Somerville Kicks Off Community Engagement for “Elm-Beacon Connector” Street Safety Project with Sept 25 Virtual Community Meeting

As part of the City’s intensive efforts to improve traffic safety for all, planning for the City’s new Elm-Beacon Connector street safety improvement project is getting underway. All are invited to help inform the project, which extends across four city wards on Elm Street, Somerville Avenue, Beacon Street, and Mossland Street.  

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Ward 6 Councilor Lance Davis, 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 range of feedback opportunities launching this fall.  

The community engagement and design process will begin with a virtual community meeting on Wednesday, September 25, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Visit somervillema.gov/elmbeacon 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. 

More information about this project and opportunities to get involved are included below.   

 
Project Overview and Timeline 

The Elm-Beacon Connector project is intended to improve safety through a range of treatments including crosswalk improvements, traffic calming, separated bicycle facilities, and bus service improvements.  

The project area includes: 

• Elm Street from Russell Street to Somerville Avenue 
• Somerville Avenue from Elm Street to Acadia Park 
• Mossland Street from Elm Street to Somerville Avenue 
• Beacon Street from Somerville Avenue to Oxford Street  

The City plans to engage community members and develop the new design from September 2024 through June 2025. Installation of the new safety and mobility features is anticipated to take place in fall 2025.  

The Elm-Beacon Connector 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 
• Community meetings for the general public, Kennedy school community, and more 
• 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 Wednesday, September 25, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  

Attend the meeting, learn more about the project by visiting somervillema.gov/elmbeacon. 

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. 

More About this Quick-Build Project 
The City aims to make the following safety improvements as part of this project: 

Protected Bike Lanes (Elm Street and Somerville Avenue) 

The City of Somerville is working to implement quick-build protected bike lanes along Elm Street from Russell Street to Somerville Avenue and Somerville Avenue from Mossland Street to Elm Street, in accordance with the City’s Bicycle Network Plan. 

Mossland Street Neighborway 

Mossland Street will become a neighborway. Neighborways are walk-, roll-, and-bike friendly streets that create a low-stress and high comfort experience on residential streets. Neighborways provide a two-way connection for people biking even if the street is one-way for vehicular traffic. 

Crossing Safety Improvements  

City staff will also work to improve safety for people using crosswalks by increasing visibility at intersections and exploring options for increased pavement markings and signage at critical crosswalks.   

Bus Service Improvements  

The City will be working to improve the experience of people who ride the bus in the area. We will be exploring bus-stop locations as well as changes to traffic light timing that could reduce bus delays.  

Parking Impacts 
These planned safety improvements will require reducing the number of on-street parking spaces. With this in mind, the City is committed to work with local residents and businesses to employ creative approaches parking management. This includes regulating curb use and developing strategies that make the best use of limited parking resources. 

Questions and comments can be submitted at any point by emailing  transportation@somervillema.gov and by calling 311 (617-666-3311).  

Visit somervillema.gov/elmbeacon to learn more about the project and stay up to date. 

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy in advance at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.  

Efforts to secure interpretation into any language will be made upon advance request (at least seven days in advance) by contacting the SomerViva Office of Immigrant Affairs at somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva or calling 311 at 617-666-3311.