Recent Streetsblog MASS posts about Somerville

Advocates and elected officials gathered at an abandoned gas station on May 26, 2021 to memorialize victims of traffic violence in the area and demand immediate safety improvements to nearby roadways, including Mystic Ave. and the McGrath Highway.

This Week: Two MassDOT Public Hearings on Safety Priorities in Somerville

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 1, 2021 | No Comments

"I'm so furious that after three deaths in two years MassDOT has done nothing for us. Nothing," said Mystic Avenue resident Emily Vides at the May 26 rally.

Walking from one side of McGrath Highway to the other along Mystic Avenue requires pedestrians to cross multiple highway ramps and and along a "sidewalk" in the middle of the highway.

MassDOT Prioritizing Highway Project Before Safety Fixes At Somerville’s Most Deadly Intersection

By Christian MilNeil | May 25, 2021 | No Comments

Elected officials and advocates in Somerville are putting intense pressure on state highway officials for fast-tracking a $37 million project to repair the Interstate 93 viaduct ahead of a modest $6 million safety project for nearby surface roadways where reckless drivers regularly kill and maim local residents. At the May 17 virtual meeting of Somerville’s […]

Two Silver Line buses pass each other on the dedicated busway in Chelsea. Photo courtesy of the MBTA.

Help Pick A Route for the Silver Line Extension Through Everett

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 27, 2021 | No Comments

Planners seek feedback on potential alignments that would extend the Silver Line busway from its current terminus in Chelsea into Everett, Somerville, Cambridge, and downtown Boston.

The Green Line Extension is pictured on a new MBTA map at Ruggles station in April 2021, several months before the line's opening. Photo by Edward Orde, via Twitter.

MBTA Puts New Green Line Stations On the Map

By Christian MilNeil | Apr 8, 2021 | 1 Comment

The Union Square branch (along with the new Lechmere station and rehabilitated Lechmere viaduct) is expected to open in October, while the longer Medford branch is expected to start taking riders in December.

Domino Frame in Tension, by Nadir Tehrani

New Green Line Stops Bring New Public Art to Medford, Somerville, and Cambridge

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 8, 2021 | No Comments

"The GLX Art Enrichment Program seeks to contribute to the vibrancy of the GLX communities by investing in the success of local artists," says the MBTA.

A rendering of the proposed McGrath Highway road diet in Somerville. The project proposes to turn two of the highway's six lanes into buffered bike lanes. Courtesy of MassDOT.

Before Its Teardown, Somerville’s McGrath Highway Could Get A Road Diet

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 24, 2021 | No Comments

An obsolete six-lane expressway that slices through East Somerville will, by the end of this summer, become a four-lane expressway with wide buffered bike lanes. MassDOT plans to repave McGrath Highway later this year, and when the project is over, the roadway’s stripes will be repainted in a new layout (pictured above) that will transform […]

Reimagined design for Highland Avenue with protected bike lanes

Somerville Council Requests New Design with Protected Bike Lanes for Highland Ave.

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 15, 2021 | No Comments

District Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen said that "I have become increasingly convinced that it is indeed possible - not only possible, but really essential - that we include protected bike lanes on Highland Ave."

Highland Avenue near Central St. in 2020.

Advocates Press for Protected Bike Lanes on Somerville’s Highland Ave.

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 1, 2021 | No Comments

In a construction project expected to begin later this year, the City of Somerville will rebuild Highland Avenue as well as several adjacent streets as part of its Spring Hill Sewer Separation project.

Chelsea bus lane installation on Broadway

Legal Settlement Will Restore Carpool Lane and Add New Bus Lane on Tobin Bridge

By Christian MilNeil | Nov 19, 2020 | No Comments

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has committed to establishing a new bus lanes on the Tobin Bridge and I-93 as part of a legal settlement over its decision to eliminate a carpool lane on I-93 in the spring of 2019. The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), a Boston-based environmental group, filed an intent to sue MassDOT […]

A freshly-paved Webster Avenue in Cambridge with new protected bike lane markings.

Eyes On the Street: Cambridge Fills A Key Bike Network Gap

By Christian MilNeil | Nov 17, 2020 | No Comments

Webster Avenue is a short but frequently-used bike route between Union Square in Somerville and Cambridge Street in Cambridge.

The viaduct for the Somerville Community Path extension soars over the future Green Line tracks in Somerville's Inner Belt neighborhood.

Photos: Green Line Extension Marks Halfway Point to Completion

By Christian MilNeil | Oct 2, 2020 | No Comments

MBTA officials announced Thursday that the Green Line Extension construction project is 50 percent complete, and on schedule to open by the end of 2021.

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