Holland St & College Ave Mobility Improvements

Thank you for all the work in trying to integrate the concerns of cyclists, pedestrians and car drivers in the Davis Sq area. I live on Walker Street, and have lived here for 12 years, and regularly walk down College Ave and Holland to reach the square for shopping, transit, or for a leisurely walk in the neighborhood. I have two main comments-- I support stronger traffic calming measures along College Avenue and for the creation of an uninterrupted and protected bike lane along College Ave and Holland.

I would love to see greater traffic calming measures along College Avenue. I was once nearly hit by a car turning into Chapel Street (I believe it was) from College Avenue. The car had stopped within a foot of me as I was crossing the street--I was in the middle of crossing, having stepped off the sidewalk before the car turned in. Cars also stop infrequently for pedestrians when I cross College Ave from one side of the street to the other along the cross walk near William Street.

I am also a mother to two young boys, one of whom is learning to ride a two wheel bicycle and traveling the neighborhoods on it. I would love for him to grow up in a space that encourages alternative modes of transportation to cars, where there is safe and clear access for him to move through the major through roads of his neighborhood without worrying about competing with car drivers or inattentive drivers of parked cars. I would love for him to grow up in a neighborhood that is safe for both walking and biking. To have safer streets in our neighborhood, I believe it is essential for the roads to be *shared* roads where car drivers begin to drive with the understanding that they are just one mode of transit in a densely lived neighborhood. To have this, I think it important to create protected bike lanes instead of paint-markers (of bike images) that encourage sharing but does not always happen or to have timed/temporary lanes for sharing. I think College Aveune is wide enough to accommodate a protected lane on at least one side of the avenue if not both. I realize it reduces parking, but I think this is a worthwhile sacrifice in the long run.

I also agree with the comments about creating a safer pedestrian way at the intersection of Holland and Winter Street-- often, the cars merging onto Holland come out too far into the crosswalk path and makes it feel unsafe.

thanks very much for your attention.

While the project does increase bike infrastructure, I would say that it still misses the mark. Too much of the added bike lane runs along side temporary or permanent parking which both pushes cyclists further into the traffic lane and increases the chances of getting doored by a parked car. Neither of these are likely to encourage new cyclists in an area that really wants to be more ped / cyclist friendly. Please take another pass at this with more priority given to cyclists than motorists. Thank you.

Overall, a great effort working to accommodate so many uses of this ROW! A few thoughts:
- Love the # of ped crossing improvements but you're missing one: the pedestrian/bike crossing between the plaza and College Ave headhouse is always busy. It would be great to improve the crossing there for pedestrians, as well as carve out some additional accommodations for people who are trying to wheel from one section of the community path to the other.
- There needs to be better all ages and abilities connectivity for cyclists between Teele <> Davis and Powderhouse <> Davis, and this plan doesn't do the trick. I actually think the prioritization of these two ROWs in this final design is legitimate, however there should be low-stress alternatives for cyclists called out via wayfinding and calming. I would look to the Neighborways network in Central Somerville (alt to Highland) or the wayfinding between Inman and Central Sq in Cambridge (alt to Prospect & Columbia Sts.) as good precedents.

Thanks as always for your great work!
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The proposed improved pedestrian crossings, protected bike lanes, and bus lanes are excellent. I am very concerned about the "bike lane + parking" areas. As a pedestrian, car driver, and cyclist living in Somerville I ask: Why is the city prioritizing parking of a couple of cars over the lives of cyclists? Dooring is a very dangerous and common occurrence enabled by bike lane + parking areas. Davis square is a vibrant community center, and is thus more distracting to drivers who might forget to look before opening their door. It makes sense to prioritize cars and trucks on Rte 93, why are we doing it in a square filled with small businesses? I hope the plan will be amended to make all bike lanes protected, except when necessary to allow for disabled parking.

Hello,

Jumping onto this during my work hours because it is of absolute top importance: the community has spoken CLEARLY to show you that WE PREFER PROTECTED BICYCLE INFRASTRUCTURE. Please listen to us. I understand that there may be some pressure from car owners every time you remove parking spots, but please have faith that most people in the area are very emphatically behind you and have your back when you choose a future with fewer cars !

Your current proposed design gives far too much weight to these few car owners. Davis Sq. is a major transit hub and the future vision that a very great many of us share is one in which bikes and buses are afforded substantial preference on the roads. Please, on our behalf, make the choice that helps to realize this vision.

Why does the city continue to prioritize cars over pedestrians and bicycles? The proximity school for this entire area is West Somerville Neighborhood School and it is IMPOSSIBLE to get there by foot or bicycle safely due to speeding cars and total lack of infrastructure.

Somerville is a dense, walkable city and the area in question is next to a majorly used subway line. The bus and bike lanes should be 24/7. We should be discouraging cars from driving through or parking in Davis Square and instead encouraging pedestrians, bicycles, and mass transit. It would make Davis Square safer and healthier - and discouraging cars is the only way we will ever get the climate crisis under control.

Davis Square and the streets that feed into it are obvious places to maximize bike, pedestrian, and bus infrastructure. Please consider 24/7 bike and bus lanes on Holland and College. We are a small, dense city, and Davis--of all places--is not a place to maximize the throughput and parking of private cars.

As a resident of West Somerville who frequently bikes this route (most often with elementary school kids on their own bikes), I'm so distressed that the city is wasting an opportunity to provide safe bicycle infrastructure for its residents -- once again, prioritizing parking and the cars of non-Somerville residents. Once again, the city seems to be punting, saying that this is not final, when we all know that it will stay this way for several years at least, and will discourage pedestrians and cyclists from really using these routes and feeling truly safe. Buses and bicycles cut WAY down on the traffic on these routes, but you never prioritize their movement! Truly a disappointment.

THE PROPOSED FINAL DESIGN IS AWESOME! I LOVE IT!
I would love to see more parking removal and more permanent bus/bike lanes. I'd especially like to see a bike lane from Morrison up to William-- that's uphill, and getting overtaken by cars there is scary.
But this will still be much better than it is now.

I am hoping for some more speed bumps in the College Ave and Davis Square areas. I live on Hall Ave, and I think we could use a speed bump midway through the street. I think Morrison Ave. Could use a stop sign or speed bump too. Given how fast people travel on College Ave, perhaps a speed bump or another stop sign would help too.

I walk, drive and bike all through Somerville, and appreciate the bike lanes and traffic calming measures. Keep it up!

Excited about the College/Holland updates!

Two notes:
1) With regards to "Parking is more highly utilized on the commercial side than the park side" - while this is technically correct, it shouldn't be overlooked that parking on the park side is often *highly* used - sometimes to the extent of being full! There are a number of factors causing this - such as the low number of spaces on the commercial side due to the bus stop (note that the bus stop is often illegally parked in and is in an odd space - it would seem better to have the bus stop closer to the corner with Broadway just like the bus stop on Broadway is).

2) The fire department on Holland should have don't block the box XXX markings (like the one on Winter Hill) now that the stop line in front of PJ Ryans has been moved back.

Thank you for your consideration and for your work on this project!

Sincerely,
Rob Hagopian
41 Corinthian Rd

I left a previous comment but wanted to add: I often bike down College, similarly needs a protected bike lane and a safe way to turn off onto Shared Streets like Morrison and Winslow.

I bike on Holland street almost all the time, from Davis toward Teele. The road is so bumpy it is probably the most dangerous stretch I do (besides being a pedestrian anywhere on Paulina St.). There needs to be a separated bike lane and likely a clear way to take a left turn onto Cameron Ave. (Which will make it easier to connect to the bike path).

I live at 78 College Ave, and I use the crosswalk at College/Kidder at least twice a day. This is an extremely dangerous pedestrian crossing, especially at night. A pedestrian was struck here just yesterday. PLEASE consider significant safety improvements -- lights, raised bump, etc. Every once in a while, a sign is added in the middle of the road, and this lasts for a very short time before being run over. It's nowhere near enough.

Will the sidewalks be built with the same lack of planning as they were on Medford street? is the a detail for dealing with changes in elevation? Will the engineering staff discuss with property owners where sidewalks are not conforming to come up with solutions before destroying peoples property? Has the street been properly surveyed and designed for theses improvements?

No planning was done on Medford street and there are lots of issues because of it.

Will the needs of people with disabilities be considered? They certainly have not been with the granting of sidewalk space to businesses for restaurants to have outdoor seating

24/7 protected bike lanes should be a priority. The city has a vision Zero initiative, and protecting all users of the roads is proclaimed to be a mission of the city. Separating the bike lanes is a simple way to protect all the road users: drivers, bikers, pedestrians, and bus riders alike. Without protected bike lanes, cyclists are forced to weave around cars and buses that are blocking the bike lane. Without any bike infrastructure, vehicles are forced to swerve around the cyclists. 

The City Somerville has a fabulous opportunity to improve mobility and safety, please put the road users first and protect bikers! 

It's disappointing the city isn't taking a more ambitious approach to these projects to promote sustainable transportation via bus and biking, and instead prioritizing empty parked vehicles. The report notes "We shouldn’t consider this design a final product", but that's a silly way to look at it – rarely do we get the opportunity to upgrade our streets in this way – we should aspire to realize the final product since it will be decades before we're back for more changes.

Please prioritize bike lanes on College and Holland from Davis to Teele. Since the city failed to put two-way bike lanes on Powderhouse, which also connects these neighborhoods, Holland is another alternative to travel between the Davis and Teele areas. Like other commenters, I routinely travel in these areas by bike, sometimes with my toddler in a bike seat. Every pedestrian, cyclist, and bus rider is someone who isn’t in a car. If you give enough safe access by foot, bike, and transit, people won’t need all the parking anymore. Also, please keep the outdoor tables in Davis from May-October, even after Covid calms down! The area is doing just fine without the parking and extra traffic lanes, and it’s great for pedestrians and local businesses.

The permanent, 24/7 bus&bike lane is the minimum the city can do to alleviate the car related congestion that has been historically crippling Davis Square. Given that car parking has been already removed to allow outdoor dining during the pandemic, there is no reason to give back that space to traffic congestion and pollution.
I worry that the partial bike&bus lane will create confusion and will be almost impossible to enforce, as we have many examples of cars and vans parked in bike & bus lanes across the city. Finally, a permanent bus&bike lane gives a positive signal that the city supports public transit and biking at all times, and not only during peak hours.
Thanks