Last week, the public had a chance to weigh in on the proposed protected bike lane installations along Holland St. during a special meeting hosted by the city. —Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Fernando Cervantes Jr.

Last week The Somerville Times reported a story about Holland St. business owners and their objections to parking and bike lane changes on the street. This past Wednesday, the City of Somerville through its Traffic Commission hosted a special meeting to hear comments from the community.

The proposed protected bike lanes would run along Holland St. from Buena Vista Road to Teele Square in West Somerville. The plan for the proposed changes were presented to the commission and residents in a virtual meeting on Wednesday.

These proposed changes come after a series of pedestrian deaths across Somerville in the past three years. According to city officials six of these deaths have occurred, the most recent being Stephen Conley near 1055 Broadway.

“As a community we have the responsibility to prevent crashes from occurring in the first place. We must have city streets that are safe for all users,” Mayor Katjana Ballantyne said.

In the meeting plans for the protected bike lanes were presented, among these plans the removal of some 50 parking spots were highlighted, but contingency plans were also presented.

According to officials, parking lots on Buena Vista Road and parts of the Tufts Administration Building would be used to supplement lost parking.

“The new proposal offers better safety outcomes than the previous design, it is consistent with city policy,” Brad Rawson, Director of Mobility said.

Following the presentation of plans by city officials, the meeting was open for public comment. As a whole, comment was mostly positive with many local-area residents expressing their support for the new designs.

“I want to just stress the importance of folks who live in the community, who have resided here for a long time, want this type of plan in the neighborhood. The mayor has this mandate running on safety for complete streets,” resident Alex Anderson said.

Another resident, Ariel White strongly supported the plans, “Personally I currently avoid going to businesses in Teele Square just because there is no safe way to bike there,” White said.