Recent Streetsblog MASS posts about Somerville

Somerville Ave. features sidewalk-level protected bike paths in each direction, new stormwater collection gardens, and improved sidewalks and crosswalks.

Eyes On the Street: More Space for Pedestrians and Bikes in Somerville

By Christian MilNeil | Oct 15, 2021 | No Comments

Two projects are nearing completion: the reconstruction of Somerville Avenue in Union Square, and the quick-build reconfiguration of Powder House Circle near Tufts University.

Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston on Election Day, November 3, 2020.

A Voter’s Guide to Tuesday’s Preliminary Elections

By Christian MilNeil | Sep 10, 2021 | No Comments

A brief guide for voters with a summary of Streetsblog coverage to date.

The four candidates vying to be Somerville's next mayor: City Councilor Katjana Ballantyne, At-Large City Councilor Wilfred Mbah, Mary Cassesso, and William Tauro.

Meet the Candidates Running to Be Somerville’s Next Mayor

By Claire Wallace | Sep 8, 2021 | No Comments

Somerville’s next mayor will take responsibility for a number of local issues that reflect national challenges: reforming community policing, improving street safety and effectiveness for walkers, bikers, and drivers, and prioritizing green and affordable public transportation and housing.

A street-level before-and-after rendering of the proposed changes to Somerville's Powder House Circle. Courtesy of the City of Somerville.

Somerville to Shrink Powder House Traffic Circle

By Christian MilNeil | Aug 10, 2021 | No Comments

In the next few weeks, the City of Somerville will use quick-build materials to transform the Powderhouse Circle traffic rotary, a six-way junction of busy walking and biking routes at the southern edge of the Tufts University campus, into a smaller roundabout with protected bike lanes, shortened crosswalks, and increased space for pedestrians. The current […]

New Green Line tracks and fresh pavement on the future Community Path, pictured from Cross Street in Somerville, looking northwest towards the McGrath Highway, on July 30, 2021.

Green Line Extension Update: Trains Arrive in Somerville

By Christian MilNeil | Aug 3, 2021 | No Comments

In the coming weeks, Green Line trains will venture out onto the new tracks of the Union Square branch for four months of systems integration testing to work out any remaining kinks before the new stations open in mid-December.

Overview map of sidewalk and crosswalk improvements near the junction of Routes 28 and 38 in Somerville

Advocacy Works: MassDOT Re-Prioritizes Basic Safety Upgrades For Somerville

By Christian MilNeil | Jul 1, 2021 | No Comments

On Wednesday evening, a follow-up public hearing on MassDOT’s proposed I-93 viaduct rehabilitation project found a significantly warmer reception from neighbors and elected officials after the state agency promised to prioritize sidewalk and crosswalk upgrades this year, before a major highway viaduct rehabilitation project begins in earnest. As reported previously, state highway officials came under […]

Mystic Ave. in Somerville at the intersection with Temple Street, with the Interstate 93 viaduct at left.

MassDOT Ghosts Somerville Critics At I-93 Virtual Public Meeting

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 10, 2021 | No Comments

"People started to realize they’re not hear to hear us," says Somerville resident Melissa McCue-McGrath. "They’re here to say they had a meeting, but they’re not going to do anything for the people who live here and are dying here... It wasn’t that they didn’t hear us; they were just choosing not to."

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.

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