The sewer project that has
riddled Somerville Avenue for the past few years is drawing to a close,
and slated to be finished this spring. The next question is how to
decorate the square? There will be new asphalt, brick trimmed sidewalks
and street lamps (which are already installed). Now all the square
needs is some tender loving care.

Thus, Union Square Main
Streets (USMS) just created Project Beautification, to bat around ideas
that people would like to see in place. The group of about ten
residents will meet once a month to see what possibilities would work
in Union Square.

USMS Executive Director Mimi Graney told the
group on Tuesday that there isn't any money in the budget at this point
for more flowers and trees, but the group can formulate a design plan
to bring to the city. Project Beautification plans will focus on Union
Square, but may migrate a bit up Somerville Avenue towards Porter
Square.

Currently, USMS conducts a spring and fall clean-up,
and created an adopt-a-planter program last Spring. Project
Beautification may be able to incorporate any ideas into the other two
programs, Graney said.

The residents, many of who liked to
garden, and two of whom are designers, liked the idea of adding
planters and more flowers to the square. They talked about the
Magnificent Mile in Chicago, which features thematic designs. They
batted around ideas for shapes of planters, or adding planters that are
attached to benches.

Whatever the group decides to do, it has
to work with the dynamics of Union Square. Graney threw in the idea to
have some kind of identification for Union Square, similar to how
Porter Square features the kinetic sculpture. Examples of this are
awnings, banners, or a logo motif (e.g., Davis Square has the rotary
logo).

A resident said it would be nice to involve the schools in the square, by having students create mosaics, for example.

People agreed that Union Square needs more maps, as the roads are often not marked and confusing.

They
also talked about the "dead zones" in the square, such as the cobbled
space by the Somerville Community Access Television building. That area
features sidewalks that make pedestrians feel as if they will fall over
into the frenzied traffic. How do we soften that feeling by adding
lights, a bench, a bike rack, or a semi-circular sitting area? they
pondered.

That area would also be nice for regularly-scheduled public art, to be rotated on a routine basis.

The
group closed its first meeting by assigning various people to research
planters, traffic island ideas, benches, and examples from other cities
to help narrow down ideas.

For more information or to get involved, you can contact Graney at mimi@unionsquaremain.org.