— Photo by Bobbie Toner

Somerville’s Shared Streets initiative will roll out new routes starting Friday, July 31. Shared Streets open up low-volume or residential side-streets to pedestrians, cyclists, and other users while still allowing vehicle access for residents who live on the street or who need to use the street to get to their homes, their guests, and service vehicles such as first responders, delivery drivers, sanitation trucks, and street sweepers.

The new routes will be in the Spring Hill, Magoun Square, Winter Hill, Union Square, East Somerville, and Inner Belt neighborhoods. Two Shared Streets routes were opened earlier this summer – one in East Somerville and one in West Somerville. With the installation of this next round of Shared Streets, nearly seven miles of roadway will have been repurposed to help residents safely get outside and reach essential services, with networks in every neighborhood in the city.

You can find a full route map at https://somervoice.somervillema.gov/covid19mobility. Feedback on all routes can also be submitted on SomerVoice. Residents of affected streets will be notified through the city alert system before the routes open. If you would like to subscribe to City phone, text, and/or email alerts, visit www.somervillema.gov/alerts. 

Safety measures along each route include signage and flexible barriers to alert all users to the shared use of these streets. Somerville’s program will use temporary materials that can be modified based on our experience and feedback from residents with the pilot. Motorists allowed to use a shared street, such as abutters, should drive slowly and expect to see people in the street on these routes. People walking, rolling, and biking should remain alert and aware and make room for these allowed vehicles. Please note that cyclists, using caution, can ride in either direction on a Shared Streets route.