2026-10-01 - Bicycle Advisory Committee

00:10Oh gosh.

00:13Excuse me. I got hit right out of the

00:15bat with an adorable baby on camera. Um,

00:19welcome to the October 2026 Bicycle

00:23Advisory Committee meeting. Um, this is

00:27both this is hybrid. We've got folks in

00:29person. You can come in person. We're in

00:31the TOPS administrative building and

00:32we've also got folks on Zoom. So, um we

00:36will go through and to ensure we have

00:38quorum do a little roll call and a

00:40little um um icebreaker question. And um

00:46in the spirit of

00:49our bike pedestrian counts, not everyone

00:52got was able to sign up to do one. So,

00:54but my question is what is what is what

00:57intersection is most important to you?

01:00And I will start. Um I'm Lena Webb. I'm

01:03the chair of the committee. Um I live in

01:06W seven and the intersection that's most

01:08important to me is Broadway and

01:10Illithburg Parkway.

01:13And I will pass it on to our acting

01:16secretary of the night, Tom Lamar, and

01:19guest.

01:24Yeah, we need to see the

01:26>> Here's little guy. He's right at daycare

01:28this week.

01:29>> Uh he's having a great time. Um uh

01:33favorite intersection I I will say doing

01:35counts at um in Union Square is really

01:38fun because there are so many bikes that

01:39it's hard to keep track of and that's a

01:41great experience. Um

01:44uh but for uh for otherwise doing

01:46counts, I I really like picking

01:48somewhere that has a nice coffee shop or

01:49something hanging out of the patio.

01:52strategy of doing counts.

01:55>> You got to line up the sight line with

01:57your c your street on street dining.

02:01>> I do I do plan it out intricately and

02:03check out the sight lines.

02:05>> I know it's it's really fun. Anyway,

02:07we're going to talk a little bit about

02:08it. Um Adrian, I see you there. Um

02:13can you sign sign off?

02:16>> Sound off.

02:17>> Um hi Adrian. Can you hear me now?

02:21>> Yes.

02:21>> Yeah. Um, Adrien Agarwal. Okay. W five.

02:25And I,

02:28um, I would say Cedar and the community

02:31path is real because I like walking from

02:35there. That's the closest entry and I

02:38use it almost every really important

02:41path uh, location. And I did a new

02:44location this this year and it was

02:46interesting to see how much less busy it

02:48is. I did theater in the community path

02:50last year for counts and

02:53>> it's a really busy one.

02:56>> Well, we'll talk a little bit more too

02:57about about the bike counts. Um, thank

03:00you. And then Cat Banesh, hello.

03:03>> Hello. Can you guys hear me?

03:05>> Hi. Yes.

03:06>> Cool. Uh, I'm going to be off screen in

03:07just a bit finishing dinner and then

03:08I'll be on. Cat Benish, I think W three.

03:11I always forget. It's only been 10

03:13years. Um

03:16uh oh to I know I vote in the church at

03:20St. Catherine's. Um let's go with that.

03:23Um I you would phrase it the most

03:27important or most interesting

03:28intersection. Um so I didn't think this

03:30is here

03:31>> to me and it's actually it's funny. It's

03:32funny how it changes when your commutes

03:34change.

03:35>> So I was talked to several about this

03:36recently. My son now goes to Capawano

03:39and I now take the left at Cross Street

03:42and the community path every day. Uh,

03:45and I was really struggling with that

03:47because it's a very much a blind left.

03:49You cannot see the cars coming. And then

03:51Amanda suggested taking the Gilman

03:52Street underpass off Walnuts and that

03:55has been a game changer. And I'm like, I

03:57want to tell all the parents cuz so many

03:59parents bike the Capawan of like and I

04:02really like the Tusk um street neighbor.

04:06I think it's fantastic. Uh, but getting

04:09there is actually really hard across

04:10that bridge from that left in a cargo

04:12bike. Um, so that's I think something

04:15we'll talk about at some point in the

04:16bike committee. Also, I realize I've

04:18been very remiss in telling this, but

04:19some of you saw me at the Gilman Arts

04:21Festival two weeks ago, but I'm 37 weeks

04:24pregnant, so I will probably be missing

04:26the November bike meeting, but I'll be

04:28back in December.

04:29>> Um, Congratulations.

04:32>> Thank you. But I am still biking, which

04:34is very exciting. And I would not be

04:35able to get around right now without my

04:37cargo bike because I cannot get a kid in

04:39and out of a cargo seat on a bike.

04:41>> It's low impact.

04:43>> Biking is awesome.

04:45>> That's awesome. Congratulations. Um and

04:48then Alex and Katherine Lane are both

04:51absent tonight. So, uh we did I ask you

04:56Tom? I started with Tom and then Amanda

04:59in person.

05:00>> Um hello Amanda Riel.

05:02>> I think the owl will find you. That's

05:04done. Um, so I counted at the closest

05:10counting place to my house and on my

05:12commute, which is Central and the

05:16Junction Park. But like one some

05:19intersections that are important to me

05:20that I don't love and I would love to

05:23have better because I I do them every

05:25day and so does my son on his bike is to

05:28like traverse

05:30um Broadway at Temple Street to get down

05:32to Blessing of the Bay Boat House and

05:34like there's sort of a box to cross from

05:38Marshall but it it's a little I don't

05:40let him do it. I make him go at the

05:42light but um you know

05:45places to make improvements.

05:47>> Yes. And we just had Ted vice chair sign

05:52on the um question is what what is an

05:56intersection that is most important to

05:57you? What intersection is really

06:00important to you?

06:02>> Yeah, that's a great it's a great

06:04question everybody. um

06:07intersections that I pass through a lot.

06:11Um

06:14I mean I regularly go down Mossland

06:18Street. So I think the intersection of

06:21Mossand with Somerville A and with Elm

06:23are both um like navigating that is a

06:27corridor I use a lot.

06:30um navigating. I need to put a 311

06:35request in for um

06:38Elm and Somerville AB. It's great to see

06:41the flex posts. The pavement quality

06:44along the the newly striped bike lane

06:47there is just so not great that I hurt

06:50my wrist.

06:50>> We'll get to that. We'll get to that.

06:53>> Yeah.

06:55>> Going through. So,

06:56>> good to see you, Ted. Um and then we

06:59have um oh we have um Paul secretary of

07:04committee

07:06>> uh Paul Morgan mine is ditto to Adrian

07:09community path in Cedar Street close to

07:12my house and I am so impressed at the

07:15volume of crossings there especially

07:17considering there's almost no commercial

07:20activity

07:22at that location.

07:24>> That's also an excellent choice.

07:27Yes,

07:29>> you didn't get John.

07:30>> Nope. We will now move on to our

07:31exhibition. Uh John counselor link.

07:36>> Hey. Um so I think for me it would be

07:40the the most important intersection

07:41right now is the um

07:44uh what is it? So it's Washingtonville

07:51pro uh Webster um

07:54>> intersection.

07:56square.

07:57>> Oh, yeah. Uh, so that's, you know, I

08:00have to go through that intersection,

08:02uh, every day with my kids. Uh, and it

08:06is a little bit of a nightmare. So, um,

08:08that is the one that I think about a

08:10lot.

08:12>> Awesome. Yes. Yes.

08:16Um, so we do and Rishika, hi. Mobility

08:20liaison,

08:22MC of the whole show.

08:25Um, I'm Rushka, community outlet

08:28coordinator with the mobility team. Um,

08:31I don't know if I have a favorite

08:33intersection, but I did do bike pedals

08:35last year um on two of the Potter House

08:39streets, and I thought that was

08:40interesting, just like trying to guess

08:42where people are going to go, like which

08:44street. So, that was definitely fun to

08:46see.

08:48>> Awesome.

08:50I think that's everybody. Um and that we

08:55have a quorum. Um we can go through the

08:58general stuff quickly. Um Tom Lamar is

09:00acting secretary tonight. Thank you,

09:02Tom. Um and if we can get approval of

09:06our September meeting minutes. Um can I

09:09get a motion to approve those minutes? I

09:11have one from Amanda, a second from Ted.

09:14Everybody else, please make your vote

09:16known. say I

09:21>> September meeting minutes are approved.

09:24Um and just a check-in quick check in

09:26about upcoming outreach events. I know

09:28we have some that Adrian has been

09:30coordinating with everybody um as to uh

09:34tableabling slots. Um Adrien, do you

09:36have um everyone you need um or can can

09:40this be like a little call to any slots

09:43that you have left? I know I'm doing

09:46Monster Mash in the afternoon, right?

09:49Yeah.

09:50>> Yeah. Yeah. So, we have um we have one

09:52more spot the earlier uh Monster Mash

09:57spot if anyone can do that.

10:00>> Uh uh I think so. That's the Sunday. Um

10:04>> 18th 18.

10:06>> Okay. Yeah. So it's it's Sunday the 18th

10:10of October and the first shift is 1 to 3

10:14and then Lena you're doing 3 to 5.

10:17>> Correct.

10:18>> So if anyone can do it wonderful. Um we

10:21also can just do half the time if need

10:23be.

10:25>> And is that the is that the next most

10:28soon upcoming one? Yeah, we had one for

10:31uh an opportunity for this coming

10:34Saturday for the farmers market, but um

10:37both Ted and I had to uh cancel.

10:42>> Cool. Um do we have any other shoutouts

10:45for upcoming outreach events?

10:48>> Um Alina, I I guess I maybe missed on

10:51the on the meeting notes, but you had

10:53been talking about a yoga a bike ride to

10:56a yoga studio. Did that happen or is it

10:58going to

10:58>> have to wait to like bloom in spring?

11:01>> Oh, okay.

11:03>> Yeah. Yeah. But what's good to know is

11:05that the place that they're looking at,

11:07so they the the studio is in Union

11:09Square. They do Pilates, yoga, um

11:13strength class as well. But um they're

11:16very like integrated into the community.

11:18They like doing walks and community

11:20stuff at I think it's called the

11:21Somerville Growing Center. um as well as

11:25pop-ups at Remnant

11:27um in the mornings. And so they gave us

11:30both of those options, but there's more

11:32flexibility with time and like if we

11:34wanted to have a ride beforehand, I

11:36think you have to be starting at Remnant

11:38at 9:00 a.m.,

11:39>> but at the Growing Center, it could be

11:42closer to noon. Um Saturdays work best

11:44for them. So basically, it kind of just

11:46got whittleled away until there just

11:47wasn't an option for the fall and um

11:50they're still interested in doing it. um

11:52they would love to, you know, bring new,

11:55you know, folks in from, you know, kind

11:57of trade, have have folks that do yoga

12:00pilates, maybe come on a bike ride

12:01around and vice versa.

12:03>> Um so that's something for the spring,

12:06>> but I like the venue. I do like the

12:08Somerville growing center. It's like

12:09outdoors, so like the weather would be

12:11important as well.

12:12>> Um so that's a that's a fun thing for

12:15the future. And I don't know, Paul, do

12:18you have any rides of significance?

12:21>> Well, the Illuminations ride is coming

12:23up

12:23>> sooner rather than later. You're like

12:25putting the holiday candy in the CBS

12:27right now.

12:30>> So, um, I'll be reaching out to the

12:31Somerville Arts Council

12:34>> shortly to tell them our plans. Um, most

12:38likely it'll be an East Somerville ride

12:41this time going along with the

12:45um out what I outlined at an earlier

12:48meeting where we would rotate the rides.

12:51Um, it seems like West Broadway will not

12:53be available, not be completed by that

12:57time. So, we'll go with East Somerville

13:00this time.

13:02And uh so if anybody's interested in

13:04being planning that

13:06or anything to do with that, let me

13:08know.

13:10And if anyone

13:12wants something to do Saturday morning,

13:14October 18th before you table the

13:16Halloween family bike ride is that

13:19morning. It is not in Somerville, but uh

13:22it is nearby in Alustin. They have some

13:25cool infrastructure over there that I

13:27never would have known about. Um that's

13:29fun to explore.

13:31Thanks for the plug.

13:33>> Yeah, any and all upcoming outreach and

13:36events.

13:37>> Hello, member of the public. Please

13:40introduce yourself.

13:41>> Hi, Zachary Yoro, member of the public.

13:43I'm in David Square. Um I'm uh

13:47organizing a group ride to there's a

13:49screening of a movie called The Simple

13:51Machine which is about a guy who fixes

13:54up a bicycle and it's like about it's

13:57supposed to be about like economic

13:58mobility and personal freedom that

14:00that's from that. Um but we're doing

14:02this group ride from Boston up through

14:05Brookline all the way to Arlington. But

14:07also apparently there's a a different

14:10bike related event with the um the new

14:14New England Juice Cycling. I might have

14:16the name wrong off the top of my head.

14:18Um and the theater said that there's

14:21space there for local bike related

14:23organizations to table. So I wanted to

14:26let you all know about that. Um

14:30completely understand that this is a

14:32group that does a lot and there are a

14:34lot of events. Um but um I'll ensure

14:38that that has uh hit your all's radar.

14:41>> No, that's awesome. And that uh if we

14:44like look up uh Cambridge Bike Safety,

14:47would we find more information on the

14:49the the screening ride?

14:51>> Uh definitely at the QR code, there's an

14:53event on PartyFull. I need to double

14:54check if it's been put on the Cambridge

14:56Bike Safety

14:58>> website yet.

14:59>> I bet it will be.

15:01>> If it isn't now, it will be soon.

15:03>> Okay. Well, that's awesome. That looks

15:05cool.

15:05>> It's at the the tableabling would be at

15:08the region's theater in Arlington where

15:09the actual screening is. Um though

15:11obviously u if yall are down to um

15:15support the ride as well or just feel

15:17like joining it that would be great.

15:19>> Yeah.

15:20>> Always happy to have more people at a

15:21group ride.

15:23>> Awesome. Thanks so much.

15:25>> Yeah.

15:26>> That looks awesome. By the way, look up

15:28a simple machine. Um

15:31awesome. Uh let's move right along. We

15:34did hit on this a little bit in our um

15:37our icebreaker, but um 2026 pad bike

15:42counts closed today

15:45um last day and it's always a fun thing

15:48to do. I always have a good time and

15:51learn something from every year that

15:53I've done it. I used to kind of like do

15:55too much. Now I just like do the ones

15:57that are I don't overextend myself. I do

15:59the ones that are important to me. like

16:01my question, the intersections that are

16:03important to me. Um, and I'll just start

16:07really quick. I have a couple things.

16:09Um, one thing particular just like for

16:12mobility as well, and I'll submit this

16:14in the comment section when I turn in my

16:16sheets tomorrow. Um, I was doing my

16:19count at North and Powder House, which

16:22was right near the West uh, Somerville

16:25Neighborhood School. And um I was there

16:29with the crossing guards. I don't know

16:30how many folks did counts and also

16:32shared an intersection with our greatest

16:36folks, the crossing guards. Um but ma

16:40mine gave me a heads up that said, you

16:42know, you should come at 7:15 if you

16:45want

16:46to see like 100 people and 100 people.

16:50And so I wonder that if there's

16:52locations in the future that are near

16:55schools,

16:56you know, because 7:15 is the early side

16:58of the range. So I was on the later

17:01side. So I went at like 7:40.

17:04And so I missed the action. And she kept

17:06looking at me like she was like, "See,

17:08you know, you this would have been way

17:11more exciting for you had you been here

17:12earlier." So I wrote it down. And so I

17:15don't know if there could be like a

17:16special note for the intersections that

17:18are close to schools where you see a lot

17:19of like cargo bike like walking um

17:23getting to school to advise if you can

17:25get closest to 7:15 on those you'll get

17:28a more accurate count of like when you

17:30get the most. So that's straight from a

17:33crossing guard through me to you because

17:36it makes sense. Um,

17:38and

17:41I think that was like the main thing

17:43that I wanted to pass on. Um,

17:48yeah, that was that was the main thing I

17:49wanted to share for my bike ped account

17:52experience. So, um, oh, and another

17:54thing I did when I was looking at the

17:56signup sheet, I was happy to see

17:57counselor Wheeler um, sign up to do a

18:00shift. And now that made me think that

18:03every year a counselor should have to do

18:07one intersection in their ward should

18:09have to do it. Everyone, every counselor

18:11counselor link.

18:12>> What about large?

18:14>> You're missing out. So you're here

18:15you're hearing you're like, "Oh, I wish

18:16I had picked an important intersection

18:18to me." Um, no, but it's really good

18:20because like even you know the

18:22intersection becomes more important to

18:23you after you stare at it for an hour

18:25and like in my case the like carnage and

18:28insanity that is the you know Broadway

18:30and Oford Parkway you know I'm invested

18:33in personally invested in that. Um, but

18:35anyway, I feel like it's a good thing to

18:37kind of see like, you know, step out

18:40from, you know, I know we have a very,

18:43you know, walking, biking, um, transit

18:47forward council, but to just kind of

18:50watch what folks on foot and on bike

18:52like with your boots on the ground like

18:55um, is is cool. And I think I think it

18:58should be mandatory

19:00per counselor, per ward. And I don't

19:03know how you would organize that

19:04mobility, but you can enforce it

19:06somehow. I know it. Bring it to the

19:08traffic commission.

19:11Um, but yeah. So, yes, have counselors

19:13do it. And then also, if you're near

19:14school advised to start earlier, those

19:17are my two thing things from that. I

19:20don't know if anyone else who did counts

19:22uh had any fun observations or or things

19:26to share.

19:28>> I was I know Amanda, I'm alive bound

19:31commuter. So I go towards Davis, but

19:34I've noticed that the majority of people

19:36in the morning are going towards Lee Mir

19:39>> on the path.

19:41>> Although there's a lot going both ways,

19:43but

19:43>> on Boston.

19:44>> Yeah. So like the extension has really

19:47like ramped up

19:48>> the number of people especially on bikes

19:51going

19:52>> back.

19:56>> Tom, did you do counts?

19:59Uh, this is the first time in many years

20:01that I did not uh just don't get into

20:03this little guy's schedule, but usually

20:06I love doing many counts.

20:09>> All right. Well, I I don't know. Oh, Ted

20:12has his head his virtual hand raised.

20:14Hi, Ted.

20:15>> Yeah. Um I I did accounts at uh

20:21>> at uh Broadway in u Boston A on

20:25Somerville side and it's always amazing

20:27just to see the stream of people going

20:31to the GLX extension and I started in

20:35the morning few minutes after 7:30 and

20:38towards the end of the hour there was

20:41pretty continuous stream of cyclists

20:43coming from the the Bedford side of uh

20:48Boston A going to the community path

20:50access. Um so it's really cool to to see

20:54that.

20:57So no no nothing I would change or major

21:00observations but just you know cool to

21:04cool to see the infrastructure being

21:06found and used.

21:10Lena, uh, your your comment about the

21:127:15 a.m. school drop off got me

21:15thinking. I've kind of speculated

21:16sometimes. I'm curious mo if mobility or

21:18any especially dedicated volunteers have

21:21ever considered doing an especially

21:23detailed timestamped count uh at, you

21:27know, several chosen locations with the

21:29idea of kind of assessing like how much

21:32would the count shift for this

21:33particular location. uh if either there

21:36was a different methodology or if the

21:38the volunteer, you know, happened to

21:40pick slightly earlier, slightly later

21:43within the time range that that they're

21:45allowed to choose. Maybe something like,

21:47you know, you spend a full like

21:50two or two or three hours all through

21:52rush hour doing a very detailed count

21:54that capture the time stamp for each

21:56time a person comes through. I can get

21:58kind of a sense of like, you know, is it

22:01is it pretty standard and would you get

22:03the same numbers if you did, you know,

22:06uh uh an hour anywhere in that window or

22:10or does it change drastically?

22:12>> You need an app

22:15for sure.

22:16>> Uh summer school start at 810 by the

22:19way. Uh I don't know what school that

22:21was that would have so many at 7:15.

22:25>> So it was some school I don't

22:29>> because you don't understand at 7:30 7

22:32when does breakfast

22:33>> Yeah. But you don't get like a giant

22:34influx.

22:35>> I know. I actually noticed in my area

22:37more people were coming like I started

22:40at 7:20ish

22:42and like it got much busier like towards

22:45G.

22:46>> I mean it was clear that I was late.

22:49Showing up at 7 showing up at um

22:53>> yeah was not sufficient. I was I was too

22:56late for the action at 7:40. Yeah.

22:59>> Um

23:03yeah, I feel like I don't know. Oh, P,

23:05do you still have your hand?

23:06>> Yeah, I was going to say so haven't ever

23:08looked at this in Somerville, but about

23:1010 years ago, I looked at this

23:12>> through the the Cambridge like automated

23:15bike counter data that's released on

23:16their data portal. There's a there there

23:19was a small peak of cyclists around like

23:22start of school time, but it looked like

23:24there was a much bigger bike rush hour

23:26that was like 9:30, 10:00.

23:30>> Like the cyclist rush hour seemed to

23:32sort of lag.

23:33>> Yeah.

23:34>> The car rush hour by like an hour.

23:37Well, I I used to do I like I used to do

23:41in like three years in a row I did um

23:44Willow and Elm

23:47and

23:49that was a tremendously busy busy

23:52intersection, but it was I thought it

23:55was going to be super bike busy. It was

23:56so pedestrian busy right there. There's

23:59there were so many people walking on

24:01Elm. Like I feel like when I do my you

24:04know bike pet counts the peds like I get

24:07a lot of people walking. We definitely

24:09have a ton of people walking in

24:10Somerville like walk commuting in

24:13Somerville and like you can even see it

24:15like heading to to Illife like on the

24:18path like you have tons of people

24:19walking in the morning. Um which is

24:22always good to see but I'm always

24:23surprised at how like robust the

24:25specifically the pedestrian numbers are.

24:28Um,

24:30but I think to I guess it might be

24:34unless there do we have any public

24:36comment on any bike anyone who

24:40volunteered

24:42any bike palance observations? If not,

24:46um, we could go right into the kind of,

24:49you know, think about school granular

24:51school pickup, drop off, um, who's

24:54coming how. Um

24:57that's a good lead in to talking a

24:59little bit about um just the Elm Beacon

25:02connector project roll out as it is

25:05continuing. And then also um just

25:08something that came up that that kind of

25:10came to ESPback and had questions about

25:13kind of what was going on is um

25:16the JFK school

25:19um pickup drop off time specifically. um

25:22now that there are bike lanes um on both

25:27sides of Elm Street um both of which

25:31will have flex posts, but currently the

25:36just that part of Elm Street doesn't

25:38have flex posts yet. Um so I think there

25:41was a little bit of can we park here,

25:44can we not park here? Um and

25:49uh one thing that I what when this

25:52question came up I what I recall from

25:54the plans was that there was to be not

25:57like auxiliary but like additional

25:59parking provided on some of the side

26:01streets which are on the the side of the

26:04school. um that is like I guess live

26:08parking I've learned is the term where

26:10you know folks are able to come drop off

26:13and go and keep that space turning over

26:16um and have that specifically to sort of

26:19offset um any

26:22curb you know repurposing outside of JK

26:25school on street. Um, and I think there

26:28might have been a little bit of like a

26:30communication breakdown about like that

26:32specific thing, whether it existed,

26:33whether it was going to be available

26:37soon or later. Um, and I think that

26:42there's just a little bit of a Okay,

26:45cool. So, there'll be some updates, I

26:47guess. Um, yeah. So basically this stuff

26:49just kind of came across our our desk if

26:52you will and we talked a little bit with

26:54mobility kind of just about like where

26:56it's at, you know, where are the flex

26:58post is that parking coming just to so

27:00that we can kind of have, you know,

27:02communication, not just sort of like I

27:05heard this, I heard that like post on

27:06Reddit or Facebook or whatever. Um,

27:12so I guess and then the other nice thing

27:16about this is that in talking about it,

27:20you know, we'd like people to be using

27:22the new bike lanes to get to school. Um,

27:26and so we've been recently talking about

27:28safe school partnership and this is sort

27:30of a, you know, like why don't we get a

27:32bike bus? Why don't we get a bike bus

27:34going to like, you know, help those

27:35lanes get used for, you know, and and

27:38offset that need in a different way? Um,

27:42>> there is a Kennedy bike bus.

27:44>> There's a Kennedy bike bus

27:46>> and I'm sure they would welcome any

27:49support.

27:52>> Like what? Like how what's the like how

27:55many strong like I don't know how you

27:57describe a bike? Um, the Kennedy bike

28:01bus

28:03I think is in the 10 to 20 range. Um,

28:10and um,

28:12>> the root

28:15>> um, I can I could find what the route

28:18is. It's in in my phone, but um, I don't

28:21want to take up too much committee time

28:23on that. They do

28:26struggle a little bit with the route and

28:28the pros and cons of different options

28:31within the route and they have expressed

28:34some frustration about a curb cut going

28:38away. I'm not prepared to um speak uh

28:43much to that but um it's at some point

28:46they will probably be coming to mobility

28:49or whatn not to ask about it but I guess

28:52it was um very important to their their

28:56mission last year and they're frustrated

28:58about a change this year. Um

29:01>> would they like marshals to help them? I

29:03>> I mean I'm sure I'm sure they would.

29:09Uh there are three bike buses that all

29:11leave from L Street and Community Path.

29:15Uh Edgarly Brown and Kennedy. If you go

29:18there at that at um 7:50, it looks like

29:22there's like a giant bike ride that's

29:24about to happen.

29:25>> Um it's like a wonderful chaos

29:28scene.

29:29>> So I wonder if the school knows that

29:31like these things are options. It's like

29:34I'm wondering like if it has been

29:35communicated to like the school that

29:37there will be that this like live

29:38parking exists and also that there is a

29:40bike bus that is you know promotable

29:43from like the school's end. So I don't

29:46know

29:48>> uh yeah my observation is the schools um

29:51don't do a lot of promoting of these

29:53bike buses

29:54>> or adopt or adopting or partnering and I

29:57think that that would be

29:58>> a good thing if they did. I've made some

30:02overtures to um at the schools I've been

30:06involved with and been softpled a bit.

30:10Um everyone's busy.

30:12>> Um I think that there should be, you

30:16know, we should all be trying to mode

30:17shift and uh I think it's uh should it

30:21would help help the school to have mode

30:24shifting. Um the Kennedy I don't know

30:27how much you want to jump around. The

30:29Kennedy School has some

30:31uh drop off differences from the other

30:35schools that I'm aware of where they

30:38don't have morning supervision. So, the

30:40parents have to stay till 8:10 and that

30:44um is a detriment to the parking issue

30:48because other schools parents can drop

30:52off at 7:45 and then leave with their

30:54car. So, there's more cars hanging

30:57around the Kennedy School and there's

31:00some, you know, institutional

31:04uh maybe resistance to changing that,

31:07but um it can be done. The teachers

31:10union does allow it with a stipend

31:12that's done at other schools. Edgarly is

31:16and Brown School are experts at at this.

31:20Um, so I, as I I'm a new Kennedy parent,

31:24I'm intend to keep promoting that

31:28>> from within.

31:31>> I don't know, I'm getting off track

31:32here.

31:33>> That means the live parking doesn't work

31:34for those folks is what, you know, we're

31:36kind of coming down to because there's

31:37no live parking when you have to walk

31:39away.

31:41>> Yeah, I I did do an observation.

31:43>> I was going to say

31:45>> 40. I did like my own my own version of

31:48a

31:49>> of a count but for cars parked at

31:51Kennedy.

31:52>> So from 7:40 to 8:10

31:55>> I observed the the parking. I didn't I

31:58should have done it minute by minute. Um

32:01but I would say that 50% of the time

32:04there was an available spot. So there

32:07were some some minutes where there

32:09wasn't, but a lot of times there was.

32:12There were DPW trucks parked in the

32:16short-term parking on Elm, so that

32:18wasn't great. There were long-term cars

32:20parked in the short-term parking on Elm.

32:23So, really should have some enforcement

32:25there. Um, you know, if it's

32:30not an emergency for me, but if it's

32:32emergency for the people are parking,

32:33then okay, well, let's let's treat it

32:36like it's urgent. Um, another

32:38observation,

32:40uh, but a lot of times there were

32:42parking spots available, so I feel like

32:43just a little bit of, um, pressure

32:45relief would go a long ways because it's

32:47not like it's not like there was like

32:49nothing during that time frame. Um,

32:53there is a lot uh, the the Sart the

32:56Sartwell short-term parking, school

32:58dropoff parking is already in place and

33:01it does not take up all of Sartwell. And

33:03the Cherry short-term parking is I see

33:06is there is a sign up there now. I don't

33:08know if that's the only one,

33:11but there's also a lot more of Cherry

33:13Street that could be taken. I mean, so I

33:18as as I am involved in the Kennedy

33:20School, if there's any more

33:22consternation about the changes, I I

33:24will be trying to suggest that we that

33:28there's additional long-term parking

33:30that could be repurposed to drop off

33:33parking, you know, that's adjacent to

33:35the school. So,

33:38>> so the school just

33:41effectively banks on having available on

33:44street parking for the purposes of all

33:46of their students being able to be

33:49picked up, dropped off to their school.

33:51Is that like like

33:53>> the the the I think the accompaniment to

33:55the kids is for up to second grade or

33:58something. So it's not

33:59>> I just mean like is there's nothing in

34:01the school property where people can

34:03like

34:04>> no the children with their vehicles.

34:07>> The um the concourse there is for

34:10special education bus.

34:12>> Okay.

34:13>> Or sped

34:15I I want to make sure I use the right

34:16term but I think they call it sped sped

34:18drop off. So there can't be any

34:20individual um motor vehicles dropping

34:24off using that

34:26is what I've been

34:28>> okay

34:28>> told. Um

34:32>> well it I think my main thing that would

34:34be my question to comm which was to

34:37communicate is is the start well cherry

34:41live part being real and is that

34:44available yet and are you know does the

34:47school know about it? Is the school

34:49promoting it? Is it being used? Is there

34:52any,

34:54you know, because at first it was sort

34:55of like we didn't know if it was going

34:56to be ready, but it sounds like there's

34:58signs. You just showed me signs. It

35:00sounds like it's an action. Misha, I

35:02don't know if you have anything from the

35:05city just saying like the start cherry

35:08was like in the plans and it's it's it's

35:11happening now. It's rolling out. Rolled

35:14out.

35:15>> Yeah. Um they should all be in for

35:17Cherry Street. We were just waiting for

35:19the construction for the parking lot to

35:21be done. So now those signs are in.

35:23>> Okay.

35:24>> Um so yeah at the moment

35:29you know we're welcoming feedback that

35:31beacon project is still going in and um

35:34parking changes take have to go through

35:38the traffic commission process. So it's

35:39not a quick process. Um I can say that

35:43we have notified the school that all the

35:44changes are in place. um especially

35:47after the parking lot has been done. So

35:49yeah um we're open to feedback and

35:52learning. We've been hearing from

35:54parents from the Kennedy and um Yeah.

35:58Cool.

36:00>> And so then also I wonder if do you

36:04think that um Amanda Safe Roots School

36:07you're you're officially the le I'm just

36:09going to say right now. Um, I know you

36:11sent an email saying like, you know, um,

36:13would do you think that

36:16having a safer to school

36:19group partnership um, means anything to

36:23JFK school or like a a larger school in

36:26terms of being like, oh, this is like a

36:27program like this is something that like

36:29we want to invest in ourselves. Like is

36:32there any sort of like, you know, an

36:34advantage in that sense to partnering

36:36with um,

36:38>> I mean, I think so. Yeah, they're

36:40willing to come out and do, you know,

36:42demonstration orientations to bicycles

36:45or talk about various like levels of

36:48education schools and kids.

36:52>> Yeah.

36:52>> And I'm sure as a busy body interested

36:56person of myself, I would be happy to go

36:58to any school that wanted to. The

37:01Kennedy School has invited us to do

37:06>> some sort of event that involves uh bike

37:09safety and um I am waiting to have that

37:12meeting with the principal.

37:13>> Yep.

37:14>> And I have some ideas and I've spoken

37:16with with Amanda and other Kennedy

37:19parents about that, but we haven't had a

37:21meeting with principal yet. So that's

37:23still sort of an early idea.

37:25>> Cool.

37:26Yeah, this will be a a good opportunity

37:29to

37:31see where it goes.

37:32>> Yeah. And just like a good thing to, you

37:36know, make sure that the new

37:38infrastructure can be used by as broad

37:41an audience as possible, especially at

37:43times when you need to relieve like a

37:44burden of parking and get more people to

37:47use the lanes. That's why they're why we

37:50build them.

37:55All right. pool.

37:57Anyone from the public to speak on that

38:00or anything? If not, um we can shift our

38:04focus

38:06um to the Webster AB bridge. And uh just

38:09as a caveat, um Alex Freeden uh brought

38:12this agenda item to us um after getting

38:16some um design plans that I think had

38:18not been forthcoming. Um I don't know

38:20the ins and outs, but um Alex had wanted

38:23to talk a little bit about it. Um, but

38:25Alex can't be here. Um, and so the other

38:28two intrepid members of the evaluation

38:31sub engineering subcommittee, Ted and

38:34Tom, are here. Um, and we're not going

38:36to dive deep into it. Um, not really

38:39have any don't have any slides prepared

38:41um or anything to vote on. Um but just a

38:45little bit of uh preliminary feelings or

38:50um if anyone wanted to pop up the the

38:53single page of plan data we got.

38:56>> Yeah, sure. Since Dom is taking notes,

38:59I'm happy to pop up the

39:01>> I uh go for it, Ted. I will say I do

39:04also have some other like tab a

39:06bajillion tabs open with other

39:07potentially useful things. So I'm also

39:08happy to

39:10>> Yeah, I I was also opening up Tom, to

39:12try to find what you probably have.

39:16>> So, the the brief background is we we

39:19spoke about the bridge I think a year

39:21ago originally, Tom, and I think we

39:24looked at their like 25% design.

39:28>> Um,

39:29>> yes,

39:30>> I wrote a lot of feedback. I couldn't

39:31find the

39:32>> drive document where we

39:35>> put all of that down, but you might have

39:37it. But let me

39:40>> yeah, if you can pull that up

39:41specifically, that'd be great. That was

39:42one of the things I did not find. Um,

39:44all right. So, to set expectations, this

39:46is going to be a slightly confusing item

39:49where we don't have quite incomplete

39:51information, quite complete information,

39:53uh, but it is timely and we want to

39:55discuss what we do know. Um, so we were

39:59discussing the replacement of uh Webster

40:02A in general and specifically the

40:03replacement of the Webster AB bridge uh

40:06which uh which Mascot has an active

40:10project that I think I saw in the city

40:12update is going out to bid nowish. Uh

40:16the the only public as Ted mentioned the

40:18only public meeting on this was in March

40:212025.

40:22Um

40:24uh and we'll go briefly over you know

40:26existing conditions reminder uh and then

40:30uh uh what was shown then uh and the

40:35potential newest plans uh that were were

40:39one page uh was sent to Alex Frerieden

40:42after he uh was was requesting that from

40:45MASDOT. uh that is slightly hard to

40:48interpret but it's kind of the only

40:49public information from there and it's

40:51it's worth discussing. Uh so anyway let

40:54me know if I should cover more if we

40:56should cover more. Let me know if you

40:58know we're trading stuff everyone's

41:00familiar with.

41:02Um so Webster A of course has a uh

41:06unprotected bike lane in one direction

41:08from uh Washington Street Somerville A.

41:12Uh I don't know if this was exactly

41:15Council Link's favorite intersection or

41:17or nearby uh a heavily trafficked bike

41:21route for of course after Prospect

41:23Street. Uh the protected bike lanes

41:25began in both directions.

41:28Um and they're somewhat interrupted by

41:30the existing left turn lanes. Uh it was

41:32great to hear that mobility is planning

41:34to remove the left turn lanes in both

41:37directions on Webster A approaching here

41:40which the committee has requested for

41:41many years.

41:44uh knowing that these are relatively

41:45lightly used, especially this left turn

41:48uh lane. Uh and that'll free up space to

41:53uh I don't think we've seen specific

41:54designs um uh mobility. Feel free to

41:58share more specifics, but as you can

42:00see, removing uh a turn lane that could

42:03not be used much of anything will free

42:05up about 10 ft of space. Uh enough to

42:08add, you know, bike lanes both

42:11directions. uh hopefully to protect an

42:14ex an an existing bike lane and uh add

42:17another bike lane that would hopefully

42:18be protected and so on. Um

42:23so great to hear that that is happening

42:25very soon apparently.

42:27As folks may recall when MATUP presented

42:30about their bridge replacement uh which

42:32included a street changed from

42:33approximately Everett Street just up

42:35here to um to approximately Prospect

42:39Street along a section of Webster A. Uh

42:43at the meeting it was fairly confusing.

42:47Um this this map shifts to having north

42:50uh on the right side of the page. So

42:52Union Square over here on the right

42:54side. Here's Prospect Street uh for

42:56reference.

42:58Um, so while there is some good things

43:01like squaring up intersections in this

43:03plan from March 2025, uh, from Mass,

43:06there's the very there's the extremely

43:08confusing design, uh, that moves to a

43:11two-way bike lane on the on the eastern

43:15side of the street uh, where anybody

43:18trying to bike southbound starting from

43:20Union Square as their March 2025 design

43:23would have had to cross over at this

43:25unsignalized crossike cross here at

43:28Everett Street. Um or sorry, I think

43:31this is Newton Street here. Um and then

43:34continue on uh to Prospect Street here.

43:37And it was unclear what they would do at

43:39all, but presumably one way or another

43:41they would have to transition back to

43:43the unidirectional protected bike lanes

43:46further along Webster.

43:49Um so again, Mascot has not shared

43:52anything public uh that I am aware of

43:55since then.

43:56Um, Alex Frerieden got a response from

43:59them sharing uh, one page from a clearly

44:04much bigger document uh, describing a

44:08somewhat similar plan. Um,

44:12and

44:14again confusing engineering document,

44:17missing context. If mobility knows more,

44:20feel free to jump in. Um, but compared

44:23to what Masset was previously showing,

44:25the curving is substantially similar,

44:28there are some uh uh improvements that

44:31appear to be well thought through. For

44:33example, Newton Street here um uh slated

44:38to be a neighborway overall. Um uh

44:41appears to have an additional

44:43uh barrier here and uh no outlet to

44:46prospect sign. No outlet to prospect

44:49sign. So event uh basically fully

44:51eliminating any cut through traffic uh

44:54going out this way hopefully reducing

44:55volumes and that could be useful

44:59um on this section um for people biking

45:05northbound from Prospect Street into

45:07Union Square.

45:09These masked out plans appear to show a

45:1110 uh 10- foot wide raised uh bikeway

45:16uh curb separated from the road. A 10-ft

45:19bike lane is uh very wide for a one-way

45:23bike lane. It it is wide enough to be a

45:26two-way bike lane. Uh as currently

45:28depicted, it appears to be a one-way

45:31bike lane. Um

45:34as shown here, only heading northbound.

45:37It's somewhat unclear what somebody

45:40biking southbound would do based off of

45:42this plan. As you can see, uh this shows

45:45I think this is more or less the same as

45:47existing conditions. uh with the

45:49unprotected bike lane here starting from

45:52the Union Square side uh heading up here

45:54largely matching existing conditions and

45:57then uh

46:01not existing.

46:03>> So basically they took their 25% plan

46:08and removed the bizarre bike crossing in

46:10the middle of the street parallel to the

46:14crossing the pedestrian crossing

46:16basically.

46:17Yes, that is my read. Um,

46:20>> at the masked up meeting where this was

46:22presented, many of the public comments

46:25were very confused by what the intent

46:27was here. Um, regarding people biking

46:30southbound needing to zigzag over twice

46:33versus zero times to continue in a

46:35straight line. Uh, and Mass do my really

46:38did not have a clear uh

46:42reasoning as to why that was. Um when

46:46the bike committee discussed this uh

46:48soon after we gave similar feedback

46:51several months later uh Viola from

46:53mobility gave a very detailed

46:55presentation added much more context and

46:58it was extremely helpful. Uh I tracked

47:00this down only a couple minutes before

47:02the meeting. So apolog for not being

47:04better prepared. Uh but largely the

47:07context

47:09as I understand it is that mobility

47:11plans to eventually transition Webster A

47:14uh to having a two-way protected bike

47:17lane along the east side for the entire

47:19stretch of the street. Um and

47:24uh is is choosing that kind of because a

47:27two-way protected bike lane is slightly

47:30narrower than a pair of unidirectional

47:32protected bike lanes. uh as well as the

47:35fact that Newton Street is slated to be

47:37upgraded to a neighborway. Uh over here

47:40uh while Prospect Street will largely

47:42not be getting protected bike lanes. Uh

47:45the committee and the UniSquare plans

47:47have kind of consistently favored an

47:49approach with Webster prioritizing

47:51bikes, Prospect prioritizing buses. And

47:55so the two-way protected bike lane along

47:57here uh on the east side could be

48:00compatible with what the bridge uh

48:02design would build. And there's very

48:04much different moving parts of the

48:06bridge design needing to be finalized.

48:10>> Uh so that you know the civil engineers

48:14know what they're actually building for

48:15the bridge structure and everything.

48:18uh and other parts of the project

48:20relying on either quick build changes or

48:23larger uh changes to Union Square as

48:26part of the Union Square Plazet and

48:27Streetscapes uh project by the master

48:30developer.

48:32Uh, and so overall I think the current

48:34state just kind of I at least am just

48:38confused looking at this and you know

48:42there's kind of a charitable read that

48:44this might be a solid plan overall that

48:47would result in you know carefully

48:49coordinated phasing eventually leading

48:51to a uh a two-way protected bike lane

48:55along the east side of Webster A. um

49:01uh and that the bridge bar is needing to

49:03happen at whatever timeline and various

49:06quick build projects reacting to that.

49:08Um but it is you know concerning to me

49:12that there has not been more publicly

49:14shared uh especially by mascot regarding

49:17what the actual plan is. Uh and in the

49:20conditions that are shown here, uh as

49:24currently depicted, I think this could

49:25be a very concerning condition for

49:28people biking southbound not having a

49:30clear path of what to do.

49:33>> Um

49:35so yeah, I think at this point I I don't

49:36know if the it most likely is not needed

49:40for the committee to you know endorse a

49:42particular statement or anything like

49:43that, but it seemed like it made sense

49:45to discuss this publicly at our meeting.

49:47have that the discussion.

49:50Uh anything more than mobility can share

49:51would be welcome. Uh and uh would love

49:56to

49:57discuss what we would ideally like this

49:59to look like and raise any concerns.

50:01Yeah, I I think I would have some

50:03questions for the city too, Tom, about,

50:06you know, if there is to be a sort of

50:10complete two-way bike facility on

50:13Webster,

50:14is is this hypothetical or is this a

50:18project with a particular timeline? Um,

50:23so I guess that would sway my

50:27my perception of the, you know, making

50:31this compatible or masked out attempt

50:34here to maybe make this compatible with

50:36that plan.

50:38Otherwise, I agree that it is bizarre.

50:42Um,

50:45also

50:47I don't remember where we are. I think

50:48it was over a year ago that Viola

50:50presented some of the options for the

50:53Union Square redesign. Uh, which I think

50:56is part of what you were getting at with

50:57the

50:59the the concept of Webster being

51:03prioritizing bikes.

51:13>> Risha, anything to add at this time? Um,

51:17on our end, if you have any questions, I

51:19can take them back to the team, we have

51:22been advising and urging mass to make

51:25things public. So, on our end, that's

51:27kind of all we can do. Um, and I'm happy

51:31to get Viola to come back because I know

51:33that was helpful last time. So, that

51:36feels helpful to just

51:38>> I also know like these aren't public,

51:40but now that we've like they've shared

51:42them and we shared them at this meeting,

51:43they are now. Um, but I'm happy to get

51:46someone from the team to come by. Um,

51:49and on the Union Square Plaza part of

51:52it, um, that was kind of the thinking

51:55here is that most of the decisions that

51:57were made were made based on a future

52:00condition so that we can work on the

52:02Union Square Plaza project. Um, and as

52:05of now, um, it is Prospect Street and

52:09the Webster Bridge and Newton Street are

52:12on phase one. So this kind of ties into

52:15that. I we we don't have a timeline on

52:17that. We are look still in the looking

52:20for funding part of um the Union Square

52:22Plaza project, but these are all um kind

52:25of tying up into phase one of the Union

52:28Square Plaza redesign.

52:30>> Thanks. Uh Risha, for the minutes, could

52:32you say again which streets were part of

52:33phase one?

52:34>> Um it's uh Prospect Street, um the

52:38Webster Bridge, and um Newton Street. um

52:42just between Webster and Prospect.

52:49>> Does anyone remember when the when

52:51shovels are supposed to be in the ground

52:52on this one

52:55when they were hoping?

53:00>> Wait, sorry. Can you repeat the

53:01question?

53:02>> Uh does does anyone remember when for

53:04sir? Sorry, I shouldn't be more clear

53:06for the bridge project for the the mass

53:09bridge project. Does anyone remember

53:10when shovels are supposed to be in the

53:11ground when they were they were hoping

53:13to get started?

53:14>> Um they yeah they are um they are going

53:18out to bid this month um for um for a

53:23contractor and they are planning to

53:25start construction next year.

53:29>> Okay.

53:35>> Do you have cat?

53:37>> Yeah.

53:38>> Yeah. I say thanks you guys for walking

53:40through this really really helpful and

53:41also recapping and reminding us what the

53:43previous design had been. Um I don't

53:46think I have too much helpful to add but

53:48I say it would be I think helpful to

53:49have Biola back just because it is

53:53really unclear then what So you said to

53:55the right is the northbound lane.

53:58>> Yeah

53:58>> the bike l Yeah. of just how

54:03because we can't see the Union Square

54:05intersection just like how this is all

54:07supposed to interact knowing that this

54:09is them going out to bed soon. Um and

54:13just would love some understanding of

54:15like what are the interim conditions

54:17going to look like when we have this if

54:19the city is aware of that. Um I

54:21recognize this is a mass dot project.

54:24Uh but is this is now different than the

54:27previous just understanding what I mean

54:29what we should expect and if there's any

54:30way to help optimize it.

54:39>> Definitely agree. And um did I see that

54:41the the bridge project is currently

54:43going out to bid?

54:45>> Yes.

54:46>> Okay. So I hope we can have that

54:48discussion fairly soon. Like I I

54:49definitely trust that mobility has been

54:51engaged with mascot on this,

54:53>> but given that moving along and no other

54:56public information from Masot, I would

54:58>> uh I'll be very reassured hearing from

55:01Biola or or anyone at Mobility

55:03knowledgeable about this uh quite soon

55:06and having confidence that there's a a

55:09plan throughout many phases of this.

55:12>> Yeah, we can do that.

55:19here a second.

55:24>> Another thing I'll mention, uh, while

55:26the overall, uh, bike lane here, uh, is

55:29depicted as 10 ft wide, uh, which is

55:32plenty of room for a two-way bike lane,

55:35over here at Newton Street, where there

55:38appears to be curbing, uh, uh, being

55:41effectively a dead end for cars while

55:42allowing bikes to continue through and

55:45sequentially cross Uh this is definitely

55:47an area where I was a little kind of

55:49curious to understand some of the intent

55:50here. For example, I see some of the

55:53dimensions, but I didn't immediately see

55:54what the actual dimensions would be here

55:57on the island and how much that reduces

55:59the 10-ft bike lane and whether the kind

56:02of squeezed down bike lane here. It was

56:05not immediately clear to me whether that

56:07would still be compatible with a two-way

56:09bike lane along here. Um and then

56:13similarly uh while it appears there

56:15still is very much permeability for

56:17bikes. So, while it would be uh a dead

56:20end for cars, a bike could still enter

56:22here uh either to to turn on here or uh

56:27potentially to want to continue on um to

56:32perhaps cross here uh towards the other

56:35half of Newton Street and Clark Street

56:37uh kind of the uh western direction

56:40towards the Argentinian school and that

56:42general area. It was a little unclear to

56:44me like what would that actually feel

56:46like if somebody biked and entering here

56:48and zigzagging around to do this island

56:51uh crossing perhaps in the crosswalk uh

56:55instead of at a cross bike uh and then

56:58getting over to here. Perhaps that's

57:01that necessary trade-off of prioritizing

57:04a two-way bike lane. But again, I I

57:07would love these assumptions to be

57:08documented publicly.

57:19So Tom, it looks like the the

57:22bike way

57:25ends just at that crosswalk mid street

57:28with a ramp.

57:31So like that that it's raised through

57:34the intersection

57:36and then uh it disappears

57:40if so if you're going northbound it

57:42disappears at that crosswalk

57:45because then there's a parking lane

57:47>> and it appears to show a parking lane

57:49here. So presumably at some point that

57:52parking would have to be either removed

57:54or relocated to accommodate a two-way

57:56protected bike lane here. Um

58:00perhaps the intent is that a bike would

58:03in this film condition, perhaps the

58:05intent is that a bike would take the

58:06lane uh southbound here like they have

58:09to do currently.

58:12>> But again, we would love to see that

58:14explicitly presented.

58:18>> Yeah.

58:26>> It's also just

58:28odd given that I feel like

58:32>> well maybe it's depends on the time of

58:34the day but I feel like there's tends to

58:36be much more traffic uh southbound

58:38towards Cambridge on this road than

58:43northbound. Um,

58:48so you know,

58:50>> it it seems problematic

58:54not to have a easy transition from the

58:58striped bike lane to the bike way. So is

59:01the intent that people are going to just

59:05>> get off their bikes and walk over to the

59:07bike way because I

59:09>> very skeptical that that's actually

59:11going to happen.

59:13>> Hopefully not. uh during Masked Out's

59:16public presentation in March 2025, it

59:19they did have a crossbike and some very

59:21consistent feedback uh from the audience

59:24and I believe from ESPback was that uh

59:28crossing the street uh unnecessarily

59:30especially at a hill is going to be a

59:32very uncomfortable condition also

59:34without a clear place to wait or or pull

59:36over. But yeah, all uncleared.

59:47any uh any other questions or comments?

59:56Yeah, I would also it would definitely

59:57be great to hear from Viola again to

59:59also think about um to not only

1:00:02understand context and timelines but

1:00:04also think about if we if the city is

1:00:07going to remove that southbound left

1:00:09turn lane. Um if that then gives us some

1:00:16maybe options for interim conditions.

1:00:24>> Yes.

1:00:29Um,

1:00:31all right. Um, I'm not seeing anything

1:00:33else right now. U again, acknowledge as

1:00:36a very incomplete situation.

1:00:39Um, from my perspective, no particular

1:00:42uh vote or formal statement is needed

1:00:44from the committee at this time. Um but

1:00:48uh yeah would love to hear uh from

1:00:51mobility and andor masdot uh a clear

1:00:55vision of how all this actually works

1:01:06>> good

1:01:10question.

1:01:12>> Okay. Um, do we have I I have seen just

1:01:16the email announcing that the protected

1:01:18bike lings were going to be extended up

1:01:21Webster south of Prospects Beach Street

1:01:23to that intersection. Are those going to

1:01:25be or do we know yet that those are

1:01:27going to be on one on each side of the

1:01:30street like the rest of Webster south of

1:01:33there?

1:01:36Um

1:01:40they will

1:01:44so sorry I don't but I can bring this

1:01:46back to the team of what is the extent I

1:01:49do know that we are kind of preparing

1:01:51for the interim condition uh because we

1:01:54do not want to put anything on the

1:01:56Webster app bridge that then will be

1:01:59become unsafe if we're like leading

1:02:01people down the bridge where it's just

1:02:02going to be shut for construction next

1:02:05Um so we are working on um what both the

1:02:09sites look like just to prepare for

1:02:11construction as well.

1:02:13>> Um I do know that um the south side of

1:02:16Webster with Prospect Street, we will be

1:02:19um kind of extending the bike lane that

1:02:23has with the protected barriers on that

1:02:25one side. Um so I know that is

1:02:27definitely going to go up to the

1:02:28intersection for sure.

1:02:30>> Okay. Yeah, because that was that was a

1:02:33question I had back when we saw those

1:02:35masked out last year for the bridge that

1:02:38it looks like they're expecting people

1:02:39to not only cross in the middle of the

1:02:41bridge into this like briefly contrad

1:02:44like two-way lane when you're headed

1:02:45southbound but also cross back to the

1:02:48other side at the Prospect intersection

1:02:50which is not my favorite place to be

1:02:51crossing the street.

1:02:52>> Yeah, definitely. And um that

1:02:54intersection will also is part of being

1:02:57redone in that phase one part of Union

1:02:59Square. So all that we're working on and

1:03:02talking about is a lot of working

1:03:04through

1:03:06>> till we can get there.

1:03:08>> Also I don't know.

1:03:23I can only speak anecdotally from what

1:03:24I've heard from folks in the Cambridge

1:03:26bike safety community, but that that's

1:03:28kind of like in an otherwise fantastic

1:03:30project, the kind of worst experience is

1:03:33like

1:03:52Um, I'll just plug again that uh this is

1:03:56something I said uh before I was a city

1:03:58councelor way back in that meeting is

1:04:19uh I know that Newton is going to be

1:04:21closed.

1:04:23Uh and as is like you know the entire

1:04:31you know doing that unprotected

1:04:34um you know where essentially just

1:04:37you're talking about a show situation.

1:04:40Um

1:04:42given the especially the high volume of

1:04:44traffic that

1:04:46people see um you know uh currently

1:04:49going up Webster it's I I think that it

1:04:52would be

1:04:55bothing

1:05:02um which is not what it is intended for

1:05:04uh but yeah so there is there's adequate

1:05:08space I realize that it wouldn't an

1:05:09ideal long-term situation. Um, but for

1:05:29I I am also very curious uh uh what

1:05:33conditions will be while the bridge is

1:05:34being replaced and Prospect Street is is

1:05:37certainly the most obvious alternative

1:05:39for for a safe bike route.

1:05:43Yeah, my memory was correct that that's

1:05:45that mass DOT's idea was that it would

1:05:46be a that this was going to be the

1:05:48detour, but they

1:05:52what they want to do with prospect.

1:05:59I can um when comes or any other staff

1:06:04member um joins a meeting, they I can

1:06:07ask them to also just share uh what that

1:06:10conversation was and what that might

1:06:11look like.

1:06:12>> Thank you.

1:06:32G.

1:07:00Can everyone see their presentation?

1:07:03>> Yes.

1:07:08Okay. Online too.

1:07:12Yep.

1:07:41style and definitely has been

1:07:44interesting and would love feedback on

1:07:45how that's working. Um, we'll be at the

1:07:49groundwork harvest festival this

1:07:50weekend. Um, there is also a ribbon

1:07:54cutting for uh trough street neighbor.

1:07:58um that's happening next week on

1:07:59Tuesday, October 6th at 11:00 a.m. um

1:08:02just to celebrate everything that's

1:08:04happening with Tus Glenn um and also the

1:08:08park um in that area which is exciting.

1:08:12Um and then Union Square Farmers Market,

1:08:14Monster Mash, and then we have the Latin

1:08:16American Caribbean Heritage Month

1:08:18celebration at the end of the month.

1:08:22Uh quick little project updates. Um, we

1:08:25can uh

1:08:52the payment markings go everything kind

1:08:55of is functioning smoothly. Um,

1:08:57summerville a uh we have the engagement

1:09:00report that was published um recently

1:09:03and we're hoping to share designs um at

1:09:06the end of this year with implementation

1:09:08next summer. Um East Washington we just

1:09:12shared the community engagement report

1:09:14um this last week um and we anticipate a

1:09:18concept design early next year. um

1:09:21community pot safety. Um we uh also this

1:09:26week published a design strategy report

1:09:28and we are starting to implement the

1:09:32project um this week. We're testing out

1:09:36um some

1:09:38um some potential um improvements on the

1:09:42path um at central um and the community

1:09:46pod intersection. and then over the fall

1:09:48continuing to do as much pavement

1:09:50marking work as we can. Um

1:10:04this week and it just it looks it's very

1:10:06exciting. Um and ribbon cutting next

1:10:09week. Um West Broadway sidewalk

1:10:12construction on the south side is going

1:10:15on. Um and then we have Western Coral

1:10:18where they're also starting on sidewalk

1:10:20um on that on the north side of Pearl.

1:10:28Uh Broadway um we have the community

1:10:30engagement report that's out and then we

1:10:32are hoping to have uh updated designs

1:10:36this fall.

1:10:39intersection. Um, at this time, B walnut

1:10:41is also complete. Um, and Washington

1:10:45Miriam, there's still construction and

1:10:47some punch punch list items that we're

1:10:49hoping to complete this fall. Um, and

1:10:53then quick build, Broadway, Wallace

1:10:55Simpson. Um, that was completed a few

1:10:58weeks ago.

1:11:00Major infrastructure projects, I know we

1:11:02talked about Webster A, um, which is

1:11:04kind of in the bidding phase at the

1:11:06moment. Um, additionally, McGrath

1:11:09Boulevard, we're anticipating designs

1:11:11later this year. Um, Mystic Mafa

1:11:15construction is complete and we are

1:11:17working with MASDA to monitor um, how

1:11:20it's working so far. And then route

1:11:233828,

1:11:25um, there's construction going on. Um,

1:11:28and they're hoping to complete that next

1:11:30year in the summer and fall. Fed bike

1:11:32ped bridge. Um exciting news that they

1:11:36were a awarded exist build contract

1:11:39masdot um and there is an anticipated

1:11:43three-year construction schedule um

1:11:45which is a change from their initial

1:11:47plan for four years. So it's nice that

1:11:50they're going to get it done earlier. Um

1:11:53and then shore drive um that is also

1:11:56underway at the moment. It looks like

1:11:58there's nothing happening but it is dug

1:12:00up because they are just doing a lot of

1:12:02underground sewage storm water work so

1:12:05that they can um do the plantings and

1:12:08that is um planned to finish we are yeah

1:12:12this summer next year. Um but that was

1:12:17all I had. Do you have any questions?

1:12:25Any questions or comments from the

1:12:28committee?

1:12:32Lots of good stuff.

1:12:34>> Yeah, that's really awesome. It's a lot

1:12:36of great work.

1:12:37>> I almost applauded at the end.

1:12:39>> I know. I just like the city update.

1:12:41It's like the Great British Baking Show

1:12:43or whatever. It's like the feelgood

1:12:45portion of the meeting where we can just

1:12:46sit back and be like, "Ah, 75%."

1:12:50Um, no, that all looks great. Um, I I

1:12:55did appreciate in the West Broadway work

1:12:58um that they did create a nice bumpout

1:13:01sidewalk that also kind of worked as a

1:13:04bike lane. I kind of wish it was still

1:13:06there while the rest of it is still

1:13:12uh getting getting put in place. But I

1:13:15did appreciate the like, you know, like

1:13:17the detour, the attention to detail with

1:13:20the detour. while that significant rip

1:13:23up was happening. Um, so hopefully

1:13:26people found that, you know, pedestrians

1:13:29especially found that feeling okay to

1:13:32use during that because they really did

1:13:34just I mean it's the whole whole side is

1:13:37new now, which is great, but it can be

1:13:39challenging when that much is,

1:13:42you know, being built at the same time.

1:13:44So appreciate that.

1:13:47Um Tom

1:13:50>> uh for the Mystic River Bridge, super

1:13:52exciting. Uh the three-year construction

1:13:54schedule, do we know is that beginning

1:13:56nowish? Uh I know it's approved, but is

1:13:59you know, do those three years start

1:14:01now? Do they start after a notice to

1:14:03proceed next year or

1:14:07>> I will check it.

1:14:10Yeah.

1:14:12All

1:14:17right. If I don't hear anything else

1:14:19from the committee or anyone from the

1:14:22public,

1:14:24I can

1:14:27to make a motion to end October's

1:14:30meeting.

1:14:32Uh Amanda, and can I get a second from

1:14:36Paul? Yes. Everyone in favor of

1:14:40adjourning, say I. And we will meet

1:14:45again next month. And have a great

1:14:48autumn and see you then.

1:14:50>> Great autumn and see everybody in

1:14:52November. Wow.

1:14:5412.