In the spring 2023, parking-protected bike lanes will be coming to Grand Union Boulevard! Parking spaces will be moved approximately 8 ft from the curb to make space for the bike lanes. Click here for more info.

Assembly Connect has teamed up with Bicycle Benefits to bring this program to Assembly Square! This ONGOING program encourages people to replace CAR trips with BIKE trips by incentivizing riders with discounts to their favorite local stores. Riders will receive a Bicycle Benefits sticker to display on their helmet. When shopping at a participating business such as Ralph Lauren, Legoland Discovery Center, and All She Wrote Books riders can present their sticker on their helmet to redeem their in-store discount!

Register for TripConnect and claim the Bicycle Benefits incentive!

We (Assembly Connect) partnered with Bluebikes and Federal Realty to add a second bike docking station to Assembly Row. The station is located across the street from the Puma headquarters at the corner of Grand Union Blvd. & Foley St. This 19-bike station marked the 32nd station in Somerville!

As part of many important pieces to President Biden's The American Jobs Plan, included in this investment is to build world-class transportation infrastructure by fixing highways, rebuilding bridges, upgrading ports, airports, and transit systems. The President’s plan, invests an additional $621 billion in transportation infrastructure and resilience. Some investments are to:

Repair American roads and bridges by proposing a total increase of $115 billion to modernize the bridges, highways, roads, and main streets that are in most critical need of repair. The plan includes $20 billion to improve road safety for all users, including increases to existing safety programs and a new Safe Streets for All program to fund state and local “vision zero” plans and other improvements to reduce crashes and fatalities, especially for cyclists and pedestrians.

Modernize public transit by calling on Congress to invest $85 billion to modernize existing transit and help agencies expand their systems to meet rider demand. This investment will double federal funding for public transit, spend down the repair backlog, and bring bus, bus rapid transit, and rail service to communities and neighborhoods across the country. Ultimately reducing traffic congestion for everyone.

Invest in reliable passenger and freight rail service by calling on Congress to invest $80 billion to address Amtrak’s repair backlog; modernize the high traffic Northeast Corridor; improve existing corridors and connect new city pairs; and enhance grant and loan programs that support passenger and freight rail safety, efficiency, and electrification.

Create good jobs electrifying vehicles by proposing a $174 billion investment to win the EV market. It will establish grant and incentive programs for state and local governments and the private sector to build a national network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030. His plan also will replace 50,000 diesel transit vehicles, electrify at least 20% of our yellow school bus fleet, and electrify the federal fleet - including USPS.

More information on The American Jobs Plan can be found here.

The Assembly Square neighborhood planning process will be unique. Where in other areas the challenge faced by Planning Staff has been to preserve and enhance the most desirable characteristics and potential of an existing neighborhood, here we will focus on realizing Assembly's full promise as a Transformational Area. This neighborhood also requires that we assess and develop an infrastructure framework suited for the needs and pressures of what is becoming one of Somerville’s major new Regional Centers, an effort that will rest heavily on assessing the status of current infrastructure to ensure it provides support for expected new growth. Visit Assembly's SomervilleByDesign Page and check out the Assembly Square Virtual Tour to learn more about the area.

Sign up for our mailing list in order to receive news, updates, and alerts about the Assembly Square Neighborhood planning process.

Ahead of the meetings our team has also put together a few short videos explaining various aspects of the neighborhood plan update:

Process Introduction

What is a Neighborhood?

Example Scenarios

Mobility Analysis and Vehicles Study

The Kensington Connector Revitalization Project will be the first step in a long-anticipated set of improvements to the 148-foot pedestrian walkway, located under Interstate 93 in Somerville, that connects the neighborhoods of East Somerville (near the Stop and Shop supermarket) and Winter Hill to Assembly Square.

Goals for this project include:

• Beautifying a dingy, dark space to turn it into a point of pride and interest for users and community members.

• Improving the safety and visibility of users by making the 32,800 vehicles that pass by daily on Mystic Avenue aware that they are in a pedestrian/bike-friendly area, in alignment with the City’s VisionZero goals to reduce traffic-related fatalities.

• Turning the space into a true “connector” by increasing usage so residents and visitors utilize amenities located “on the other side” more frequently, and by creating a sense of unity for individuals of differing multicultural and socioeconomic backgrounds from adjacent neighborhoods.

• Helping the most densely-packed community in New England reclaim paved and underutilized areas as public open spaces.

Have you seen something on the internet that looks like a good idea for the Kensington Connector? Upload an image to the Kensington Connector Idea Board and share your visual ideas! Watch this short video on the Kensington Connector.

Please reach out to Cortney Kirk for more information:

Cortney Kirk (Senior Planner), OSPCD - Public Space and Urban Forestry, Email ckirk@somervillema.gov

Construction on the South Station Air Rights Project is expected to last 54 months, beginning in January 2020. This project will include the long-awaited completion of the South Station Transportation Center with updated rail and bus terminals and a new mixed-use tower. The South Station Transportation Center will create comfortable and convenient transfers to all modes of transit, with direct connections between the rail and bus terminal. Additionally, a mixed-use tower will be constructed to provide office and residential space.

The Sumner Tunnel will be fully closed for eight weeks, starting July 5th until August 31st, 2023. The tunnel will also be closed for the same period in 2024. Click here for Assembly Connect’s travel alternative guide for the Sumner Tunnel Closure.