Project aims to improve safety on one of the City’s most traveled streets 

Everyone should feel comfortable when using our streets. This is one of the principles guiding the City’s ongoing work to create safer, more accessible streets across Somerville. With this principle in mind, the City has started planning and exploring options for improving safety along Somerville Avenue between Elm Street and Bow Street.  

As a first step, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Ward 5 Councilor Naima Sait, Ward 3 Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen, Ward 2 Councilor J.T. Scott, and City Staff invite you to participate in a virtual project kick off meeting. 

• When? Monday, June 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. 
• Where? The meeting will be held virtually on Zoom. Visit  somervillema.gov/somervilleavenue to attend. 

At this meeting, City staff will introduce the project and provide residents with the opportunity to ask questions and share their experiences. Public feedback opportunities on both the initial planning and then the design of the project will continue over the coming year. 

Project Overview and Timeline  

The Somerville Avenue Quick-Build Safety Improvements project is intended to improve safety through a range of treatments including installing protected bike lanes, increasing visibility and safety at crosswalks, and evaluating bus rider experience and existing parking regulations. 

The City plans to engage community members and develop the new design between summer 2025 and Spring 2026. Installation of the new safety and mobility features is anticipated to take place in spring 2027.   

The Somerville Avenue Safety Improvements projects is a “quick-build project,” which means that all of the work can be done without digging or making major structural changes to the street (such as moving sidewalk curbs or changing the height of the road). Instead, the city will use materials that are quicker to install like vertical plastic posts and paint markings on the street. This approach allows us to deliver safety improvements faster and more affordably than full street reconstruction.    

How to Get Involved  

The city will offer a mix of in-person and virtual engagement opportunities throughout the design process, including:  

• Online and in-person surveys  
• Street outreach with neighborhood pop-ups and tabling at community events  
• Direct outreach to local businesses  
• “Office hours” drop-in events  

The first event is a virtual community meeting on Monday, June 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Attend the meeting and learn more about the project by visiting somervillema.gov/somervilleavenue. 

Policy Background  

The City’s efforts to increase safety on our streets are guided by our goals to both keep community members physically safe as well as to achieve our climate action goal to shift more trips to sustainable modes of travel like public transit, walking, biking, and rolling. You can learn more about this work in the plans below.    

• Somerville’s Vision Zero Action Plan to eliminate traffic fatalities and reduce severe injuries within our transportation system.  
• The Somerville Bicycle Network Plan which aims to create bike facilities for people of all ages and abilities to safely get around the city.  
• The City’s Climate Forward Plan to reduce carbon emissions and increase active and sustainable transportation options.  
• Somerville’s recently passed Safe Streets Ordinance reaffirms the city’s commitment to accelerating work toward these goals through the implementation of forward-looking design and safety practices.  

Questions and comments can be submitted at any point by emailing  transportation@somervillema.gov and by calling 311 (617-666-3311).  Visit somervillema.gov/somervilleavenue to learn more about the project and stay up to date.