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Beech St at Elm St Pedestrian Safety Project

The City of Cambridge plans to redesign Beech Street near the intersection with Elm Street to make the area safer and easier to navigate for everyone. The project will shorten pedestrian crossings, simplify the intersection by creating a T-shaped layout with one travel lane in each direction, and close the southeast corner of the intersection to traffic to create space for future open space. Access to nearby driveways and streets will remain. To make these improvements possible, about six resident permit parking spaces on Beech Street near the bend will be removed.

Project Area

Aerial map of project location, differentiating the Cambridge/Somerville city limits

Project Plans

Click here for a better view.

What To Expect

Shorter Pedestrian Crossings

The crossing distance across Beech Street will be reduced from approximately 130 feet to 60 feet, making it safer for people to cross.

New Intersection Layout

The intersection will be simplified into a T-shaped design by removing the rightmost lane on Beech Street and keeping one travel lane in each direction. Access to nearby driveways and connecting streets will remain.

Parking Impacts

About six Cambridge resident permit parking spaces on Beech Street near the bend will be removed to allow for these safety improvements.

New Open Space

The southeast corner of the intersection will be closed to traffic, creating space for a new public area in the future.

More Information

Installation Timeline

Cambridge’s work will take place in Spring or Summer 2026. Work will include repaving of the street and new markings. Once work begins, implementation is expected to take 3-4 weeks.

Outreach and Engagement

The City of Somerville has engaged neighbors and community members on this project since 2024. As work continues in Cambridge, there may be opportunities for future outreach and engagement.

City of Somerville's Elm-Beacon Connector Project

This work is being coordinated with the City of Somerville as part of their Elm–Beacon Connector project. Beech Street is in Cambridge and Elm Street is in Somerville. For more information, visit Somerville’s Elm-Beacon Connector project website.

Vision Zero

Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. First implemented in Sweden in the 1990s, Vision Zero has proved successful across Europe — and is now gaining momentum in major American cities. Vision Zero focuses on identifying the steps necessary to meet the goal of zero fatalities and severe injuries and creating the collaborative framework needed to meet the goal.

On March 21, 2016, the Cambridge City Council unanimously adopted Vision Zero. We continue to implement projects and policies that will help us reach our goal of zero crashes that result in serious or fatal injuries.