Somerville Publishes Final Bicycle Network Plan!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and shared comments on the draft Bicycle Network Plan. The City is excited to publish the final Bicycle Network Plan – a vision intended to guide the City’s work to improve and expand Somerville’s bicycle facilities.

The Plan proposes an 88-mile citywide network of connected protected bicycle lanes and low speed and low volume residential streets – Neighborways - where people of all ages and abilities will be able to bike safely and comfortably. Compared to the fragmented 30-mile network that exists today, the Bicycle Network Plan envisions a future with vastly more biking infrastructure, safer facilities, and better connectivity.

Shifting travel away from single-occupancy vehicles and toward sustainable modes like biking is essential to meet the City’s Vision Zero public safety goals, Somerville Climate Forward goals, and SomerVision comprehensive planning goals. The Bicycle Network Plan goals reflect and reinforce these Citywide planning objectives:

Goal 1: Increase biking as the primary mode of transportation for daily trips and aim for 15% of residents traveling by bike by 2050.
Goal 2: Provide infrastructure throughout Somerville that is safe and comfortable for all residents to use, regardless of age, ability, gender, and background.
Goal 3: Ensure that every resident in Somerville has access to a bicycle and can safely reach their everyday destinations by biking

The final Bicycle Network Plan identifies a priority network of 40.2 miles to be installed by 2030 (29.8 miles of permanent protected bike lanes and 10.4 miles of Neighborways). Priority network streets were selected based on criteria that focus on equity, connectivity, destinations, topography, and safety.

Implementation will include City-led quick-build projects, City-led permanent street infrastructure improvements, and state- and developer-led street construction. Once a street is selected for implementation, City staff will launch a street-specific public engagement and design process, which will include traffic data collection and parking analysis.

The Bicycle Network Plan includes the following components:

Executive Summary: Available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Nepali, Haitian Creole, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese
Mayor's Letter and Acknowledgements
Chapter 0: Introduction
Chapter 1: Bicycle Plan Goals
Chapter 2: Bicycling in Somerville Today
Chapter 3: Community Outreach
Chapter 4: Network Vision
Chapter 5: Implementation
Appendices (A, A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, B, C)

The Mayor and City staff will present the final plan to the City Council and ask for their endorsement.

The City is excited to move forward to implementing the plan which includes on the ground changes and developing supporting guides such as the Bicycle Design Guide, Outreach and Engagement Guide, and Operations and Maintenance Manual.

Thank you to everybody who has helped with the creation of Somerville’s first Bicycle Network Plan! We are on our way to providing more safe and comfortable biking options for all and we hope you continue to join the City in its effort to reach goals set by Somerville Vision 2040, Climate Forward, and Vision Zero. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Mobility Division at transportation@somervillema.gov if you have any questions and stay up to date with implementation through the Mobility Monthly Newsletter.