Medford Starting Roadway, Pedestrian Safety Projects This Fall

MEDFORD, MA — Medford plans to enhance roadway safety using more than $156,000 in grant funding through MassDOT's Shared Streets and Spaces program, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced Wednesday. Over the last week, MassDOT awarded the city $15,000 for the Safe Routes to Schools proposal for the Columbus Elementary School and $223,000 for the installation of a dedicated bus lane on Mystic Avenue, from Main Street in Medford to McGrath Highway in Somerville. Funding for the bus lane will be shared with the city of Somerville.

Earlier this month, the city was also awarded $30,000 in Shared Streets funding to provide expanded outdoor dining options during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I am so thankful to MassDOT for continuing to enable the City of Medford to make and keep our roads safe for all users," Lungo-Koehn said. "Especially as we work with increased financial constraints and as we work to meet the needs of our residents, students and business employees in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. This grant funding is so important in helping to meet our goals and the needs of this community."

With the city of Somerville, Medford submitted an application this spring for a "quick-build" dedicated bus lane pilot on Mystic Avenue. Under Medford's proposal the bus lane would be available to MBTA buses only between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Quick-build projects utilize paint and signs for projects, allowing for quicker implementation and for projects to undergo pilot programs and review prior to deciding whether to make the bus lane permanent.

Medford and Somerville share portions of Mystic Ave., with other sections also falling under the purview of MassDOT. Following final plan approval by MassDOT, the bus lane could be painted as early as this fall.

"A dedicated bus lane on such a highly used road that serves not only Medford and Somerville residents, but commuters from surrounding communities, will improve transit access and reliability, provide better connections to regional jobs and healthcare, and will be critical in helping workers and vulnerable populations recover from the economic impact of the pandemic," Lungo-Koehn said.

This spring, MassDOT announced grant opportunities for cities and towns to implement projects that would improve roadway safety and projects that would provide more efficient options for transportation, particularly for essential workers and residents needing better access to jobs and healthcare services in the wake of the pandemic.

The Cities of Medford and Somerville, each citing larger goals of shifting reliance on motor vehicles and decreasing traffic congestion and pollution, noted that Mystic Ave. has approximately 15,000 vehicles per day in the northern section near Main Street and approximately 17,000 vehicles per day near Harvard Street. Providing more reliable service via rapid transportation has been shown to increase reliability of rapid transit, increase ridership, and decrease the number of vehicles per day on major roadways.

In recent years, the city has invested in safer pedestrian infrastructure and access along the Mystic Ave. corridor and in proximity to Route 95 bus service, including collaborating with MassDOT on pedestrian improvements for the crosswalk at Mystic Ave. and Bonner Ave. to enhance safe connections to and from transit.

The project plan is currently awaiting final approval by MassDOT before implementation.

Through the Safe Routes to Schools project, the city aims to improve pedestrian access and safety by providing traffic-calming measures to slow vehicle traffic. In particular, the Columbus project will include the creation of bump-outs using pavement markings and cones or flex posts to quickly implement the project while providing safe options for pedestrians.

These measures improve safety by reducing crossing distances for pedestrians by as much as 25 – 40 percent, improving sight-lines for vehicles, narrowing vehicle travel lanes and creating tighter turn radii for vehicles, which will slow the speed of traffic in these areas. The project will also include specific signs for student drop-off and pick-up areas.

The project limits include the Hicks Ave./Albion St. corridor to/from the Columbus School, including the intersections of Hicks Ave. at E Albion St., Main St. at Hicks Ave., and Medford St. at Albion St.

"While we plan to continue to increase Safe Routes to Schools and traffic-calming surrounding other schools and critical areas, thanks to the expedited grant opportunities through MassDOT we are excited to be able to implement these changes around the Columbus School in the short term," Lungo-Koehn said.

The Shared Streets and Spaces Program is intended to support projects that promote public health, safe mobility, and renewed commerce by quickly providing new or repurposed space for socially-distanced walking, bicycling, dining, retail and bus travel.

This article originally appeared on the Medford Patch