Parkway, North Street Housing (which hosts the Somerville Mobile Farmers’ Market on Saturdays starting July 11), the West Somerville Neighborhood School, David Square, and the Community Path. Additional routes will be rolled out throughout the summer, and you can find a full route map and schedule at https://somervoice.somervillema.gov/covid19mobility. As routes are implemented, feedback on them can also be submitted on SomerVoice.
Safety measures along each route include signage and flexible barriers to alert all users to the shared use of these streets. Somerville’s program will use temporary materials that can be modified based on our experience and feedback from residents with the pilot. Motorists allowed to use a shared street, such as abutters, should drive slowly and expect to see people in the street on these routes. People walking, rolling, and biking should remain alert and aware and make room for these allowed vehicles.
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Is this Holland St?
Complete waste of time and money. The ones on Jacques disappear several times a day as people move them out of the way to get by. They get run over. Some residents try to keep up with putting them back with no success. The system is not enforced anyway so no one really pays attention.to them anyway. So we waste time and money on these stupid things for what? And traffic is getting bad again the the city now that more people are driving. Broadway Winter Hill is now backed up a lot. Maybe if we had someone knowledgeable in the traffic department we could get this on track. This is going to get really bad quickly as people are using their cars more each day and less public transportation. It is what is expected to happen. But as usual Somerville is too far behind on things to handle it. We need to get the economy back on track assap.
There certainly are a lot of scofflaws and generally selfish people messing things up for normal people these days. Best thing we can do is clean up after them. Upright those cones and try to shame the louts into compliance. Defund the narcissists.
I’ve been biking up Winter Hill a lot recently just to get in some hill work. It is nothing close to backed up. And, as a Union area resident, I’m waiting for some of these shared streets to come my way. I’ll be using them for sure.
I go up and down Broadway many times a day. It backs up at many different times as traffic is increasing. The traffic on highways has increased as well.The side streets in Winter Hill have more traffic again since Broadway is backing up more often. The tall shared street signs stay mainly on the side of the road is they can be found anymore. The saw horse ones i saw today have been hit by trucks too many times not to put back together. They do not fit in the street with trucks and buses. Simple fact is their is no room. Like no one measured to see if they fit. If this paper let’s me post pictures you would see if that is what you need. I live here and I am constantly driving here several hours day.
So you are the traffic.
Yes, I am the traffic. Running from one house to pick up a person to take for chemo and then back again and then off to get some food for an elderly shut in or helping them with whatever their needs are. Or rushing off creating more traffic sit with dying people and talk to them or have a meal with them so they have company. Or being called for emergency help should they have an accident. And for your information I do not get paid but do that because I want to. I can’t walk hardly any more and the city has done a fine job of blocking off parking. Which is why I am relentless on my issues as no one gives a darn about the elderly who are alone and have no family and I have to somehow get to them. So I see where these people do not count and some have been told to move so they would be able to live normally. So I also complain when streets are blocking off and I can’t get to them. No one cares. So pardon me if I feel some people think they are special because they are young and should have all the privileges because they do not care for the other person. I biked in my day but didn’t disrespect my elders like this city does now. And my wife is the traffic too. She is the one giving some elderly person their shower and helping them get dressed. I am sorry this inconveniences you. It makes me sorry I invested over 70 years here and watched it come down to this. We are just the kind of people this city does not want. And I am going to keep on complaining even though there is no one left in city hall with a heart. And I will still be the traffic.
There are certainly several alternative routes for getting to wherever it is you want to go. And that goes for parking as well. Sounds like another crotch-rant to me.
Just got back to this. I’m on Broadway enough to know there’s no particular traffic over there (or anywhere in this city of late). And the shared streets are open for people who live on those streets. If you’ve got to pick someone up on one of those streets, you can. They’re not blocked off.
Good on you for being there for others, but if you’re driving all over the city, then you need more people not in their cars so you can get where you’re going. People on foot or on bikes are unclogging the streets. And I’ve got a few sets of elderly neighbors who walk everywhere. So let’s not act like more walking space is some anti-older people plot.