(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Dear Editor,

The upcoming reconstruction of Highland Ave. is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve safety on one of the busiest streets in Somerville. The City can honor commitments it has made in its ClimateForward, SomerVision, and VisionZero plans by making Highland safer for everyone.

So why is Mayor Curtatone choosing to ignore those commitments?

While the City’s current redesign proposal would add some safety features for pedestrians, shockingly, it would maintain the dangerous status quo for people on bikes — that is, no protection from cars. Highland sees 12,500 cars per day, often moving faster than 25 mph, which puts it far beyond the safety threshold that calls for protected bike lanes.

Highland has so many important destinations on it — City Hall, the library, the high school, Somerville Hospital, the Armory, and beloved local businesses. We should be inviting everyone to get to these places safely, even if they don’t have a car.

The mayor should scrap Somerville’s current proposal and deliver one that would make Highland safe for people of all ages and abilities. Please, let’s not wait for another tragedy to say “Oops, I guess we should have addressed that when we had the chance.”

Nate Kaufman
Somerville

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I am writing about the Spring Hill sewer separation project, which you have previously covered.  Please note that the views expressed herein represent my own views as a private citizen and Somerville resident.  I write to call on Mayor Curtatone to include protected bicycle lanes (PBLs) on Highland Avenue as part of the separation project street reconstruction.

The current plan does not include PBLs on Highland Avenue, the busiest and, based upon crash data, the most dangerous street in the initial project area. 

Biking is my preferred mode of transit, particularly in these times of the COVID-19 pandemic.  My ability to bike to work and to destinations around town helps make Somerville an affordable place for me to live.  I plan routes based upon a number of factors including the availability of PBLs or bike paths and choose the lowest stress routes I possibly can.

When I venture down Highland, usually for business at the Central Hill Campus, dropping off a ballot in these times, or prior to the pandemic, meetings at City Hall, I find biking on Highland to be a harrowing experience.  There is the ever-present threat of dooring from parked cars, the poor condition of the road, particularly on the right-hand side, the presence of traffic passing too close to me and I have had many stressful close encounters attempting to turn onto adjacent streets.

At one point, I found it even more stressful to “share” Highland with cars while biking with my bicycle trailer attached, carrying a load as part of a mutual aid delivery.  The additional space required to accommodate my trailer meant traffic passed even closer.  I can only imagine how harrowing the experience might be for parents biking with wider bikes to accommodate children or parents accompanying their children as they bike in the street, let alone how scary the road might be for the students who need to take it as part of their route to school.

I also recognize the dangers of Highland as a pedestrian.  I’ve actually had to help families with strollers stop traffic so they could cross the street and while running, I routinely take to running in the street because of the condition of the sidewalk.

The current plans for the reconstruction of Highland and the road’s current condition are particularly disappointing and frustrating for several reasons:

• Somerville committed to Vision Zero, but it is unclear how these goals can be reconciled with the current plan for Highland.
• In 2014, Somerville became the first municipality in Massachusetts to pass a Complete Streets Ordinance, but it is unclear how the current plan for Highland is consistent with this ordinance given that even the adjacent Community Path requires north-south infrastructure and connecting infrastructure (also not included in the plan) to make it a viable part of the solution.
• Somerville committed to climate goals, but it is unclear how these goals can be reconciled with the current plan for Highland
• Bike facilities preclude neither pedestrian-friendly nor infrastructure improvements for buses.
• The lack of bike facilities on Highland reduces a sizable customer base for struggling local businesses since I and other cyclists tend to frequent stores where we can bike and park. To put this in perspective, a typical bike coral the size of a vehicle parking spot can accommodate 6 – 12 bikes, which can potentially translate to 6 – 12 customers. COVID-19 bicycle delivery programs demonstrate how powerful being bike friendly can be to local businesses.

Somerville had four people killed by drivers in motor vehicles in the past two years.  I’m thankful every time I get to my destination in one piece.

I feel that how we appropriate public space is a measure of what we value as a community.  I recently found myself on a new protected bike lane in the nearby area.  I was excited but my visceral reaction was, “why does it always take someone dying to make a seemingly impossible bike lane possible?”  I wonder, is this how our community operates, does this reflect our values?  I think not.  Safety, equity, accessibility for all ages and abilities, these are what I value and what our community values.  I think this wrenching time can also be our moment of pause, our moment of doing better.  So, I call on Mayor Curtatone to not only rise to the occasion, but rise above the occasion and ensure that the re-design of Highland Avenue includes protected bike lanes.

Sincerely,

Ted Feldman
Somerville