Mobility projects

Updated November 8, 2026

What's happening

Magoun Square is the next big street decision. The city has narrowed the Broadway–Magoun intersection at Medford Street from three options to one, and unveiled it with the rest of the updated design at an open house on Wednesday, November 4, 6:30–8 p.m., at the Healey School, 5 Meacham St. (the Independent's Oct 30 preview gave a different address, 167 Holland St.; the city's materials say Meacham). Staff had weighed a roundabout, an "X" and a "T" (project page). The roundabout, which drops the signals for one car lane, raised crosswalks and a raised bike lane and has the least delay for every mode, was the pick of 65 percent of respondents in the spring survey (Cambridge Somerville Independent, Oct 30). Which one survived isn't in our sources yet. The project rebuilds Broadway from Winchester to Central streets with new sidewalks and full repaving. This segment is designated for protected bike lanes in both directions under the Bicycle Network Plan and required by the Safe Streets Ordinance, and the spring concepts also carried raised and new crosswalks and better bus stops (city release, Oct 19). This is the third round of meetings since October 2025, and the comment window after it is a month long: posters and brochures online from November 5, a virtual office hour November 13 at 12:30 p.m., street pop-ups at Henry Hansen Park on November 10 and outside the CVS at Broadway and Medford on November 18 (both 4:30–6 p.m.), and a survey that closes at noon December 4 (Mobility Division newsletter, Oct 20). The design gets finalized over the winter and published in spring 2027. The construction window is fuzzy: the city's release says 2027–2028, the Mobility Division's newsletter, event page and the Independent say 2027–2029, depending on contractors.

Parking policy is on the Council's table next. On Monday, November 9, Chair Naima Sait's Traffic and Parking Committee considers a new residential permit just for car owners who have driveways. It would cost less than a regular permit but forbid street parking overnight and during street cleaning and snow emergencies. The committee also takes up a review of traffic flow and enforcement around schools at drop-off and pickup (Independent, Nov 8). The preview doesn't mention the Community Path or construction parking, both still owed to the committee this fall.

The Community Path is getting slowed down, and enforcement is next. Over the past few weeks crews have laid strips of thermoplastic rumble bumps on the path, along with "LOOK" markings and flashing LED "GO SLOW" signs. Signs that just say "NO MOTOR VEHICLES" are being swapped for ones that picture Vespa-style scooters (Boston Globe, Oct 24). Mobility Director Brad Rawson told Traffic and Parking on October 5 that flex posts and quick-build curb extensions are part of the package (Oct 5 digest; Independent, Oct 6). "This is a community path, and our priority is the slowest-moving users," he told the Globe. If the cheap fixes don't slow people down, the city has proposed harder ones in 2027 or 2028: curb extensions, new stop signs and signals, or real speed humps. At-large Councilor Ben Wheeler, who sits on Traffic and Parking, said the strips are "a bit of a signal that speeding is discouraged here." A Medford commuter told the Globe that the mopeds and big e-bikes they're aimed at "won't feel them really at all." Sait, the Ward 5 councilor, kept the path-safety order for a session with the police on enforcement. Somerville has written 31 motorized-scooter citations this year, the third-most in the state after Cambridge (78) and Framingham (37). The path carries more than 3,300 people a day (city announcement, Oct 5).

The path's southern link is open. Mossland Street became a neighborway when its Elm Street end closed to cars on October 15; drivers now use only the Somerville Avenue end, while bikes, pedestrians and emergency vehicles keep both (Independent, Oct 16). It's the centerpiece of the Elm–Beacon Connector linking Davis Square and the path to Beacon Street and Inman Square. Interim signal timing is in at Elm and Somerville Avenue, Somerville Avenue and Beacon, and Somerville Avenue and Mossland; the city's October 29 construction newsletter says permanent signal equipment and timing changes are underway. Mayor Jake Wilson's pitch for this kind of work: "We're going to make it a little bit more annoying for cut-through commuters," but "we're prioritizing the people of this city" (Tufts Daily, Oct 20).

East Washington Street got bigger. The quick-build now includes two constructed floating bus stops at Myrtle Street, eastbound and westbound, with new shelters and benches, separated protected bike lanes and about four more parking spaces, paid for by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission's Community Mitigation Fund. Concept designs come out in early 2027 (Mobility Division newsletter, Oct 20).

The division has more projects than people: eight budgeted positions, held flat in FY27 (FY27 budget book). The 2026 Safe Streets Ordinance report shows 14.83 of the 28.79-mile priority bike network unbuilt and says the 2030 deadline will slip (Traffic calming and Vision Zero). Rawson said demand for neighborhood calming "far exceeds" resources; Prospect Hill streets won't be built before the 2027–28 or 2028–29 batches.

The story

Route 80 and the MBTA's amendments

The MBTA wants to cut Route 80's run linking Ball, Magoun and Gilman squares, East Somerville and Lechmere, keeping only an Arlington–Tufts piece rerouted down College Avenue to Davis. It calls the route redundant with the Green Line Extension. The Council's August 27 resolution (26-1314) answers that the Green Line doesn't reach the same places and that Gilman Square station is "not meaningfully accessible" to many wheelchair users.

On October 5 Rawson said Wilson and city staff have taken their objections to the state transportation secretary, and the city "just reject[s] that logic," noting the 115 Sycamore school (The new school at 115 Sycamore Street) wasn't in the MBTA's 2021–22 analysis. The city's weak spot is ridership: Route 80 runs at about 30% of pre-pandemic levels, against 50–70% on most Somerville routes. The MBTA should announce results of its latest feedback round after New Year's, and Sait will file a new order in January to track it (Oct 5 digest). The cut is one of 11 proposed amendments to the 2022 bus redesign, all touching Somerville, including one that would send Route 96 to Union Square instead of Harvard (Streetsblog, Sept. 4). The MBTA expects no changes before 2028.

Construction parking in Ward 2

Ward 2 Councilor JT Scott wants teeth for contractor parking permits. At his Traffic and Parking hearing on October 14, residents near Prospect Street described contractors filling eight of roughly 15 spaces on a block and trucks blocking fire lanes; one said "getting a parking ticket is the best deal in town." They asked for per-project caps (Cambridge allows three spots), higher prices, revocation for repeat violators and tying worker permits to the building permit. Scott called the permits "a privilege, not a right." Inspectional Services' Kevin Klein said "hitting people with heavy fines is tough." Scott is filing a new order so Engineering, Police, ISD and Parking answer at a later committee meeting (Council Digests summary of the Oct 14 meeting, emailed Oct 15).

Smaller asks that moved

The October 5 meeting cleared a decade-old request: a raised crossing at Vernon and Lowell streets by the Magoun Square station, in the FY27 streets contract bidding December to February. Sait: "it only took a decade." MassDOT rejected a full raised crossing on the School Street bridge by Gilman Square, so a hybrid goes in the FY28 contract. Sait also wants no turn on red at Broadway and Cedar Street; Rawson said about 97% of eligible turns already ban it and will report on what state rules require for a citywide ban like Cambridge's.

The Mystic River bridge and how contracts get written

MassDOT's board approved a $78.7 million design-build contract on September 23 for a roughly 800-foot car-free span from Draw Seven Park to Everett, 27% over estimate; construction takes about three years (Streetsblog, Sept. 23; Assembly Square). Closer to home, Ward 4 Councilor Jesse Clingan's four September 10 orders (26-1360 through 26-1363) go after streets that get dug up and stay dug up: curb-to-curb restoration, a Cambridge-style street preservation fee, tougher timeline enforcement and "A+B" bidding on cost and time (Sept. 10 digest).

The projects, in one list

Broadway–Magoun: one intersection option unveiled November 4; final design spring 2027; construction from 2027 (above).
Community Path: rumble strips, LED signs and markings down; curb extensions and scooter signs coming; heavier measures proposed for 2027–28 if needed (above).
Elm–Beacon Connector: Mossland done; Elm Street has its flex posts; permanent signal work underway (project page).
East Washington Street quick-build: floating bus stops added at Myrtle; concepts early 2027 (project page).
Tufts Street Neighborway: finished, with one-car "pinch points" on a street that carried up to 3,000 cut-through cars a day; reviews are mixed (Boston Globe, Oct 4).
Webster Avenue at Prospect Street: an October restripe carries the northbound protected bike lane through. The full rebuild, about $11 million with $1.4 million secured, can't start before spring 2028 (June 22).
Somerville Avenue quick-build (Elm to Bow): summer 2027 (project page).
West Broadway (Teele Square to Alewife Brook Parkway): granite curbs and the first sidewalk-level protected bike lane segments are in, with a floating bus stop going in east of Weston Avenue. Sidewalk work stops for the winter when it gets too cold for concrete; raised crossings and final repaving are due by summer 2027 (city construction newsletter, Oct 29; Somerville Times, Oct 7).
Western Pearl Street (McGrath Highway to Medford Street): sidewalk rebuild nearing Medford Street, curb extensions going in at intersections, drainage work before the winter break; two-way protected lanes that remove all on-street parking, done by November 2027 (project page).
Highland Avenue (Cutter to Hamlet): protected lanes by 2030, the largest parking removal the city has committed to (project page).
Also: Shore Drive Greenway through summer 2027; about 13 new Bluebikes stations; speed humps on eight more streets in 2027.

What's next

November 9, 2026, 6 p.m.: Traffic and Parking on driveway-owner permits and school drop-off traffic, on Zoom.
November 10, 13 and 18, 2026: Broadway–Magoun pop-ups (November 10 and 18) and virtual office hour (November 13).
November–December 2026: Traffic and Parking takes up path enforcement with the police and, on Scott's new order, construction parking permits (dates not in our sources); Community Path curb extensions and new scooter signs; permanent Elm–Beacon signals.
December 4, 2026, noon: the Broadway–Magoun survey closes.
Pending: Rawson's written report on no-turn-on-red rules.
December 2026 – February 2027: the FY27 streets contract, with the Lowell Street crossing, goes to bid.
Winter 2026–27: West Broadway and Western Pearl sidewalk crews pause for the cold, resuming in spring.
Early 2027: East Washington concept designs; MBTA Route 80 feedback results, and Sait's tracking order.
Spring 2027: the final Broadway–Magoun design is published.
Summer 2027: Somerville Avenue quick-build; West Broadway raised crossings and repaving finished.
2027–2028: curb extensions, stop signs, signals or speed humps on the Community Path if the strips don't slow riders.
2027–2029: Broadway–Magoun construction, depending on contractors.
About 2029: the Mystic River bridge opens if the three-year estimate holds.