Dear Billy T and Somerville News Weekly Speakup Line,
The city is trying to close off the Medford Street Bridge permanently for a pedestrian, cyclist path that will be closed of to motor vehicle traffic all together. When is enough enough?
Read the city’s plan below:
Gilman Square Plan Implementation
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Photo from July 2019 Gilman Square meeting.
The Gilman Square Station Area Plan(External link) was finalized in February of 2014. Since then, a lot has changed: the Green Line station design has evolved, we have received better information about the subsurface infrastructure that affects the intersection design, and the Somerville Zoning Overhaul(External link) has everyone thinking about zoning.
In addition, the Gilman Square Neighborhood Association (GSNA) formed in 2018. This group of residents and business owners meets regularly and hosts block parties, neighborly gatherings, and advocates for the neighborhood. In 2019, GSNA and the City signed an agreement to work collaboratively on the implementation of the neighborhood plan in Gilman Square. Since then, GSNA and the City have co-hosted community events together, discussed proposed developments in the area, and planned for future development projects like the Homans Building.
Now, GSNA and the City are working together to implement the neighborhood plan. We’re strategizing around important sites like the Homans Building and working together to ensure we get broad participation in creating the future of Gilman Square.
Happening Now: Street Intersection & Streetscape Improvement Design
The City is currently working with a consultant to explore different designs for Gilman Square intersections and streetscape. This is an important next step in the implementation of the Gilman Square Neighborhood Plan because it will identify where public space can be located and affect the shape of parcels which could be used for redevelopment.
We are currently gathering feedback about two initial concepts. We held a public meeting on February 12 (thank you to all who attended!) and you can see the slides here. Community members are still welcome to submit their feedback online below at the Survey & Forms tab until February 23.
After February 23, the City’s consultants will:
Conduct traffic analysis to determine how possible changes to the roadway will affect vehicular traffic.
Tweak the concepts based on feedback and the results of the traffic study.
By June, the City will have a “25% design” (a concept that is well-researched and reflects community feedback but is not the full technical document set necessary to begin construction). At this time, we will have a public meeting to share this design. Now is the time to to weigh in! We are gathering feedback at the Surveys & Forms tab below until February 23.
I agree with Arthur, these community meetings are a feel good action. The city wants to make you feel good about expressing your opinions, which by the way DO NOT count. They are going to do whatever they desire.
What has happened and continues to happen around the city is idiotic. Bus lanes, bike paths, moving parking spaces into the middle of the street. I personally would like to meet the person responsible for this moronic conception. And as far as the mayor goes, how much more is he willing to give away to line his pockets and drive life long residents out of Somerville.
Why are my taxes going up when mr mayor is getting millions in permit fees and a bigger annual tax base from these sites? Permits to remove a tree on my property! An increase on parking permit fees!
The knee jerk reactions are being done for the transients that are here and the life long residents are paying for it!
The mayor, Brad Rawson and Mark Niedergang. The three culprits. We need all of them out of office and soon. Plus Jesse Clingan who just takes up space in the lineup. They are clueless people with no knowledge of how to do this obviously. Not an ounce of common sense and completely ignore the fact they screwed up and do not fix their mistakes. They could never survive in the real world of working for a company. And don’t think I am being hard on them. I am NOT!
You can’t be serious. So would they leave the detail cops at Highland permanently installed to handle the traffic? I can’t imagine even this crop of elected officials would be so naive as to allow this – all so a small group of people can hang out on the bridge once in a while and pretend they’re overlooking the Rhine valley? You know, if we closed the Dane street bridge forever we could stick some tables and chairs there too.
They should make Prospect Hill a bird sanctuary. Tell everyone to get out. How would that be?
I think this is a great idea and we need move biking in Somerville
Does anyone know which two initial concepts they’re gathering feedback about? The link in the article takes you to four schemes, only one of which would close off Medford street. I totally agree that closing Medford would be insane – just not sure whether it’s list some random scheme they added to the report or if it’s seriously being pushed. In any case they’re taking feedback for another few days & let’s make sure they get it.
At the meeting they seemed pretty adamant that this is their intention. They think it’s a wonderful idea. Wonderful is not a word I would use to describe it. The whole design is like some kind of computer game.
I agree closing Medford St would be totally insane. Also agree they should fix broadway. Cyclist should pay excise tax like we do to ride the roads and carry insurance. Sorry I did not attend the meeting I did not know about it. One of my comments would be we need new officials.
It does not matter. They have already made up their mind. These meetings are just a feel good moment so you think you have some say. They do what they want and how they want it. And once they do it you cannot undo it. They go into ignore mode regardless of how wrong it is. We do not have council members who will speak up for you or do the right thing.
One part that is scary is the “Conduct traffic analysis to determine how possible changes to the roadway will affect vehicular traffic.
Tweak the concepts based on feedback and the results of the traffic study”. Like Broadaway this can’t be done with the four bridges closed and four more to go and the other totally messed up Broadway mistake which is screwing up the traffic. Anything they try to sell us will be pure rubbish. The only chance they have to give that kind of data won’t happen until next year. And even then they can screw it up. Some guy is going to come in with a computer and tell you a bunch of bull and expect you to believe it. They do not know. Your council members will talk nice while this is going on. Do not believe them. This is only to sell you the bull. Once done if not right you are screwed. Look at Winter Hill. Case in point. They break it, it’s yours.
That’s right, Art. All the negative policies created are to deter drivers and hope they all move out in order to make room for the liberal parasites on bikes. It will be interesting to see what they will do when all the working middle class families move out and leave the billion dollar tax bill to the slush fund brats of the elite who don’t work. Bernie’s Our Revolution of scary sofa surfers, scratching their bed bugs at city hall demanding rent control and subsidized condos. As long as the middle class remains, they will have enough suckers to pay their way and make them all rich. It’s exactly what they are doing, relying on college academics and dimwitted children for donations (while providing jobs at city hall) so they can steal discounted real estate from local families. We see how they cleaned out Union Square via eminent domain. How much of that land was for GLX and how much was for developers to build more shoddy-crap-condos? Many of those families were forced to accept $200k for land worth millions. How fair was that? Expect the same throughout unless batman shows up to save us from the evil joker. At this point, we need a miracle.
This Cycling nazis have gone too far and this needs to stop. This isn’t China where cycling is chosen as primary transportation because the population can’t afford cars. We are a city of 80,000+ people and driving through the city is a need and right (as we pay for the roads and not the cyclists). That roadway connects main streets through this city for the residents and will only push this traffic through every side street in this neighborhood. The council members need to re-prioritize their focus back to the long term residents they keep screwing over in favor of the elitist cycling minority that they seem to cater every whim to. Maybe if we all stopped paying taxes they would get their heads focused back on track. This is getting out of hand and they are turning SOMERVILLE into some communist commune of stupidity.
Vote the dems and fake indians out..illegals are not going to vote for the same kind of policies that ruined their countries..
The cycling militia are used as a distraction to the bigger issue which is too much bad development. This is on the GLX path which includes a community path for cyclists so how many bike lanes do they need? Must be special interests groups funneling money to city hall. So what else is new? My money is on every piece of land that GLX will pass is going to the greedy developers and corrupt politicians. Do any of the working class local families/residents of this city feel represented by this political establishment? Guess what—we are not and haven’t been in over 17 years. When is Elliot Ness showing up to clean up the mess?
The city has a conceptual plan and what they do is manipulate the minds of everyone that gets involved in the process. No matter what the neighborhood group wants the city will get what they want.
The agenda is clear able bodied cyclist over anyone who owns a car and needs to travel on the shit show of streets in the city.
The city,s own materials show that there is a 6 percent of people who ride bike’s. I am sure that has risen since the study / census but it does not matter this only the start of a carbon / carbon free city.
People need to attend the meetings and be sure their voices are heard. Especially those that live on streets where the traffic is idling for hour’s each morning and evening.
Phone calls, emails and letters to the wings nuts running this city are needed to get their attention.
It will not matter. Many voices have be warning residents for years. The best we can hope is what Fall River got.
Why is a neighborhood organization allowed to have special input into what happens to a major route in the city?
Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets.