Glen Street and Otis Street Quick-Build Neighborway

We will be popping up at Glen and Otis Street on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, to discuss your new neighborways. Stop by to ask questions, share your concerns, and tell us how you enjoy your safer streets.

Otis Street

Time: 2:00–4:00 pm

Location: Outside Friends Pizza, 38 Cross St, Somerville, MA 02145

Glen Street

Time: 4:30–6:30 pm

Location: Outside Glen Street Park, 150 Glen Street, Somerville, MA 02145

Weather permitting, over the coming weeks contractors will install new signage and add new pavement markings as part of the City’s Glen and Otis Street Neighborway project.

What is happening?

Parking Signage and Pavement Marking Updates

• Clear Corners - Under local, state, and federal law, parking is prohibited ahead of a crosswalk or intersection. Additional signage and pavement marks will be added to reinforce these existing parking restrictions.
• Two-way bike neighborway “gateways” - Gateways serve as the entrance to a Neighborway and include specific pavement markings and signage to increase safety for people using the street.
  • Parking is restricted approximately either 40 feet or 30 feet (including the 20’ for clear corners) from the intersection to increase safety for two-way bike travel
    • Parking restrictions total approximately 6 spaces across the project area.

Introduction of Bi-directional/Contra-flow Travel for People Biking

• “Neighborway” Signage and Pavement Markings - Addition of new signage and pavement markings to indicate people riding bikes can travel both directions along the street.
• Introduction of two–way or “contra-flow” bicycle traffic - Following the installation of pavement markings and associated signage Glen and Otis Street will become two-way for people biking.

Anticipated Work Schedule (subject to change):

• Week of 7/1 or Soon After - Parking Signage Installation
  • Parking signage adjustment/installation to take place during regular construction hours, weekdays 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Week of 7/8 or Soon After - Pavement Marking and Two-way Bicycle Traffic Signage
  • Pavement marking/street paint work hours are weekdays between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.
  • Once most of the pavement markings are in place, signs related to two-way contra-flow bicycle traffic will get installed.
  • Additional signs, curbs, planters, and pavement symbol street paint will finalize the project.
  • This work is expected to take no more than 1-2 days to complete.

Construction Impacts:

• On-street parking may be restricted during construction (no parking signs will be posted 48 hours in advance).
• Potential periods of elevated noise levels around work zones during work hours.
• Access to your driveway may be temporarily restricted during pavement marking, but onsite crews will help you get in and out of your driveway if needed.

Have questions?

If you have questions about pavement markings/construction, please call the Engineering Division at 617-625-6600 ext. 5400 or email construction@somervillema.gov.

If you have questions about the project design and safety improvements, please email transportation@somervillema.gov.

Come join your neighbors, the City, Neighborways Design and CultureHouse for a Paint Day Block Party! This work is part of the installation of the Glen and Otis Street Neighborways Installation.

Date: Saturday June 22, 2024 (Rain date: June 23)

Time: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Location: East Somerville Community School parking lot, (across from the intersection of Glen Street and Webster Street)

Neighbors of all ages are invited! No painting experience necessary. You must be 10 years and older to paint. A chalk area will be available for younger artists with parental supervision.

Enjoy free food, music, and help paint a community mural! Our design is of beautiful flowers and fun phoenix motif based on ideas gleaned from our open house events and local artists. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn about the Glen and Otis Street Neighborway construction happening this summer.

Outdoor painting is weather dependent. Be sure to check the Glen and Otis Street Project website for event date changes due to inclement weather. Check out the proposed designs below.

Wall mural including phoenix motifs, the mascot for the East Somerville Community School.

Street mural including phoenix motifs, the mascot for the East Somerville Community School.

Starting June 3 or soon after, City Contractors will begin installing speed humps on Glen Street and other streets designated for speed humps in 2024. Speed hump installation begins with targeted pavement milling and signage installation. Then city contractors construct the asphalt mound and place temporary tape to highlight the speed hump. Later, pavement markings contractors will come and install permanent markings on the new speed humps. These include large white chevrons and diagonal yellow stripes.

To learn more about speed humps in Somerville, visit www.somervillema.gov/trafficcalming. You can also check out the Citywide Traffic Calming map that displays recently installed speed humps in addition to plans for speed hump locations over the next two years.

If you have any questions regarding construction, please reach out to construction@somervillema.gov or call 617-625-6600 ext. 5400.

Starting in the Summer of 2023, CultureHouse and Neighborways Design, in collaboration with the City of Somerville, has been engaging with the community in East Somerville around the planned installation of Neighborway slow streets on Glen and Otis Street. We have talked to over 40 residents while canvassing door-to-door, hosted a walk audit with the Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee, posted information in local businesses and newsletters, talked to over 35 residents at community events, hosted a hot cider social attended by 20 adults and 10 kids, and met with school principals.

During this time, we also collected observational data on mode share, demographics, and behavior at four locations on Glen and Otis Street on weekends and weekdays during the morning (7–11 am), afternoon (12–4 pm), and evening (5–8 pm) hours. We also completed video analysis of Glen Street at Oliver Street during peak traffic times.

We heard from community members about their concerns regarding safety on the street for people walking, rolling, and biking. We heard feedback that some of the recent changes to Pearl Street like the Neighborhood Traffic circles were confusing. We saw that fewer people were biking on Glen and Otis Street compared to the goals in the Bicycle Network Plan.

These findings led to us creating draft plans for the Neighborways to improve safety using traffic calming measures and install clear signage along the corridor to improve connectivity. We presented our draft designs to the community at a block party on March 16th, attended by over 40 people, and digitally through the project webpage.

After receiving feedback on our proposed design options, we have created final designs that we plan to install on the streets this summer. Our proposed design uses several components to create a safe street for people walking. rolling, and biking.

Gateways serve as the entrance to the Neighborway. Branded signs and pavement markings provide wayfinding for people traveling on the street and installations near the crosswalk increase visibility and pedestrian safety. Speed humps (on Glen Street only) help slow vehicles to make the street safer to walk and bike on. Art (on Tufts Street and at East Somerville Community School) liven up the street with murals. In response to community feedback, we have decided on a design for the new Neighborways sign and selected purple as the brand color.

We also will be installing planters at intersections where we have residents who have volunteered to maintain them. Are you interested in adopting a planter? Email us at somerville@neighborways.com by May 31st to let us know.

You can review our final plans here. Over the coming weeks, we will be placing posters on signposts along the street, and dropping flyers with information about the designs we plan to install at homes on Glen and Oliver Street.

Pending weather and scheduling constraints, we aim to install the paint, signs, barriers, and murals in July and August 2024. Other elements like speed humps, clear corners, and wayfinding may be installed later in the year.

Click here to see the Glen and Otis Street Neighborways Final Designs Presentation Slides.

Click here to see the Glen and Otis Street Neighborways Final Street Plans.

As part of the Glen & Otis Street Quick-Build Neighboway project, City staff will install a temporary intersection treatment on April 2 between 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m at Glen Street and Pearl Street. We invite you to check out the demonstration anytime that afternoon and share your feedback with our team at somerville@neighborways.com.

The Glen Street and Otis Street quick-build project will turn these streets into Neighborways as designated in the Somerville Bicycle Network plan. Quick-build projects use tools like pavement markings and signage to make changes to the street. The goal of the project is to reduce car volumes and speeds to make it comfortable and safe for people walking, wheeling, and biking.

Intersection treatments are important to:

• ensure safe entry and exit
• announce Neighborways to all users
• provide clear signage and directions

On March 16th, 2024, we hosted a block party at the East Somerville Community School to share our proposed designs for the Glen and Otis Street Neighborways. At the block party, we received feedback on possible designs and colors for signs, proposed safety improvements at intersections, and public art options. We also shared updates about the engagement and data collection we’ve completed so far.

You can view the materials that we showed at the block party here. We will be using feedback from the community to inform our decision as we finalize our designs.

Didn't get the chance to join? Share your feedback or questions with us at somerville@neighborways.com. We are collecting additional feedback. We anticipate having final designs to share towards the end of Spring.

Information available in English, Español, Português, Kreyòl Ayisyen, नेपाली, 繁體中文, 简体中文.

You’re invited to a winter block party to discuss upcoming safety improvements on Glen and Otis Street at the East Somerville Community School Cafeteria on Saturday, March 16, 2024 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.!

We’ll have games, music, snacks, hot drinks, and more. After hearing from some community members in door-to-door outreach and cider socials, we have developed potential designs for the street. Join us at the block party to learn more about the proposed designs and share your feedback!

Engagement

We spent the months of September, October, and November talking to residents on Glen and Otis Street, parents and students at the East Somerville Community and Capuano Schools, and members of local community groups. We engaged with community members, door-to-door canvassing, tabling events at the Somerville Public Library, talking to teens at Teen Empowerment, walking with the Somerville Pedestrian & Transit Advisory Committee, and hosting a Hot Cider Social at the East Somerville Community School. Over this time, we talked to and got feedback from over 60 people. If you didn’t get to talk to us, you still can! Email us at somerville@neighborways.com.

Data Collection

We completed observational and video data collection on the current use patterns at four locations on Glen and Otis Streets from August through October. We studied the street during weekdays and weekends multiple times a day to understand how people are using the street. This data will help us create designs that make the streets safer.

Canvassing

Hot Cider Social

We are now taking what we learned and drafting up design options for the streets. We plan to share these for public feedback in early 2024.