Hampshire Street Safety Improvement Project

On Tuesday, June 13, 2023 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., we will hold an open house to discuss the Hampshire Street Safety Improvement Project. The Open House will take place at Cambridge DPW at 147 Hampshire Street.

Stop by to see the revised design to add separated bike lanes to Hampshire Street and to speak to project staff. There will be no formal presentation and community members can drop in at any time. 

Learn more

On Tuesday, June 20, 2023 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., we will hold a virtual community meeting to discuss the Hampshire Street Safety Improvement Project on Zoom. 

City staff will give a presentation on what we've heard since the last meeting, you'll see revised project plans, and you'll have an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback.  

Materials from the meeting, including slides and a video recording, will be posted to the project webpage following the meeting. We'll continue to gather feedback on the revised design after the meeting.

Learn more

Note: This survey will close on Tuesday, May 30

Right now, we are designing what separated bike lanes will look like on Hampshire Street. We want to hear about where parking should go and what types of parking/loading will meet the needs of residents, businesses, and other stakeholders. 

Take the Survey

We know that we will have to remove parking from one side of Hampshire Street, because the street is not wide enough to fit separated bike lanes, two parking lanes, and two general travel lanes. This is because separated bike lanes, which include a buffer area, are wider than unprotected bike lanes. Parking can switch from one side of the street to the other.

In this survey, we'll go down Hampshire Street block-by-block, present design options, and ask for feedback. We will combine and adjust preferred options to come up with a single design.

These designs are not final, and will change as we receive feedback, gather more information, and talk to local businesses and neighbors -- so let us know if there's a spot where you would like a change.

This survey will be open until Tuesday, May 30, 2023. 

Take the Survey

Email Project Manager Andreas Wolfe at awolfe@cambridgema.gov if:

• You're having trouble with the comment map or web form.
• You have a question or comment that you would like to receive a response to. 

On Tuesday, March 7, 2023 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., we held the second community meeting for the project. The meeting was virtual, held over Zoom.

Meeting Materials

• Click here to view the meeting slides.
• Click here for a video recording of the meeting.
• Click here to read a transcript of the meeting

Meeting Update

Please review the slides or watch the meeting recording above for a full overview of what was discussed in the meeting. City staff shared two design options, discussed planned changes to parking regulations, reviewed changes to bus stop location, and discussed improvements at existing crosswalks to improve pedestrian safety. 

As we started the project, we asked community members to leave location-specific feedback on a comment map. We received 176 comments on this online comment map:

• 57 comments about biking
• 34 comments about parking or loading
• 33 comments about walking 28 comments about driving
• 15 "other" comments
• 5 comments about transit
• 4 comments about accessibility

Click here to view the comment map.

On Tuesday, November 15, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., we hosted our first community meeting on Zoom. During the meeting, we shared an introduction to the project, and gave attendees an opportunity to provide feedback.

Meeting Materials

• Click here to download the slides shared at the meeting. 
• Click here for a video recording of the meeting. 

Meeting Update

Please review the slides or watch the meeting recording for a full overview of what was discussed in the meeting. City staff provided background on city policies supporting sustainable transportation, separated bike lanes, and the Cycling Safety Ordinance. 

Staff talked about: 

• Safety improvements that we can make as part of this project
• Crash data on Hampshire Street and how it informs our design
• Existing conditions on Hampshire Street today for people walking, biking, and taking transit

Parking: 

There are currently about 175 spaces on Hampshire Street. Closer to Inman Square, spaces are usually metered or unrestricted. In the middle of the corridor, spaces are mostly permit-only. Closest to Broadway, spaces are mostly metered. Click here for more details. 

We know that this project will reduce the amount of parking on this corridor. We want to hear what parking types are most important to you. 

Design Considerations:

• Staff discussed how we will retain accessible/disability parking spaces and loading zones.
• Because bike traffic on Hampshire Street is already heavily used by people biking, sections of the street will need wider bike lanes to accommodate the volume of people biking.
• We will also address pedestrian safety as part of this project and make improvements at existing crosswalks. 

Related Nearby Projects:

• Inman Square Intersection Improvement Project (nearly complete)
• Webster Avenue Reconstruction Project
• Two-way biking on Windsor Street

On Monday, November 7, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., we hosted an in-person open house at the DPW Building at 147 Hampshire St.

During the Open House, we will shared an introduction to the project, the Cycling Safety Ordinance, the Cambridge Bike Plan, and Vision Zero, and provided attendees with an opportunity to provide us with feedback.

• Click here to see the posters we shared at the Open House. 

Attendees attached sticky note comments to a large map of the street. See the comments below: 

October 2022

During the week of October 24, we kicked off our community process by speaking with business owners, houses of worship, and other key stakeholders. We'll plan to visit throughout the week, both during the day and the evening.

We're distributing a brochure with more information on the Hampshire Street Safety Improvement Project:

• Click here for the online version of the project brochure.
• Click here for a printable version of the project brochure. 

We want your feedback on what matters to you! Here are a few things that are helpful for us as we work through the project design:

• How do you currently use the street? (i.e., how do you accept deliveries? What times of day do you have the most visitors?)
• What changes matter most to you?
• Are there particular locations along the corridor that matter to you? If so, why?

In October 2022, as part of the project launch, we sent postcards announcing the Hampshire Street Safety Improvement Project to about 5,000 addresses around the project area. The postcards included details on the project, email list, website, open house, and first community meeting. 

Click here to view the postcard. 

This project will include improvements to Hampshire Street between Inman Square and Broadway.

In February 2023, we added a section of Broadway to the project: the block between Hampshire Street and Portland. The Cycling Safety Ordinance requires separated bike lanes on Broadway. Adding this segment to the Hampshire Street project makes it easier to design the Broadway intersection.

Note: This schedule is based on the latest information we have and is subject to change. 

November 7, 2022: First Community Open House

November 15, 2022: First Community Meeting

• Project introduction
• Discussion of preliminary plans and opportunities for feedback

March 7, 2023: Second Community Meeting

• Present two draft alternatives

Late Spring/Early Summer: Third Community Meeting and Second Community Open House

• Share a revised plan

Summer 2023: Installation 

Crash Data

At our first community meeting on November 15, 2022, we shared crash data from Hampshire Street between June 1, 2020 and June 1, 2021. Click here to see the slide shared at the meeting (summarized below). Most injury crashes involved someone biking. 

We analyzed the 80 Cambridge Police Department crash reports from Hampshire Street between June 1, 2020 and June 1, 2021. 

• 97% of crashes (78) involved a person driving
• 32% of crashes (25) involved someone biking or riding a scooter and a person driving
• 4% of crashes (3) involved someone walking or jogging and a person driving
• There were no crashes between a person biking and a person walking

33% of crashes (26) resulted in an injury. Of these crashes: 

• 18 people biking sustained injuries
• 3 people walking sustained injuries
• 5 people driving sustained injuries

Fourteen of these 26 injury crashes (54%) required medical attention. 

The most common crash types on Hampshire Street that resulted in injury were:

1. Dooring: When a driver opens their car door into the path of a bicyclist
2. Unsafe passing: When a driver clips the handlebars of a person bicycling
3. Obstructed turns: When a driver turns into a bike lane or crosswalk without a clear line of sight
4. Whiplash: When a driver rear-ends another driver

Source: Cambridge Police Department Crash Data

Traffic + Bike Counts

Project-Related Counts

We are conducing traffic and bicycle counts at the beginning of the project and will share the numbers when they are available. 

Eco-Totem Counter

An Eco-Totem bicycle counter at one end of the project area (on Broadway near Kendall Square) gives an idea of ridership trends, although it doesn't show Hampshire Street ridership. Click here to view that data. (If the link doesn't work, try copying and pasting it into your browser)

Separated bike lanes provide dedicated spaces for bicycles, physically separated from traffic by a vertical structure like a curb, flex-post, or other barrier. Compared to traditional bike lanes, more people are comfortable biking in bike lanes that are separated from traffic with a barrier or curb. The experience is also much more comfortable than riding in traffic with cars, buses, and trucks.

Separated bike lanes also increase safety for people walking by reducing crossing distances at crosswalks and visually narrowing the roadway width. As we install separated bike lanes, we also look for opportunities to increase visibility at intersections, refresh crosswalk markings, and install appropriate pedestrian crossing signs.

Key Components of Separated Bike Lanes

• Bike lanes create dedicated space for people who are biking.
• Buffers (painted lines on the street) create space between people biking and people driving. They help prevent unintentional collisions that could cause serious harm to the people involved. Depending on the location, there may be a parking lane next to the buffer area. In these instances, drivers can use the buffer area to safely get in and out of the car and to load and unload items.
• Flex posts are placed in the buffer area and serve as a vertical barrier in the buffer area.
• Travel lanes allow space for people to drive down the street, but can be used by anyone.
• Green markings help alert people turning from the travel lane that they should look out for people on bikes. These are generally installed at intersections and across driveways.
• Parking creates space for people to store their vehicles while they are in the area. This part of the street may also be designated as loading zones, which help make it easier for delivery people to do their jobs.
• Daylighting is when the parking lane is pulled back 20 feet to make it easier for people driving down the street and people waiting to cross the street to see each other. These areas are generally marked with lines on the ground. There may also be flex posts. 

Mt Auburn St at Holyoke St - Before and After

The images below show Mt Auburn St at Holyoke St before and after separated bike lanes were installed as a part of the Inner Mount Auburn Safety Improvement Project.

This is a quick-build project, which means we are not digging into the ground or making changes to the width or shape of the road. Instead, we will make improvements using paint, flex-posts, stencils, new signage, changes to parking regulations, and traffic signal adjustments. Quick-build projects allow us to make changes to our streets more rapidly and to make adjustments even after a design is installed.

A construction project would involve more extensive changes, including moving curbs and/or removing medians. Work becomes more complex any time we dig into the ground, and construction projects usually include work on underground infrastructure such as traffic signal wires and water, drainage, and sewer pipes. When roads are reconstructed as part of the City’s Five-Year Plan for Streets and Sidewalks, roads designated for greater separation in Cambridge’s 2020 Bicycle Network Vision, including existing quick-build bike lanes, are turned into permanent separated bike lanes.

In Cambridge, we take a human-centered approach to street design, engineered to prevent errors as much as possible and lessen the impacts of errors when they do happen.

We design for all ages and abilities. This includes:

• Designing our streets for people who may not have access to a car
• Designing our streets to protect the most vulnerable road users, like cyclists and pedestrians
• Creating safe and accessible facilities, including bike lanes, that can be used by a wide range of people

Our focus is on moving people and goods, not their vehicles

• Biking and riding transit is a more efficient use of limited street space
• We keep access for trucks and local deliveries, but safely.

In 2019, the Cambridge City Council passed the Cycling Safety Ordinance. The 2019 Ordinance requires the City to install separated bike lanes when:

• Roads are being reconstructed as part of the City’s Five-Year Plan for Streets and Sidewalks
• AND those roads are designated for greater separation in Cambridge’s 2020 Bicycle Network Vision

In 2020, the Cambridge City Council passed amendments to the ordinance, requiring the installation of about 25 miles of separated bike lanes within the next five to seven years. The ordinance requires that the City install separated bike lanes on:

• All of Massachusetts Avenue
• Garden Street, eastbound from Huron Avenue to Berkeley Street and westbound from Mason Street to Huron Avenue
• Broadway from Quincy Street to Hampshire Street
• Cambridge Street from Oak Street to Second Street
• Hampshire Street from Amory Street to Broadway
• 11.6 miles in other locations from the 2020 Bicycle Plan

Looking for information on other streets and transportation projects in the City? Three City departments collaborate on the design, community engagement, installation, and construction for street and transportation improvements: the Community Development Department, Public Works Department, and Traffic, Parking, and Transportation Department.

• Current street and transportation projects
• Cycling Safety Ordinance-related projects
• City's Five Year Plan for Streets and Sidewalk Reconstruction 
• Map of Cambridge's existing and currently-planned bike facilities, updated in December 2022. This map is for planning purposes and is subject to change - it is not a route map.