Tufts Street Reconstruction

It’s mid-July and while things might be a little quieter than usual in the neighborhood around Tufts Street with classes out for the summer at the East, Capuano, and WHCIS at Edgerly, we’re moving toward the start of construction.

Tree removal work is on horizon while sidewalk reconstruction will have to wait a bit longer as our contractor’s crews complete remaining work elsewhere in the city and beyond.

Below we’ve included some details on tree removal work and what you can expect moving forward.

Tree Removals (and info on future plantings)

In preparation for construction, as early as tomorrow 7/17 and running through early next week, crews will begin removal of the 21 street trees slated for removal as part of this project. These trees assessed by the City’s Arborist and Tree Warden and were approval for removal at a public tree hearing in November 2024.

The good news is that the City will be planting around ~40 new street trees as a part of this project. The new, wider sidewalks will allow us to plant these news trees in larger, continuous planting areas that promote heathier growth. (The majority of the trees slated for removal were in poor to fair health due in part to them having been planting in smaller tree pits).

New trees will create continuous shade coverage along the street and species are selected by the City’s Urban Forestry Division.

Drainage Work and Sidewalk Reconstruction

Drainage work in advance of sidewalk reconstruction is currently anticipated to begin in early September after the Labor Day holiday. As this work approaches, we’ll share more information with the neighborhood about the contractor’s plans and a more specific schedule.

In the meantime, the City’s project team including engineering design consultants are finalizing plans for that work including the development of detail soil management plans.

For more information about this work, please see our construction kick-off presentation from earlier this spring.

As always if you have questions about this work or any work around the city, please email construction@somervillema.gov or call the Engineering Division at 617-625-6600 ext. 5400.

With the design finalized (see previous post for more info), we’re looking forward to constructing a safer, more accessible Tufts Street.

While work is not yet scheduled, we anticipate construction will begin during the 2025 construction season. At this stage, the City’s Engineering Division is in the process of hiring a general contractor to undertake this work. Once we have selected a contractor and have a preliminary construction schedule we will provide an update on this page indicating when we anticipate work will begin.

How you can stay informed

About the project design or community engagement process

Mobility Division staff will continue to be available to answer questions about the new street design. They can be reached directly at transportation@somervillema.gov or by contacting 311.

For information about the construction process and impacts

You can connect with members of the project team from the City’s Engineering Division and Communications Department directly at construction@somervillema.gov, by calling the Engineering Division at Engineering Division at (617) 625-6600 ext. 5400 or contacting 311.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out at any point. We’re very much looking forward to delivering a new, safer and more comfortable street to the neighborhood.

In December 2024, the City of Somerville finalized the design for the Tufts Street Reconstruction project. After a year and a half of community engagement, data collection, and design development, the City presents a vision for Tufts Street that includes:

• Two-way connections for vehicles and for bikes
• Street pinch points for traffic calming
• Landscaped areas
• Four multipurpose parking spaces
• Expanded tree wells for remaining mature/healthy trees to support the longevity and new trees to increase long-term shade coverage
• Wider sidewalks
• And new raised crossings across Tufts Street at Glen Street, Dell Street, and Cross Street

Click here to see the final illustrative plan in more detail.

You can also find brochures describing this final design in English, Español, Português, Kreyòl Ayisyen, नेपाली, 繁體中文, 简体中文.

We gathered feedback about safety issues on Tufts Street in the summer of 2023, heard input on a proposed narrowed yield condition for Tufts Street in fall 2023, updated the design to focus on pinch points rather than a meandering street and released the new design in the summer of 2024. To learn more about how we engaged community members and what we heard during this final community engagement phase, please check out the Updated Design Community Engagement Report.

Following this round of feedback, the City of Somerville hosted a Tree Public Hearing on November 14, 2024, to discuss the trees being proposed to be removed as part of this work. The City’s Arborist and Tree Warden evaluated the condition of all of the trees being considered for removal. 22 trees were proposed to be removed in the project area. As a result of this hearing, one more tree was identified to remain rather than to be removed with a total of 21 trees identified to be removed and 9 to remain – five on Tufts Street and four on Glen Street and Knowlton Street within the limit of work. Of the 9 remaining, the new design includes larger planted areas to support tree longevity and widened sidewalks around the trees to provide an accessible path. The City will plant 39 new trees on Tufts Street as part of this project. The goal is to place the majority of new trees in larger and connected planted areas to promote healthy growth. New and remaining trees will create continuous tree coverage. We also aim to choose native species for new trees.

Lastly, our team will go to the City’s Traffic Commission on December 12 to ask for their approval of the four new parking spaces that will be loading zones during the day and resident permit parking overnight.

We are excited to publish the final design and move forward with preparing for construction between 2025 and 2026. Our team will be working over the next couple of months to put the design out for bid and secure a contractor. Once we have an anticipated construction schedule, we will provide an update on this webpage.

We want to note that prior to construction on Tufts Street, the MBTA plans to update the Route 90 bus to no longer use Tufts Street and instead use Washington Street. Please find more information regarding routing changes here.

The MBTA’s contractor is also completing work on Washington Street at the intersection of Tufts Street. They have installed two new floating bus stops and moved the crosswalk closer to the East Somerville Station. They are awaiting delivery of the new rectangular rapid flashing beacon (a push button actuated flashing crosswalk sign). They anticipate installing in early January. We will continue to provide updates on this webpage as we receive more information.

Thank you to all the community members who gave their time to attend our outreach events, write and send comments, and submit survey responses. We really appreciate you engaging in this effort. If you have any questions regarding the design, please reach out to our team at transportation@somervillema.gov.

To get updates about construction, we encourage community members who haven’t already done so, to sign up for City Alerts. If you have any questions during construction, please reach out to our team at construction@somervillema.gov.

On July 11, the City hosted an outdoor community open house to share the updated design for the Tufts Street Reconstruction project. Thank you to the community members who were able to join, ask questions, and share your thoughts. Check out the materials below to learn more about the concept design.

• review the full street rendering and specific intersection illustrations
• check out this handout with an overview of the proposed changes (available in English, Español, Português, 繁體中文, 简体中文, नेपाली, Kreyòl Ayisyen)
• watch a recorded presentation describing the project and design
• read the presentation slides

We want to hear from you! Over the next month, we aim to gather feedback through a variety of community outreach activities.

Take our Feedback Survey to share your feedback. The survey is available in English, Español, Português, 繁體中文, 简体中文, नेपाली, Kreyòl Ayisyen.

Come join us at an upcoming street outreach to talk to staff in-person and ask questions. We will be at the intersection of Knowlton Street and Tufts Street from 5:00 p.m. tp 7:00 p.m. on July 23 (inclement weather date: July 30).

Join our Virtual Office Hours on Thursday, July 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to ask your questions to the project team. Community members can log into the zoom webinar at any time during the event and either ask questions or share your comments to the whole team or join a breakout room to talk one-on-one with a team member.

Register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_87yZ0OzaTKCwJQVZuIcSsg

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

To join via audio:
US: +13126266799,,89685194223#,,,,*402189# or +16465588656,,89685194223#,,,,*402189#
Webinar ID: 896 8519 4223
Passcode: 402189

At any time, please feel free to reach out to the Mobility Division with any of your questions or comments at transportation@somervillema.gov or 311 (617-666-3311).

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy in advance at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.

Links to flyers in English, Español, Português, नेपाली, 繁體中文, 简体中文, Kreyòl Ayisyen

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Ward One Councilor Matthew McLaughlin, and City of Somerville staff invite you to a community open house featuring an updated design for transportation safety improvements on Tufts Street.

The event will take place Wednesday, July 10, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Glen Park Playground. If there is inclement weather, the event will be rescheduled to July 11.

The outdoor open house will feature multiple stations describing different aspects of the street reconstruction project including an upcoming wall mural. Drop-in anytime during the event to review materials and talk with the project team about your feedback, questions, and ideas.

Following the event, a recorded presentation and information about the updated design will be available on this project website.

Other opportunities for community members to share feedback will include an online survey, a street outreach pop-up planned for July 23 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and virtual office hours with the project team on July 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Details for these engagement activities will be posted to this webpage.

If you are interested in helping design and paint a portion of the Tufts Street wall mural, please contact Neighborways Design at somerville@neighborways.com.

If you have any questions and comments regarding the project email our team at transportation@somervillema.gov or call 311 (617-666-3311).

Interpretation into any language is available upon advance request (at least 7 days in advance) by contacting the SomerViva Office of Immigrant Affairs at somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva or calling 311 at 617-666-3311.

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy in advance at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.

Thank you to all those who participated in virtual community meetings, street outreach pop-ups, and online surveys in the fall of 2023. We want to provide a project update that includes:

1. Details about extending the design development schedule later into the summer of 2024.
2. An overview of the yield street demonstration conducted with the Somerville Fire Department.
3. A summary of parking utilization data collected in October.
4. A report on community feedback we received about the concept design.

Read below for more details. We will continue to post updates on this project website. You can also subscribe to the monthly Mobility newsletter to get email notifications direct to your inbox.

New Project Schedule