Powder House Boulevard Restriping & Safety Improvements

Powder House Boulevard pavement markings were implemented in 2019 after the reconstruction of the street and have gradually faded away over time. The main goal of this project is to refresh these pavement markings.

Click this link to download a PDF of the design.

For the most part, pavement markings will not change, however a few changes are planned. First, a protected bike lane will be implemented in the westbound direction from Powder House Circle to Packard Avenue. Parking on this side of the street will be moved approximately seven feet from the curb with protected bike lanes being installed next to the sidewalk. Plastic flex posts will be added in the painted buffer space between the bike lane and the parking lane. Left turn bike boxes will be added at the intersections of Mason Street and Burnham Street to make it safer for people biking to turn left from Powder House Boulevard to side streets.

In addition, where there is a bike lane from Packard Ave to North Street, a two-foot door zone buffer space will be added in between the bike lane and the parking lane to help keep people biking away from potential car doors opening in their path.

Finally, six new speed humps will be constructed from Packard Avenue to Powder House Circle. Today, there are speed humps in place from North Street to Curtis Street. All speed humps will have signage and pavement markings to indicate their presence.

This plan requires modest changes to curbside parking regulations on Powder House Boulevard from Curtis St to Powder House Circle – a small amount of parking will be removed near intersections to make crosswalks safer and to allow people biking to take left turns safely. Parked vehicles near crosswalks can blocks views of people crossing the street. By restricting parking ahead of crosswalks, we’re able to increase visibility for people driving and reduce the likelihood of crashes.

For any questions or comments regarding the design, please reach out to the City’s Mobility Division at transportation@somervillema.gov.

City contractors are expected to begin painting the new pavement markings in Spring through Fall 2023. To stay up to date, we encourage you to sign up for City Alerts. City Alerts provide up to date notifications via phone, text, or email about upcoming construction, detours, major events, snow emergencies, and more.

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