See the Final Plans for the Glen and Otis Street Neighborways

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.