Tag: Medford

Chilly and fun Salem Street Walk Audit in Medford

WalkBoston was thrilled to lead a Salem Street and Haines Square walk audit with WalkMedford. Joined by Mayor Stephanie Burke, multiple city officials, local business owners, school representatives / volunteers and the public our group of 15+ walked for two hours discussing possible improvements to safety, accessibility and street design quality. So great that Lois B. joined us wearing her historic WalkBoston hat (circa 2002) from the Big Dig tunnel walk!

See more photos from WalkMedford

Riverpaths of Everett, Somerville and Medford Walking Map

The walk begins at the Orange Line Wellington Station. The route is roughly 4 miles and ends at the Orange Line Sullivan Square Station.

The Mystic River gets its name from the Indian word Misi-Tuk for Great Tidal River. In colonial times the settlers saw that the Mystic was deeper than the Charles and water-dependent industry sprang up on its banks. With Boston’s 9 foot tidal range, the tide would run all the way up to the Mystic Lakes. For over 200 years, residents relied on the tide to wash wastes out to sea. The river’s industries left a legacy of a stew of chemicals that settled to the bottom. The original riverbeds were diverted over the centuries for industry, homes and highways. What you see today, both the good and the bad, are the starting points for reclaiming our rivers.

Click for “Riverpaths of Everett, Somerville, Medford Walking Map” PDF

Click for “Riverpaths of Everett, Somerville, and Medford” Walking Map on Google Maps

Mtg Tonight – Re-read WalkBoston Comments on the GLX and the Community Path – March 15, 2016

walkboston:

March 15, 2016
Massachusetts Department of Transportation
10 Park Plaza, Room 4150
Boston, MA 02116
Attention: MassDOT Board of Directors
MBTA Fiscal Management and Control Board
GLX Interim Project Manager Jack Wright
Assistant Secretary for Policy Coordination Katherine Fichter
RE: GLX and the Community Path
WalkBoston has worked for over 25 years to promote improvements to pedestrian facilities throughout the state and region. We strongly believe that the proposed Community Path adjacent to the Green Line Extension in Somerville and Medford is an essential element to the successful operation of the extension. The path through this corridor is an integral part of the project that will help it to prosper and serve its riders well, especially when the need is reinforced by the lack of parking at the stations.
The Community Path is essential for the GLX to fully meet its potential in serving the residents of this corridor. It will function as the principal access route to and from the stations for walkers and cyclists, as it will be a safe and protected means of access between residences and the doors of the light rail vehicles. The same levels of access cannot be provided solely by relying on existing streets, which are frequently less direct for users. The safety of walkers is also improved by using routes that are not shared with vehicles.
We urge consideration all possible ways to fund the path and include it an integral part of the construction of this extension. Joint construction is the most cost-effective approach to construction, as the transit project and the Community Path share a common right-of-way and many elements of infrastructure, Cutbacks in the GLX project should not include reducing the number or safety of available routes of access for transit patrons going to or from the stations.
Thank you again for this opportunity to comment on this project.
Sincerely.
Wendy Landman
Executive Director
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Tonight, #Somerville High School is the place to be. re-read our recent letter on #GLX / Community Path in advance!

WalkBoston Comments on the GLX and the Community Path – March 15, 2016

March 15, 2016
Massachusetts Department of Transportation
10 Park Plaza, Room 4150
Boston, MA 02116

Attention: MassDOT Board of Directors
MBTA Fiscal Management and Control Board
GLX Interim Project Manager Jack Wright
Assistant Secretary for Policy Coordination Katherine Fichter

RE: GLX and the Community Path

WalkBoston has worked for over 25 years to promote improvements to pedestrian facilities throughout the state and region. We strongly believe that the proposed Community Path adjacent to the Green Line Extension in Somerville and Medford is an essential element to the successful operation of the extension. The path through this corridor is an integral part of the project that will help it to prosper and serve its riders well, especially when the need is reinforced by the lack of parking at the stations.

The Community Path is essential for the GLX to fully meet its potential in serving the residents of this corridor. It will function as the principal access route to and from the stations for walkers and cyclists, as it will be a safe and protected means of access between residences and the doors of the light rail vehicles. The same levels of access cannot be provided solely by relying on existing streets, which are frequently less direct for users. The safety of walkers is also improved by using routes that are not shared with vehicles.

We urge consideration all possible ways to fund the path and include it an integral part of the construction of this extension. Joint construction is the most cost-effective approach to construction, as the transit project and the Community Path share a common right-of-way and many elements of infrastructure, Cutbacks in the GLX project should not include reducing the number or safety of available routes of access for transit patrons going to or from the stations.

Thank you again for this opportunity to comment on this project.

Sincerely.

Wendy Landman
Executive Director

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Comments on Green Line Extension (GLX) Project Equivalent Facilitation Request

July 21, 2014
Mary R. Ainsley, Senior Director of Design & Construction for GLX
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
100 Summer Street, Suite 250,
Boston, MA 02110

RE: Green Line Extension (GLX) Project Equivalent Facilitation Request

Dear Ms Ainsley:

First, I would like to thank you for the very clear and succinct presentation of the access issues at the meeting held on July 10, 2014. I found the information to be useful and easy to follow and appreciate the care with which the issues were shared with the community.

WalkBoston has several comments on the Equivalent Facilitation Request (EFR), and hopes they are useful to the design process as it continues.

1. We are pleased that no bricks or pavers will be used for walking surfaces, and understand that the sketches shown gave an erroneous impression.

2. As presented in the EFR, the width of the existing sidewalks on several of the bridges will not change even though they barely meet legal access requirements and are narrow for their present pedestrian volumes. Once the new Green Line is in place, these sidewalks will
be the primary access routes for many additional transit users.

We are very concerned that their combination of steep grades, narrow width, proximate traffic and imperfect snow clearance (this is New England) will result in unsafe and possibly inaccessible conditions during some portion of the year. We urge the MBTA to explore the
possibility of widening the sidewalks – perhaps by narrowing the adjacent roadway shoulders or travel lanes, or by removing one lane of travel. The photos in the report (one is reproduced below) show the problem quite clearly.

3. Cross slopes that exceed ADA standards are described in several locations, and the project team has addressed the issue reasonably well in most places. However, at both the Gilman and College Ave. Stations there are crosswalks with cross slopes in excess of 8%. We believe that this is not an appropriate condition for access to transit stations, and worry that both able-bodied and patrons with disabilities will be put at risk crossing streets with such steep cross slopes, especially during snowy, icy or wet conditions.

Again, we applaud the MBTA’s clear delineation of the issues, and hope that the concerns raised by WalkBoston and others can be addressed.

Sincerely,
Wendy Landman
Executive Director

Cc Laura P. Brelsford, MBTA Assistant General Manager for System-Wide Accessibility
Hayes Morrison, Somerville Transportation Department

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