City officials and the public joined together to examine the needs of the Davis Square area. – Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Emmanuel Vincent

Voices were heard and opinions were taken into consideration this past Thursday evening at The Davis Square Streetscape Kick-Off Tour. Individuals gathered at the Davis Square Plaza, and then proceeded to walk around the square, finding the areas that need improvement.

The focus of the meeting included the public transit, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and vehicular traffic patterns.  This was an interactive event, and the public was asked what they thought needed to change as their feedback was recorded. Along with the 14 members of the public, those in attendance included several infrastructure staff, and Ward 7 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz.

No issues were resolved at this meeting as that was not the goal. “The objective of the meeting was to take information,” said Hayes Morrison, Director of Transportation and Infrastructure. “In the next three meetings we will try to resolve the issue.” Currently, the focus is on the design phase. By carefully coming up with a design, the city will be able to construct a plan that will solve the issues that the public would like resolved.

Overall, the meeting was deemed a success. “We got a lot of good feedback from the people on how to further advance Davis Square,” said Morrison. “ It was a good meeting.” For a schedule of upcoming meetings, see the city’s web site, www.somervillema.gov.