August 2021

The City and the consultant team are continuing to work on design of the new intersection. In July, City staff held a public meeting with direct abutters of the project. The presentation from that meeting is posted under the Presentations section on this page. The current design concept includes the creation of a new residential shared street in front of several homes that currently border Alewife Brook Parkway. A residential shared street is a street where pedestrians and bicyclists are prioritized. Cars are still allowed on the street, but the design communicates that drivers are not the primary road users – signage alerts drivers to expect pedestrians to be using the street space, and physical traffic calming elements (such as speed humps, plantings, or bends in the road) are used to ensure slow driving. For more information on shared streets, check out this resource and review the public meeting presentation to abutters.

In addition to creating more space for walking and rolling, this new residential shared street would provide a direct and safe connection between the neighborhood and the newly designed greenspace area on the south side of Alewife Brook Parkway. This greenspace area would be an enlargement and enhancement of the existing traffic island. Currently, given the two lanes of traffic that separate the neighborhood from the existing island, it’s not a usable greenspace for the neighborhood. This project would address that, and would make the traffic island usable park space for our City.

If you have questions or comments on the current concept, don’t hesitate to reach out to City staff.