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Cambridgeport Roadways Project
What's Happening Now
The Cambridgeport Roadways project is substantially complete.
Project Goals
The main project goal of the Cambridgeport Roadways Project is to limit traffic growth on primarily residential streets by improving other means of access to the commercial areas of Cambridgeport, including the University Park development. Other project goals are to improve conditions for walking and biking, discourage short-cut routes, provide emergency vehicle access and preserve local access for residents without increasing congestion.
Project History
The Cambridgeport Roadways Project has a long history as a traffic mitigation project to address the redevelopment of eastern Cambridgeport from industrial to commercial uses. After several initial proposals were deemed infeasible, including a plan presented at a large community meeting in 1996, the City formed the Cambridgeport Roadways Advisory Committee to help devise a new plan. The Committee consists of neighborhood residents, business people, institutional representatives and city staff. The Committee met over the course of three years to formulate goals for the project, develop ways to achieve those goals, and analyze proposed roadway alternatives. Working with City staff and a professional consultant, the Committee reviewed eight alternatives in detail to find the one that would best handle the traffic generated from previously permitted and potential new development and would best share the burden of traffic among streets, with the least residential streets receiving the most traffic.
After exhaustive review, the Committee selected a conceptual design, which was presented at a community meeting in 1998 and was widely supported as the best alternative. Community members made many useful suggestions to improve the plan, which was submitted to MassHighway for review. MassHighway completed an extensive design-exception review. The City also incorporated into the final plan minor changes required by MassHighway.
Project Plan
The design includes both changing Sidney Street to one way southbound and Waverly Street to one-way northbound and constructing new connector roadways from those streets to a new intersection on Brookline Street at Granite Street, where a traffic signal will be installed. In addition, the intersection of Waverly/Erie/Albany streets will be reconstructed. All streets included in the project will have new sidewalks with curb extensions, landscaping and bicycle lanes as well as parking. The Committee’s recommendations also include constructing traffic calming measures separately on Brookline Street.
The Committee also considered the effects of traffic on other neighborhood streets, particularly concerns about rush hour traffic on Putnam Avenue. To discourage commuters from using Putnam Avenue, the Committee recommended and the City implemented changing the timing of signals on Putnam Avenue to random cycles so motorists do not encounter coordinated all-green signals. In addition, the City worked with the Metropolitan District Commission (now the Department of Conservation and Recreation) to make signal-timing changes to encourage the use of Memorial Drive instead of Putnam Avenue. The City’s annual monitoring of streets near the project shows that these changes have already reduced traffic on Putnam Avenue. Annual monitoring of traffic patterns and changes will continue during design and construction
Schedule
This Cambridgeport Roadways Project is in the construction phase.
Go
to DPW Construction Project Information for current information.
For More Information
For more information about the Cambridgeport Roadways project call Bill Deignan, wdeignan@cambridgema.gov, at 617/349-4632. The Community Development Department TTY line is 617/349-4621.
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