Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition

Jack M. Connolly

I rely on various means of transportation i.e. Automobile, Bicycle, Walking/and or Running to commute.

Neglected repairs of public roads, main streets, sidewalks, and public pathways i.e. Davis Square.

I think that people who care about walking, biking, transit, and mobility issues should vote for me because these issues also impact me day to day since I am also a resident of Somerville and instead of ignoring them I will address the problems in order to resolve them and make the necessary change.

Stephanie Hirsch

My family of five has been car-free since 2012, and we get around by walking and bus. We mainly take the 86, 87, 91, and CT2. About once a month, we take a Lyft or Zipcar. The availability of real-time transit data, as well as the availability of Zipcar and Lyft and mobile technology, has helped us live without a car. We are now helping our two oldest kids – ages 11 and 13 – learn how to navigate the greater Boston area on their own. Here is a column I wrote on how people are handling living car-free.

Intersections: Many places are dangerous, and they differ in terms of the level of risk, the amount of investment required to change the intersection, and the how much control the city has. Working with resident advocates, we have compiled lists of these problem areas and shared them with the City, hoping they will prioritize steps to take and update us on progress. Policy: There are more general areas we need to work on, including: signaling design; traffic law enforcement policy and practice; automated enforcement; driveway safety; mobility for vulnerable groups; and more.

Increasing travel safety including improving/expanding access to transit has been one of my top three priorities. With Councilor Niedergang, we have met monthly with resident advocates for a year to push for the City to take steps, including: 1. Forming a staffed pedestrian/transit advocacy group; 2. Increasing investment in traffic engineering staffing and capital improvements; and 3. Splitting out mobility as a division to increase focus on and resources for the issues. The City has committed to doing all three of these, and there’s much more work to be done.

Will Mbah

I bike, use the MBTA and drive occasionally

Protected bike lanes save lives and we don't have that yet in Somerville, unacceptable if we want to reduce cars on the road, and encourage a healthy and productive lifestyle. In addition, the state roads through our city are not properly taken care of, sadly. We need more oversight to protect our residents.

I value human lives and long-term sustainability over parking convenience

Mary Jo Rossetti

Walk or automobile

With increased pedestrian and bicycle mobility over the past few years, we must revisit our roadways structure and increase safety measures for all commuters. I was proud to support our recent budget of additional employees and the creation of a new Department in this regard.

As a life long resident of my Community I have consistently advocated for and supported the addition of increased public transportation, albeit at an unforeseen cost of $50 million to our local taxpayers, a first in the Commonwealth. This mode of transportation I feel also encourages walking, wheel chairs, and bicycling from home to T stations.

Kristen Strezo

Walk, Bus, Orange Line, Red Line, Car.

We have to do better to be more inclusive. MBTA ADA accessibility is a continuous problem. I take the orange line daily and on some trains there are doors that do not completely open. This makes riders in wheelchairs, walkers or strollers unable to get off at their stop in time.
At some locations, the elevators have been completely shut down, ex: Red Line Central Square stop. I also have concerns with the Somerville green line station proposals, which include no elevators and are exposed to the elements making it dangerous for some with ADA needs.

I am a fierce advocate for ADA accessibility, expanding public transportation and bike and pedestrian safety. I want everyone to be able to travel safely without a car, should they choose. And, I want more people to choose to commute without a car.
Concerning accessibility, I have cared for my 92 y.o. grandmother for 10 years now. She uses a walker and has a handicap placard. I know how necessary mobility is and how overlooked it seems it is sometimes. There are many improvements needed concerning Boston mobility. I will continue to fight for these vitally important issues.

Bill White

Generally, I like to walk as a first priority. When driving, I try to car pool to the maximum extent possible. Because of my physical condition, I do not bike.

The Route 28 corridor, which is a major access point from Cambridge through to Assembly Square is particularly dangerous. The Stop and Shop is the closest supermarket to the 10 Hills Neighborhood. It is not pedestrian friendly because of the location of the Route 93 off and on ramps and traffic signalization onto Route 28 and Mystic Ave. Pedestrian's especially complain. Further down Route 28, pedestrian access is decent but there is no direct biking access to the Mystic River at Assembly. Walkind the riverbank at Assembly Row at least 5 days per week, I observe few people biking.

First and foremost, I have always supported funding Safe Streets/ vision zero and bike/pedestrian improvements while on the Council, most recently this June. In 2014 I voted for the Complete Streets Ordinance, the first passed in Mass. I have also worked with and supported Somerville's Bicycle Committee and disability community advocates in addressing issues. For a number of years I supported the Friends of the Community Path in their efforts for the T to construct the Community Path as part of the Green Line Extension (including proposed changes).

Jack M. Connolly

I will seek out those who have more knowledge on the matter and those that can assist in making the change because of their professional career/ vetted background and or/those who can provide acceptable drafts, answers, or solutions that can be presented to the public* *All of which are obtained from honestly gathered data and research*

I will seek out those who have more knowledge on the matter and those that can assist in making the change because of their professional career/ vetted background and or/those who can provide acceptable drafts, answers, or solutions that can be presented to the public* *All of which are obtained from honestly gathered data and research*

A citywide census of and for bicycle riders (cyclists)Repainting bike lanes across Somerville. Going over current street layouts and pinpointing where changes need to be made. Proposing a city law that helmets are mandatory.

Stephanie Hirsch

I support implementation of the priorities developed by the Pedestrian and Transit Advocacy Group that has met monthly in Somerville for the last year, and that submitted these priorities as a petition, signed by 350 people. See link
The City should:
• Address issues raised by constituents regarding the implementation of traffic calming measures on Powder House Boulevard...
• Accelerate plans to redesign Powder House Circle to significantly increase safety for vulnerable road users.
• Create a permanent City-staffed Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee by June 2019....
• Add two transportation planners as mid-year hires to help with traffic engineering...
• Add at least two Somerville police officers to the Traffic Unit to increase enforcement, and regularly report on traffic citations issued (payable and warning)...
• Identify and publish a list of the most dangerous intersections or streets, including the methodology used to determine the risk...

The formation of a Transit Advocacy Group will help Somerville coordinate "asks" for transit improvements, as well as prioritize making changes in our own infrastructure to enable transit improvements, such as creating of dedicated bus lanes in congested intersections. My top priorities for transit improvement in Somerville, informed in part by my own regular use of bus to travel the city and beyond, include: discounted or free fares for low-income residents; a reduction in fare costs for all riders to increase ridership; improvement of and dedicated resources to software development and coordination between developer and the T for transit apps; creation of north-south bus routes to connect Winter Hill/Ten Hills/Assembly to the rest of Somerville; strategies to increase speed of routes such as dedicated lanes or traffic signal priority; strategies to increase the frequency of service; and improvement to The Ride or identification of alternatives.

Continued from question 1...

• Create a Chief of the Streets position to drive focus/coordination across the many divisions that handle traffic calming measures and to mitigate the concentration of pressure and accountability of the Director of Infrastructure.
• Create an estimate of spending on the different modes of transportation in the City to understand if we are spending enough to ensure the safety of those who walk, bike, or take transit and to attempt to attain the SomerVision goal of 50% of new trips via transit, bike, or walking.
• Designate funds and develop a rapid-response procedure so that the city can address urgent risks using temporary physical barriers like flex-posts while planning for permanent solutions.
• Support a bill in the state legislature allowing cities to use automated enforcement to address speeding and red light violations.
• Require the use of pedestrian, bicycle, and bus impacts as well as car Level of Service (LOS) when considering impacts of proposed street changes. A LOS of D or lower is acceptable if it allows safety to be prioritized.

Will Mbah

My aproach is to push the administration to allocate budget to make our streets safer and bike friendly. We have to make sure that we use a variety of tools at our disposal, to improve safety and slow traffic. I will continue to work with our state legislative delegation, and advocate with the Governor, to prioritize pedestrian safety. Our city has grown and thrived in pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, and we need to preserve that safety and accessibility, for current and future residents.

I will continue to advocate for additional public transit, the completion of the Green Line Extension, and investment in new technologies, like autonomous buses, around the city. While we work with a variety of transit service agencies, we can make smart choices, in managing traffic flows and prioritizing public transit, to keep the city accessible and affordable.

I will work with the Council and the Administration to create a comprehensive transportation master plan, to address the needs of everyone in the city. We have made good progress, in building bike lanes for example on Beacon Street, and extending the community path, and we have to keep going under the framework of a transportation master plan.

Mary Jo Rossetti

I have very recently gone on Record in support of additional
Funding in my Community to implement design plans for multiple areas in need of immediate attention to increased safety. I shall closely monitor this progress and request monthly updates from our Administration.

As above.

As answered in #1

Kristen Strezo

I think we can start with the cost-effective, community-building Neighborways program in which we bring neighborhoods out to paint some heavily-driven side streets. This prompts drivers to consider that the streets are communities. Somerville has done this on a few of our high-trafficked side streets, and I think we can do a few more. It is cost effective and may save lives.
We also know that planting trees on side streets have been proven to slow down speeders. This will help. This is not THE solution, but is A solution. I am open to more solutions.

More buses. More buses on Mystic Valley Parkway in Somerville. More buses through Broadway from East Somerville to West Somerville. More buses in more frequency. We know that waiting more than 15- 20 minutes for a bus changes the likelihood of ridership. Let's change that. More buses.
I'm also committed to guiding the Green Line project to completion in my beloved Somerville.

Continue our city's collaboration with the Bike Commission. Connect with Cambridge, Medford and Everett's bike organizations, as well. I believe in the necessity of protected bike lanes and I also want to protect riders from drivers driving in bike lanes, as I oftentimes see.

Bill White

By City Charter and state law, the City Council's role in Somerville is to approve funding requests from the Mayor. The Council does not vote on the location of dedicated bike lanes, parking restrictions, permit fees, the construction and location of traffic calming measures such as "bump outs," speed tables, and the like, the location of ADA ramps, cross walks, traffic lights, audio signalization, the posting of "stop signs, or the direction of streets. We cannot amend the budget to include extra funding for any items. All we can do is cut from the budget. Once funded, the City's Traffic Commission and the Mayor's office have control of when, where and how these types of improvements are implemented. Thus, the only direct way the City Council can insure implementation of these changes is by approving funding. The Council, of course, provides a bully pulpit to promote these changes. We hold public hearings so that the public can participate. We also investigate the implementation of the goals of vision zero by calling City staff to appear and pass orders. I will continue to support the funding of vision zero activities and push the City forward on those goals.

This is an issue solely within the control of the state. I vigorously supported the Green Line Extension since its inception at numerous public hearings. I ultimately voted to approve the City's contribution of $50 Million that was necessary for the Green Line Extension go go forward. This project will certainly improve the reach, frequency and quality of public transit in Somerville. I have also spoken against the removal of elevators from some of the GLX stations, which impacts the ability of seniors and those requiring mobility assistance to utilize the GLX. The actual routing of buses, frequency of trips and reach is solely within the province of the T. City staff does work with the T on those issues and we certainly reach out to City staff where we believe improvements are appropriate and City staff will reach out the T, but they have ultimate control. No greater example exists than the refusal of the T to include elevators in some GLX stations or alter the Community Path in response to excellent recommendations by Friends of the Community Path.

As discussed above, there is no ability of the City Council to ensure any of these items except to the extent already described in the answer to question 1. As I have in the past, I will vote for funding these items and push for their funding and implementation by the Mayor's office through public hearings, the passage of orders and resolutions and bringing City Staff before the Council to address their implementation.