SOMERVILLE PASSES FIRST ‘COMPLETE STREETS’ ORDINANCE IN MASSACHUSETTS

SOMERVILLE PASSES FIRST ‘COMPLETE STREETS’ ORDINANCE IN MASSACHUSETTS

Becomes first city in Massachusetts to pass a
comprehensive Complete Streets ordinance (and sixth to enact related
policies) to advance safer, healthier street improvements. Based on
national and international best practices, ordinance will advance
multi-modalism citywide.

SOMERVILLE – Following a unanimous vote by the Somerville Board of
Aldermen on May 8, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announces that the City of
Somerville became the first municipality in the state to pass a Complete
Streets Ordinance, and the sixth community in Massachusetts to enact
related policies.

Based on national and international best practices, Somerville’s
ordinance codifies the City’s ongoing mission of creating and supporting
safe, convenient, and healthier modes of transportation for all users
by ensuring that Somerville’s streets are designed to encourage walking,
biking, and public transportation use, and reduce automobile dependency
and congestion. It will also enable convenient active transportation as
part of daily activities, improve residents’ health by addressing a
wide array of health and environmental issues, encourage walkable
economic/business development, and meet the needs of all users of
streets, including children, older adults and persons with disabilities.

“A major goal set forth by our community members in SomerVision
prescribes the development of a street network that is conducive to safe
and enjoyable use as part of a multi-modal transportation network and
that promotes sustainability, and our Complete Streets ordinance
addresses this head-on,” said Mayor Curtatone. “We are the first
community in Massachusetts to pass an official ordinance, but our
municipal partners across the state are already working to create the
necessary changes to our existing infrastructure that will make our
regional system more accessible, safe, and less dependent on the
automobile.”

Complete Streets is the planning, scoping, design, implementation,
operation, and maintenance of roads in order to reasonably address the
safety and accessibility needs of users of all ages and abilities,
considering the needs of motorists, pedestrians, transit users, and
bicyclists. The infrastructure integrated within Complete Streets plans
provide safe travel experiences for all users while supporting and
encouraging non-motorized transportation and prioritizing the needs of
the most vulnerable users: children, the elderly and persons with
disabilities. Such physical street design features include but are not
limited to:

●    Pedestrian focused elements: sidewalks; accessible curb ramps;
high-visibility, raised crosswalks and tables; pedestrian signals,
including leading, countdown, and or accessible signals for the blind;
improvements that provide ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
compliant accessibility; improved pedestrian access to transit stops and
bus shelters; and signage.
●    Bicycle focused elements: conventional and buffered bicycle lanes;
cycle tracks; or shared-use lanes when lanes are  not feasible; paved
shoulders; bicycle parking facilities.
●    Traffic calming and/or greening elements: street trees and
landscaping; marked automobile lanes; curbs; modern roundabouts, traffic
bumps, raised tables and crosswalks; raised medians; surface treatments
such as paving blocks, textured asphalt, and concrete.
●    Transit focused elements: safe and attractive public transportation
stops and facilities; transit priority signalization; bus stop curb
extensions to prevent obstruction by parked cars; queue jump lanes for
buses, and where applicable dedicated transit lanes.

“Complete Streets programs not only provide tremendous health, quality
of life, and other benefits to our infrastructure, they also support
economic growth and community stability by providing accessible and
efficient connections, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and
providing countless other positive impacts, particularly for densely
settled urban communities,” said President of the Board of Aldermen,
William White. "I am pleased that the Mayor and Board of Aldermen were
able to work together to craft and pass this innovative ordinance."

“Having served as the acting chair of the committee discussing this
important piece of legislation I am excited to move forward with the
implementation of Somerville’s Complete Streets program to continue to
help our community realize the goals outlined in SomerVision, and
integrate this type of planning into all projects we undertake in the
City. Its successes and importance not only here in Somerville but
nationwide are well documented, and it will be a great asset to an
already forward-thinking community,” said Alderman at Large, Mary Jo
Rossetti.

“I applaud the City of Somerville for continuing to assure that its
streets are designed, built, and retrofitted for the benefit of all
people—those walking, bicycling, using buses, and driving,” said Alex
Epstein, Chair of the Somerville Bicycle Committee. “With bicycle
traffic increasing by over fifty percent in the past two years while car
traffic on some streets has actually declined, this is an ideal time to
formalize the city’s use of National Association of City Officials
street design standards that better prioritize the safety of people who
walk, bike, and use the T.”

For more information about the City’s Complete Streets program, visit http://www.somervillema.gov/departments/ospcd/by-design, or www.somervillebydesign.com.