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A possible reduction of parking spaces is a major concern in planning the Highland Ave. Redesign Project, scheduled to begin next year. — Photo by Bobbie Toner
By Eileen Qiu
Drafting designs for the Highland Ave. Redesign Project will start this winter with the goal of having a concrete blueprint by spring 2023 and starting construction at the end of 2023, according to Senior Transportation Planner, Viola Augustin.
Visions for the new Highland Ave. include pedestrian friendly and safe streets with improvements to the tree canopies and new environmentally friendly stormwater infrastructure, Augustin said. The vision also includes protective bike lanes to make it possible for everyone to reach their destinations safely, she said.
Designs for the streetscape would satisfy goals influenced by Somervision2040, a comprehensive 30-year plan for the future of the city.
The Highland Ave. Redesign Project was part of project area #1 of the Spring Hill Sewer Project, initiated in 2019, which aims to upgrade the city’s sewers to mitigate flooding and design a more environmentally friendly drainage system.
“One of the biggest challenges is upgrading city’s infrastructure,” city Project Manager Daniel Amelin said.
However, after community input, the Highland Ave. Redesign Project evolved into an independent project, since their last public meeting in Dec. 2020 found that plans for an updated streetscape did not consider cyclists as much as pedestrians and vehicles, Augustin said.
Justin Schreiber, the city’s Transportation Planner acknowledged that although there aren’t any designs in the makings yet, there could be a reduction of parking spaces.
Many of the more than 300 meeting participants were concerned about accessibility and access to parking spaces. Participants typed in questions regarding accessibility of roadways for members of the community who might not be able to walk or bike. They will figure out a way to prioritize parking for those with mobility issues Schreiber said. Plans to organize pick up and drop off zones will also be taken into consideration.
The department has been collecting data on parking, conducting surveys with businesses and visitors, so that when there is a design, they have the data ready to show designers, Schreiber said.
“The process is just getting started tonight,” Schreiber said.
Data from a 5:00 a.m. count of cars parked in overnight spaces on Highland Ave. and nearby areas found a surplus of empty spaces, he said.
However, participants contradicted him in the chat, and said most of the time they had trouble finding spaces for overnight parking.
Schreiber acknowledged parking availability did vary by block, with some blocks at full capacity and others empty.
Daytime counts are now underway, and data for those will be shared once complete, he said.
Residents of Highland Ave., business owners, or employees that commute to Highland Ave. were more than welcome to submit their input and concerns on an interactive map.
Small businesses with concerns about the project, that did not get a change to participate in the survey, may also email transportation@somervillema.gov to ensure parking regulation meets business needs.
Residents living in older buildings were also worried about how heavy construction could affect the foundation of those buildings.
Pre-construction engineers will inspect a building and make a record of the foundation and infrastructure and compare that to the building post construction.
If anything was damaged, a contractor will make all the necessary repairs, Amelin said.
The project is still in its conceptual phase. The team hasn’t partnered with a designer or engineering firm yet. The team is still collecting input from the community to get a better idea of the needs of the community.
However, a comprehensive parking measurement plan is in the works for this project Schreiber said. The team absolutely intends to provide expanded spaced for commercial loading and is learning from past city projects, he said.
It is early into the data collection phase with no concrete timeline for a design yet, Schreiber said.
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I am a daily bike commuter, but I have neighbors who are dependent on cars. Parking on the side streets around the high school is already a nightmare because the promised school parking lot was not built. The idea of taking away more parking from high school area just seems punitive. We’ll have the new Green Line bike path running parallel literally less than a block away. The GLX bike path, which is completely protected from cars, intersections and cross traffic will be 1000x safer and more convenient for bikes. If the bike path was not being built I could maybe understand the case for robust protected bike lanes on Highland, but let’s please not further punish our car-dependent neighbors who live around the high school for bike lanes that will be at best redundant. (On the other hand, traffic calming, and more pedestrian infrastructure on Highland sounds great!)
The people who think these ideas are workable and make sense are delusional. There is already no parking for emergency vehicles, disabled, elderly, people with young children, and just your average user, for the high school, the library and even City Hall. Teams who come for a basketball game or track meet at SHS will stop coming when they learn there is no place for their athletes and fans to park. Look at the number of large apartment buildings on Highland Ave. whose residents need parking, Look at the businesses who went into spaces where 1st floor retail was required and will now lose customers because they have no parking. As I drive around the city I see mostly emply bike lanes, yet much-needed parking is removed for these spaces. During the winter months all of the bikes all but disappear. How many bike paths have been built at the demand of bicyclists, yet they continue to demand they be accommodated no matter their demand, and have even been given a seat at the table. And by the way, ‘drop-off zones’ cannot work for everyone. Not all elderly or disabled can simply be dropped off. Would that it was that easy. Please don’t suggest attending meetings and giving input. I’ve done that for years and have learned that all of this is pre-decided and your time and effort is worthless. Good luck to all, I hope to be gone before this reaches fruition.
The only solution to too few parking spots is parking meters. Adding spots is a waste. If you price meters correctly, there can virtually always be spots open for those who need need most. Use the funds for transit to encourage less car use. I’m tired of spending hours looking for parking, and cyclists need space.
The parking concerns are definitely overblown. I live right off highland and have never had much trouble finding a parking spot. As was found in the study there are some blocks that are full and some that are empty. If people just knew where to look they wouldn’t complain so much. I think devoting most of the spots remaining on highland to spots for short term, handicap and elderly parking would mean that most of the parking is for those who actually need to drive. High school students need a safe route to bike to school. We need to make our city more environmentally friendly and more pleasant to walk around. The recently redesigned section of Somerville ave is really nice and a good template for Highland Ave. People make the same wild claims about the parking apocalypse for every single street improvement attempted in Somerville and it never actually gets any worse. The businesses on beacon street are doing perfectly fine despite everyone saying the bike lanes would put them out of business. People adjusts to the availability of parking. Either by ditching their car to walk or bike or actually using their garage for their car rather than just store junk. These changes are for the better.
Headline and article are reflective of a very vocal pro parking minority. Most residents want to see pedestrian and bike safety improvements.
I live right off highland ave and patronize the businesses on highland constantly. Some form of separated/protected bike facility on highland is badly needed. Pedestrian and bus improvements are also necessary in some areas. Giving up some parking to achieve these goals is a worth while sacrifice.
I lived in an apartment on Highland for 10 years.
I could always find parking, but it was often 4-5 blocks away. that is a bit much with groceries or other heavy loads.