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.