The western segment of Pearl Street (between McGrath Highway and Medford Street) sits in the center of the Gilman Square Neighborhood, not far from Somerville High School, the MBTA Green Line Station, Community Path, and Ed Leathers Park. It is home to many residents, a variety of local businesses, and serves many different purposes.  

Currently, some of the sidewalks are in poor condition with cracked concrete panels, and the roadway needs to be repaved. Fortunately, this part of Pearl Street is prioritized for reconstruction through Somerville’s Pavement and Sidewalk Management Program (somervillema.gov/paving). However, instead of just rebuilding the street as is, the city is looking to reimagine it – prioritizing safety and accessibility. 

Like many streets in Somerville, Pearl Street is relatively narrow, meaning we have limited space with which to meet a wide range of community needs, from safer crossings and protected bicycle facilities to better bus stops and curbside access for motor vehicles. This is why community engagement is critical to the success of the project and has informed the initial concept designs.

Learn more about the design at May 7 community open house

The city gathered feedback from community members about their safety concerns and priorities for the street through community meetings and events, surveys, on-street outreach, and small business visits in the fall of 2024.

As a next step in the process, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Ward 4 Councilor Jesse Clingan, Ward 1 Councilor Matt McLaughlin, and City staff are excited to invite community members to come to an open house to learn more about the project, review the preliminary concept design options, and share their input.

When: Wednesday, May 7 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. (Inclement weather date: May 8) 

Where: Ed Leathers Park between Skilton Ave. and Walnut St.

At the outdoor open house, community members can explore different stations describing aspects of the design and talk directly to the project team about their questions and comments. Pizza will be provided.

If community members cannot attend, there will be multiple other ways to share feedback, such as through an online feedback survey, a virtual office hour, a street outreach pop-up, and more. 

Visit somervillema.gov/westernpearl for more details.

More about the project 

Along with new sidewalks and new street pavement, the Western Pearl Street Reconstruction Project will bring a range of safety and accessibility improvements, including but not limited to: 

Crosswalk improvements 

When the City reconstructs the street, new crossings can be installed, raised crosswalks or intersections can be incorporated, and all crossings will have accessible curb ramps. The city also incorporates “Clear Corners” where parking is restricted within 20 feet of a crossing. Parked vehicles near crosswalks can block views of people crossing the street. By ensuring vehicles aren’t parked too close, the city can increase visibility for all users and reduce the likelihood of crashes. 

Protected bike lanes

Protected bike lanes separate people biking from motor vehicle traffic. They increase comfort for people of all ages and abilities biking, reduce overall crash and injury risk, eliminate the threat of “dooring” from parking vehicles, and reduce potential conflicts with people driving and biking. 

Western Pearl Street is designated in the city’s Bicycle Network Plan for protected bike lanes in both directions. However, due to its narrow nature, to allow for bicycle travel in each direction, the city would either have to remove all curbside access or make the street one-way the street for motor vehicles. During outreach last fall, the city asked community members if they preferred options that either explored two-way bicycle travel with no curb access or designs that made the street one way for bikes or cars to preserve curb access on one side for some parking, expanded bus stops, shorter crossings, or tree bump-outs. The city plans to present concept design options informed by the community’s feedback.

Trees 

The city aims to install new trees and create more space for existing trees to increase the health and longevity.  

Bus-rider experience improvements 

The MBTA Route 80 bus currently travels on Western Pearl Street. We are exploring ways to create more waiting space at bus stops and reduce bus delay by allowing buses to stop in the travel lane rather than having to pull over and pull back into traffic. As part of Bus Network Redesign, the MBTA is planning to remove the Route 80 from Pearl Street, however, there is no schedule at this time for this change.  

Parking regulation changes

There can be trade-offs between safe, sustainable transportation options and parking, given the limited space on the city’s streets. At the same time, many residents, health service providers, and business operators currently rely on (and will continue to rely on) access to parking. Within this in mind, the city is looking at creative ways to approach regulating curb use in the project and area and aims to work with local businesses, community service providers, and neighbors on strategies that make the best use of limited parking resources.  

More about Somerville’s Commitment to Vision Zero 

In 2017, Somerville formally adopted Vision Zero as part of the city’s strategy and planning process. Vision Zero is a worldwide advocacy campaign focused on reducing and eliminating transportation injuries and fatalities.