Draft Holland Street Safety Proposal and Traffic Commission Next Steps
Summary information about the project available in Español, Português, Kreyòl Ayisyen, नेपाली, 简体中文版, 繁體中文版.
Thank you to all who attended the Special September 2022 Traffic Commission Meeting regarding the Holland Street Draft Safety Proposal. The meeting recording and presentation slides are now available.
At the meeting, Mayor Ballantyne addressed the Traffic Commission asking them to consider a new design for Holland Street that includes protected bicycle lanes from Buena Vista Road to Teele Square in response to the crash that killed Stephen Conley. Mobility Division staff then presented the proposed changes which are described below. Public comment was invited at the meeting, and written public comment is currently being accepted until 4pm of the next Traffic Commission meeting on Thursday, October 6 at 5:30pm. Please continue reading for more details.
Overview of Proposed Changes
The new draft Holland Street safety plan proposes to add protected bike lanes in each direction by restricting parking on one side of the street and preserving parking on the other side of the street. The street is too narrow to allow two-way motor vehicle traffic, two-way bike facilities and two-sided street parking.
To help provide more parking options for residents, workers and visitors, off-street parking resources throughout the neighborhood are being increased. In Davis Square, a new 75-space public underground garage is scheduled to begin construction in 2023. The City has also invested in live-time informational signage guiding people to the public parking lot at Buena Vista Road. In addition, Tufts University has recently made fee-based public parking available at the privately-owned parking lot opposite Cameron Avenue (users must pay via app or kiosk in order to avoid ticketing). On side streets, the City has already added some parking meters and loading zones, and City staff are working on additional proposals for options of this type.
Curtis Street from Electric Ave to Teele Square
New commercial loading zones and metered parking are proposed on Curtis Street. A new curbside bike lane would help route westbound bike riders through the intersection. The net parking change for Curtis Street is an increase of 2 parking spaces, going from 7 to 9 spaces.
Holland Street from Teele Square to Claremon Street
From Teele Square (Broadway and Newbury Street) to Claremon Street, the new design proposes to retain parking on the north side of the street and restrict parking on the south side of the street. The north side parking is located seven feet from the curb, with a westbound protected bike lane against the curb. The north side was selected because is has more space than the south side due to driveway spacing, several buildings on the south side have off-street parking lots, and staff want to ensure that outdoor dining parklets can continue. When parklets are in operation, the seasonal outdoor dining would remain at the curbside and the bike lane would taper around it. In the wintertime, the parklet would be removed and the bike lane would be on the curbside. North side parking is currently planned as mixture of meters, commercial loading zones and overnight resident parking. The net change of parking in this street segment is a reduction of 8 parking spaces, going from 27 to 19.
Holland Street from Claremon Street to Elmwood Street
From Claremon Street to Elmwood Street, the new proposal is to retain parking on the north side of the street and restrict parking on the south side of the street. The north side parking is located seven feet from the curb, with a westbound protected bike lane against the curb. A protected bike lane runs eastbound toward Davis Square. These safety treatments would reinforce the safety benefit of the pedestrian-focused traffic islands that have already been installed at the corner of Holland and Cameron. The current proposal is for the north side parking to use meters during the daytime to generate regular turnover of the spaces, which means that more people can use the space over the course of the day. This parking would be resident-only overnight. The net change from Claremon Street to Elmwood Street is a reduction of 13 parking spaces, going from 21 to 8. The parking lot owned by Tufts University has recently been made available for public parking. Users can pay a fee using a QR code or at a kiosk in the lot.
Holland Street from Elmwood Street to Simpson Ave
From Elmwood Street to Simpson Ave, the new proposal is to retain parking on the north side of the street and restrict parking on the south side of the street. The north side parking is located seven feet off the curb, with a westbound protected bike lane against the curb. A protected bike lane runs eastbound toward Davis Square. These safety treatments would reinforce the safety benefits of the pedestrian-focused curb extensions that have already been constructed at Paulina and at Hodgkins Park crossing.
New raised crosswalks are scheduled to be constructed in the coming weeks across Holland at Paulina Street and at the Hodgkins-Curtin Park crosswalk. The net change from Elmwood Street to Simpson Ave is a reduction of 17 parking spaces, going from 25 to 8. North side parking is currently planned as mixture of meters, accessible-only, commercial loading zones and overnight resident parking.
Holland Street from Simpson Ave to Buena Vista Road Street
From Simpson Ave to Buena Vista Road, the new proposal is to retain parking on the north side of the street and restrict parking on the south side of the street. The north side parking is located seven feet off the curb, with a westbound protected bike lane against the curb. A protected bike lane runs eastbound toward Davis Square. A new raised crosswalk is scheduled to be constructed at Holland Street and Winter Street this fall. The City is proposing to construct a raised intersection at Holland Street and Irving Street/Thorndike in 2023/2024. The new safety proposal preserves the eastbound loading zone and peak hour bus lane opposite Wallace Street. To help people navigate to the public parking lot at Buena Vista Road, the City has recently installed live informational signage telling people how many parking spaces are available in the parking lot.
Holland Street from Buena Vista Road to Davis Square
From Buena Vista Road to Davis Square, the new safety plan does not propose any changes compared to the previous plan. A large loading zone for passenger and commercial loading is provided on Holland eastbound opposite Wallace. New protected bike lanes and dedicated bus lanes run along the curbsides in each direction. The City has added new loading zones and parking meters on several side streets already. Our staff are currently working to add additional loading zones and we will work with residents and business owners to accommodate as many requests as possible.
Parking Changes to Adjacent Streets
The City is also proposing additional metered, loading and accessible parking regulations on several side streets next to Holland Street. The map below shows 31 metered parking spaces, with 15 already approved by the Traffic Commission in July, 7 new 30-minute spaces, 10 loading spaces, and 2 new accessible spaces. Based on public feedback during the September 21 meeting, staff will propose additional designated accessible spaces on and around Holland Street.
Seasonal Parklets Clarification
Where parklets are set up on Holland Street, the bike lane will bend around the parklet on the left. This shift will be clarified with plastic flex posts. When parklets are taken down for the winter, the flex posts will be moved so that the bike lane runs along the curb and parking is permitted to the left of the bike lane.
Blue Bikes Clarification
The existing seasonal Blue Bikes public bikeshare station on Holland Street opposite Moore Street would be relocated to an off-street location at the corner of Holland and Cameron.
Next Traffic Commission Meeting will be held on October 6, 2022
The Traffic Commission will meet virtually on Thursday, October 6, at 5:30pm to review public comment on the draft safety proposal and deliberate on the proposed changes. Please click on or copy and paste the following link into your browser to join: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86224237670
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Written comments can be sent:
By email to the Traffic Commission at trafficcommission@somervillema.gov (Please CC: transportation@somervillema.gov)
By mail to: Parking Department, ATTN: Traffic Commission, 133 Holland St, Somerville, MA 02144. Written comments will be accepted until 4:00pm on Thursday, October 6.
Written comments will then be posted to the meeting materials on the City Calendar following the meeting.
Interpretation into Portuguese, Spanish, Haitian Kreyol, Nepali, Mandarin, Cantonese, or other languages may be available upon advance request by contacting the SomerViva Office of Immigrant Affairs at somerviva@somervillema.gov or calling 311 at 617-666-3311.
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