Winter Hill in Motion Project Also Features Separated Bike Lanes for Cyclist Safety
SOMERVILLE, MA – As part of the City of Somerville’s Winter Hill in Motion project, new dedicated bus lanes, separated bike lanes, and more mobility upgrades are coming to Broadway. Work has already begun to install bright red “Bus Only” lanes along both sides of Broadway between McGrath Highway and Main Street, one of the city’s most congested commuting corridors. These dedicated travel lanes will enable the MBTA to provide more efficient, reliable bus service on routes 89 and 101, which support approximately 8,000 boardings per day. Passengers could save up to 5 minutes per ride and see more buses coming on schedule.
Somerville already has one dedicated bus lane running northbound on Prospect Street, but the lanes on Broadway will be the first in the City to serve both directions of traffic on the same road.
In addition to bus lanes, the Winter Hill in Motion plan will install dedicated bike facilities, including a parking-protected lane, retimed traffic signals to better meet the needs of motorists and pedestrians, transit signal priority technology to move buses through intersections more efficiently, and new signage and pavement markings.
Broadway figures prominently in the daily lives of many in Somerville: In the heart of the Winter Hill neighborhood, it’s the second-most traveled street in the city and home to many local businesses and civic spaces. With the diverse needs of all users in mind, this project will improve safety and ease travel along the corridor between Magoun Square and McGrath Highway. These changes to Broadway will also expand and improve equitable low-carbon transit options for Somerville residents, advancing the City’s SomerVision, Climate Forward, and Vision Zero goals.
“If we’re serious about shifting mobility away from car trips, it’s our responsibility to make taking transit, biking, or walking the convenient and safe choice,” said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. “Improvements like dedicated bus lanes, bike lanes, and pedestrian-friendly signal timing will help make Broadway – which is a very car-centric corridor – more welcoming to other modes of transportation.”
The new pavement markings, additional signage, and retimed traffic signals will be installed over the course of the coming weeks. The red bus lanes in particular involve a time-consuming application process to create a durable surface, and installation will proceed over three to four weeks along the corridor.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony is expected to be held later this year. For more information about the project, please visit SomervilleMA.gov/WinterHillMotion.
Stupid is an understatement. Coming off Temple Street going up Broadway to top of hill is more messed up now than ever before. If you try to stay in the so called proper lane and want to take a right it is almost impossible due to people ignoring the fact it is a bus and bike lane only. What bar do they work out of? As dumb as lower Broadway is they have outdone themselves now. .
This STUPID PLAN has caused more problems for travelers than ever before. Every street in somerville is getting affected by all these STUPID decisions.All this has done is cause people to drive faster, run red lights, turn on red everywhere ,nobody lets anybody by .they block every lane without a thought.
All i see coming out of this STUPID PLAN is anger and frustration and halm.I pray to God im wrong.
P.S. ALL THESE STUPID DECISIONS MADE WHILE ALL THE BRIDGES ARE DOWN.
THIESE STUPID DECISIONS DESERVES TO BE CALLED STUPID.
Stupid and idiotic
Why doesn’t Winter Hill have a red line bus to Harvard? You want to cut down on car trips, and given Broadway is one of the busiest corridors, residents have gotten screwed over for decades. Get a red line bus, Joe! So commuters can take public transportation that goes in the right direction. No one wants to back commute west to Davis Square to go east. Spring Hill has a direct bus. It’s long overdue Winter Hill stop getting ignored. So thrilled my tax dollars have night crews out tonight at 9 pm painting wide bus lanes and reducing vehicular traffic to a single lane. Wish we could put your brilliant ideas to a vote in the wards that are affected by your ill thought out ideas.
Well here it Is Sunday on Broadway and Central st and the friggin traffic is already starting cause online lane for cars . Wait til tomorrow when the traffic will be from Magoun to McGrath people are really going to. Is off Well when it come Election Day remember who did this to you.
What the hell happens when the cars wanting to take a left turn on to school st it was bad enough that you couldn’t get by with two lanes now one lane. Who’s the idiot that thought of this idiotic move . It’s funny how you never see Curtatone on a bus or a bike
Just came back from there. As I expected plenty of cars ignoring bus lane and going from McGrath to top of hill in it.
ONE QUESTION Mr. Mayor: Do you bike or take public transportation to work? People will never give up their car’s!!!!!! You sir are making a huge mistake assuming you can force people not to drive in Somerville.
How do you figure there is 8,000 bus trips a day down Broadway sorry but no way is there that many whole idea is causing a traffic nightmarw
Not 8000 bus trips. 8000 boardings
I’m trying to figure out the “logic” of all those involved in these decision. There are 4 lanes of traffic (2 in each direction) on Broadway which are constantly congested. Buses run an average of every 20 minutes, a bicyclist maybe every 10 minutes, and motor vehicle traffic constant. So you decide to remove a full lane of access in both directions for a full lane to accommodate buses and bicyclists. I can’t wait to see the brilliant arrangement for winter plowing/parking.. Way to go Einsteins.
A complete disaster. Just wait till the snow falls. this is the biggest mistake the city has ever made. Who thinks this crap up. Yesterday I turned left off of McGrath Hwy. on to Broadway at 4:30pm. Nine minutes to get to the top of Winter Hill. The idiotic Bus/Bike Lane was empty the whole time. Not one bike or bus. Please vote these people out. Put anyone else in there. I think that everyone that is outraged at this fiasco should show up on Broadway some afternoon to show their displeasure. If you drive a car they turn you into the enemy. they are going to need a lot of black paint to reverse this mess.
People are already ignoring the red lane and driving as if it didn’t exist. Traffic was backed up with 2 lanes. Common sense says 1 lane will not solve that. Also, how do you add more cars to this and expect less traffic? This is not rocket science. I expect aggressive driving will be up due to this. Not that it should. Just a fact of life in this city. People pay little attention to red lights and no turn on red. expect even less with a poorly painted street.