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To Whom It Concerns:

I am writing to express my frustration with the ongoing construction projects in Somerville, particularly those on Summer Street, Highland Avenue, and Washington Street between Beacon Avenue and Union Square. The overlap of these significant projects is lowering the quality of life for anyone living near these projects, which cover a significant area of town.

For months, Summer Street and Highland Avenue have been torn up, causing significant disruptions. Until recently, there had been no improvements despite the considerable inconvenience of poor road quality, lack of parking, and often, the absence of sidewalks or bike lanes.

Currently, on Washington Street, multiple construction projects in a small area have effectively closed the street and both sidewalks for 6+ weeks, causing inconvenience and raising safety concerns.

There is rarely a police officer or even a construction worker guiding traffic around road-blocking projects. Workers actively block sidewalks, bike lanes, and parking without any accountability, often blocking all means of passing the construction zone on foot.

This lack of oversight and poor planning is unacceptable in our city and it’s not a new problem. These issues reflect a larger problem with the city not considering the impact of large-scale projects, properly vetting construction vendors, or giving adequate consideration to functional design and city planning. The Green Line Extension project, for example, faced delays of over a year due to mismanagement and construction failures, such as the need to widen more than two-thirds of the newly laid tracks due to oversight failures within a year of opening service. These problems could have been prevented with proper attention to the projects.

The city’s inability to hire vendors that complete large projects on time, under budget, and safely is concerning. This negligence shows a disregard for residents’ safety and well-being.

We need immediate changes in how construction projects are managed, and they must be coordinated to prevent citywide disruptions. I urge the City Council to take immediate action to address these issues and hold those responsible accountable for this mismanagement.

The residents of Somerville deserve better. It is time for the City Council to act responsibly and address these critical issues or we’ll vote for someone who will.

I look forward to hearing what actions have been taken.

Sincerely,

Nick LaFleur
Ward 2