— Photos by Claudia Ferro

Last Saturday, a portion of Hudson St. in Somerville played host to food, music and street painting courtesy of the Neighborways program.

Neighborways are residential streets designed for low volumes and speeds for auto traffic, where children can play and bicycle and pedestrians are given priority. They are usually one, sometimes two blocks away from major streets and provide extended connections between neighborhoods, schools, squares, and parks.

Neighborways are supported by Mayor Joseph Curtatone, Ward 1 Alderman Matt McLaughlin, Bob McWatters (Ward 3) and Mark Niedergang (Ward 5) and several Somerville City Departments. The Departments of Transportation and of Infrastructure and  Traffic and Parking play critical roles in providing technical advice and financial support to the program. Shape Up Somerville promotes Neighborways in their programming as a healthy way for kids to get to school.