UNION SQUARE PLAZA AND STREETSCAPE PROJECT: 25% DESIGN IDEAS & VISION

Design Idea for Union Square PlazaWHAT IS THIS PROJECT & WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

After nearly five years of innovative public engagement that brought in a broad range of voices followed by design work to transform that input into plans, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the City of Somerville are pleased to share initial plans to redesign public open space in Union Square. The Union Square Plaza and Streetscape Redesign project has reached its first major design milestone, documenting the community’s vision for the Plaza and surrounding streets in the 25% Design Ideas & Vision Plan.

The plan presents a comprehensive street-by-street strategy to add more than 1.3 acres of new open space – more than doubling the 0.56 acres that exist today – and rebalance street space to prioritize people. The redesigned Union Square will be a dynamic, inviting civic hub for community events and creative programming, reestablishing Union Square as Somerville’s cultural center.

“In Somerville, our residents are passionate about public space and safe streets,” said Mayor Katjana Ballantyne. “We really showed up as a community to create a blueprint for plaza expansion and people-centered streets in Union Square. I want to thank our residents, our business community, our nonprofit organizations, our elected officials and staff who worked tirelessly on this first phase of design. I look forward to the next phase of our work together.”

The Union Square Plaza and Streetscape Redesign project was first proposed in the Union Square Neighborhood Plan, adopted by the City in 2016, in anticipation of the Green Line Extension and planned development. In 2019, the City hired two teams to advance the project. An interdisciplinary consulting team was brought on to develop the 25% Design Ideas & Vision Plan. In an innovative, people-based approach to broadening input, a Community Design Team (CDT) was hired to lead an equity-based community engagement strategy.

Design Idea for Bow Street

Design Idea for Somerville Avenue

A DIFFERENT KIND OF OUTREACH - THE COMMUNITY DESIGN TEAM (CDT)

The Community Design Team (CDT)

The Community Design Team included 11 well-networked Union Square residents from diverse backgrounds, ranging in age from 16 to 60+ and speaking six different languages. They used a participatory action research (PAR) strategy to understand the needs and wants of traditionally underrepresented groups in Somerville. That included hitting the streets, going into neighborhoods and to events to gather feedback and ideas from residents who may not otherwise be able to or wish to join more traditional methods like community meetings.

“Not everyone has the time or feels comfortable appearing and speaking at a public meeting to comment on technical plans. But everyone in the neighborhood cares about the ways in which it is changing,” said Luisa Oliveira, Director of Public Space and Urban Forestry for the City of Somerville. “The CDT used interactive methods to engage residents at the grocery store, in the plaza, through art and music and in focus groups. The resulting feedback is much more representative of who lives in Somerville and much more equitable.”

The 25% Design Ideas & Vision Plan documents the robust community engagement process and records the design recommendations made for each street and open space. Recommendations span four categories: increasing open space acreage, mobility improvements, preparing for climate change, and public amenities.

Mix & Match Activity

Some key recommendations in the Plan include:

• Creating more than 1.3 acres of new open space, up from the existing 0.56 acres today, for festivals, events, play, rest, outdoor dining, markets, and more

• Converting the Union Square Plaza parking lot into part of the renovated Plaza

• Improving access to the Green Line station and bus service to and through Union Square

• Prioritizing design elements to mitigate the impacts of climate change

• Converting Somerville Avenue to two-way and converting a portion of Bow Street into a shared street that will function as an extension of the Plaza

• Installing new protected bike lanes on Webster Avenue between Washington Street and Prospect St.

• Installing new bus priority lanes on Prospect St. between Somerville Ave. and Webster Ave.

• Adding an array of new public amenities like tables, different types of seating, and art

• Planting new trees

Vision Board & Design Idea Voting

Magnet Board Activity

NEXT STEPS

The implementation of the proposed Design Ideas and Visions (DIV) for Union Square will happen in phases. For each phase the City will work with the community to:

• Refine the ideas and finalize the street configuration, the look and feel of the public places such as plaza and sidewalks, and the location and materials of street elements such as benches and trees. The resulting 100% design will be the base for construction.
• Analyze the proposed changes in traffic patterns for impact especially on surrounding neighborhoods.
• Evaluate parking and loading needs
• Coordinate the design with private development in Union Square.

As a next step, the City will arrange to hire a technical consulting team to begin advancing Phase 1 (Prospect Street, NewtonStreet, and Webster Avenue south of Newton) to 100% design and prepare for construction. Based on current funding, this advanced design work is expected to begin before the end of 2024. There is no schedule for construction at this time.

For more information please read the Executive Summary.

During the last pop-up community outreach event led by the CDT, two concept ideas were revealed for the plaza. The landscape architecture consultants from Klopfer Martin Design Group (KMDG) led an in person feedback exercise where participants could voice their ideas and thoughts. Couldn't make the last pop-up? Please take our online plaza survey.

ESPAÑOL

KREYÒL AYISYEN

नेपाली

PORTUGUES

Residents, come join us for in-person neighborhood meetings at Stone Place Park. Members of the project team are looking for conversations with residents to share feedback and ask questions on the Union Square Plaza and Streetscape proposed ideas.

We will be hosting two meetings in May; one focused on residents who live in the Prospect Hill area, and one focused on residents who live in the area between Prospect Street and Webster Ave.

To learn more about the project and the proposed ideas, check out the presentation slides or meeting recording from the March 21, Virtual Community Meeting.

Prospect Hill Neighborhood Meeting

Date: May 18, 2022 (rain date: May 25)

Location: Stone Place Park, 8 Stone Place

Time: 5:30 pm - 6:30pm

Prospect Street/Webster Ave Neighborhood Meeting

Date: May 19, 2022 (rain date: May 26)

Location: Stone Place Park, 8 Stone Place

Time: 5:30 pm - 6:30pm

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Kate White, Mobility Community Outreach Coordinator, at kwhite@somervillema.gov.

MAYOR KATJANA BALLANTYNE, WARD 2 CITY COUNCILOR J.T. SCOTT WARD 3 CITY COUNCILOR BEN EWEN-CAMPEN, CITY STAFF, AND THE UNION SQUARE COMMUNITY DESIGN TEAM INVITE YOU TO...

A *VIRTUAL* COMMUNITY MEETING TO PROVIDE UPDATES ON UNION SQUARE'S PLAZA + STREETS REDESIGN PROJECT

• WHEN: MONDAY, MARCH 21ST, 6:30P-8P
• WHERE: VIRTUAL MEETING ON ZOOM
• JOIN: bit.ly/unionsq2022
• 
  

Interpretation will be offered upon request in Portuguese, Spanish, Nepali, and Haitian Creole by contacting somerviva@somervillema.gov or 617-625-6600 x 2323

JOIN THE MEETING TO...

• SEE PRELIMINARY DESIGN POSSIBILITIES FOR UNION SQ'S PUBLIC SPACES BASED ON COMMUNITY INPUT
• GET UPDATES ABOUT THE UNION SQ. PLAZA + STREETS REDESIGN PROJECT
• ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT PRELIMINARY DESIGN POSSIBILITIES FOR UNION SQ.

Questions? Contact Cortney Kirk ckirk@somervillema.gov

Join us for Somerstreets, Sunday, 10/31, 2pm-6pm (rain date 11/7) - The Community Design Team will be popping up at Somerstreets to share what we heard from the community and get feedback on design possibilities for Union Sq's public spaces. This years' Somerstreets Event will feature: Roller Skating Disco Rink, Dia de Los Muertos activities, School of Rock Bands, Ghost Somerville Tours and more!

Review slide from the 10/20 Community Meeting - https://voice.somervillema.gov/11740/widgets/34531/documents/24702

Sign up for news and updates from the Community Design Team - https://forms.gle/k6BchVY6Mu4YS5xw6

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Ward 2 City Councilor J.T. Scott, Ward 3 City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen, City Staff, and the Union Square Community Design Team invite you to a digital community meeting for the Union Square Plaza and Streetscape project on Wednesday, October 20, 5:30-7:00pm on Zoom.

Join the virtual community meeting to hear about the Union Square plaza and street redesign project including:

• Hear what was learned from the community outreach process this summer
• Get updates about the Union Sq plaza and streets redesign
• See preliminary design possibilities for Union Square’s public spaces based on community input
• Ask questions about preliminary design possibilities for Union Square

Virtual participation via Zoom; Please register at BIT.LY/UNIONSQ2021

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. If joining live, you will be directed to the meeting in progress.

Live interpretation will be offered upon request in Portuguese, Spanish, Nepali, and Haitian Creole. Please contact Cortney Kirk – ckirk@somervillema.gov, Viola Augustin – vaugustin@somervillema.gov

Please join the Community Design Team at the final pre-design pop-up engagement outreach session on Saturday, August 7, from 11a-2p on the Union Square plaza.

Family friendly activities and opportunities to voice you opinion will be running throughout the duration of the event. In addition free food and live music from DJ Soto and SAAJ, a traditional Nepalese music group will be providing entertainment.

We want to hear from you! Share your ideas for the redesign of Union Square's plaza and streets at:

bit.ly/UnionRedesignSurvey

The Union Square Plaza and Streetscape redesign project kicked off this spring and is currently conducting the initial community engagement for the project through a pilot engagement process. The project’s community engagement consultant, Design Studio for Social Intervention (ds4si), will be utilizing Participatory Action Research methods (PAR) with a newly formed Community Design Team (CDT) who aims to broaden and deepen community engagement in the redesign of Union Square’s plaza and streetscapes. After interviewing over 60 applicants, ds4si hired 11 Somerville Community members from diverse backgrounds, who speak 6 different languages and range in age from 16-60+. This team will use participatory action research (PAR) to engage residents who have traditionally been left out of community engagement processes, as well as inviting all community members to imagine and share new ideas for Union Square via pop-up public outreach sessions, focus groups, and more. The team is working with the City of Somerville and the larger design team (led by Toole Design Group) to ensure that community input is reflected and honored in the plans for Union Square.

The CDT will be out in the square this summer to welcome Villens back into Union Square in ways that are site-specific, joyful, diverse, and double as venues to inspire and share new ideas for the plaza and streetscape. The CDT have initially organized three (3) in-person pop-up sessions on Saturday, July 17, 9am – 1pm, at the Union Square Farmers Market; Friday, July 23, 5pm – 8pm (rain date, Friday, July 30, 5pm – 8pm) on the Union Square Plaza; and Saturday, August 7, 11am – 2pm (rain date, Sunday, August 8, 11am – 2pm) on the Union Square Plaza.

The goals of the Union Square Community Design Team are:

• Use participatory action research to empower traditionally left out residents to engage their communities in the redesign of Union Square’s plaza and streetscape.
• Design creative engagement tools for both online and in-person engagement that help community members imagine and share new ideas for Union Square.
• Work with the larger design team and the City of Somerville to ensure that community input is well reflected and honored in the plans for Union Square.
• Create in-person public-making opportunities that welcome Villens back into Union Square in ways that are site-specific, joyful, and diverse, and that double as ways to inspire and share new ideas for the plaza and streetscape.
• Set the bar for civic engagement on public projects in Somerville, prototyping strategies and tools that the City can use for future community engagement.