Image via City of Somerville/Somerville By Design

On Wednesday the City of Somerville will convene a second community meeting to gather input and share insights on the proposed Central Broadway Streetscape Improvements Project. Hosted by the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, the massive undertaking is part of a comprehensive city overhaul aptly dubbed SomerVision.

The first meeting took place in April, at which point municipal officials outlined their general goals for Central Broadway, named to improve accessibility and multimodal transportation, maximize usable green space, make public safety improvements and revamp the area’s aesthetics.

Redesigning Central Broadway, the infrastructural backbone of Winter Hill, is no easy feat and requires a multifaceted design approach from the city’s perspective.

Taking into account a 2012 study by students and faculty of MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, which analyzed the streetscape, economic development and public spaces of Winter Hill and Magoun Square, officials were able to determine a number of pressing issues that will be addressed.

One major component Somerville hopes to include from the 2012 MIT study is a linear park that not only beautifies Somerville on a neighborhood level but helps fill the void of open green space for everyone to enjoy. It will also link Trum Field and Foss Park, consequently strengthening the accessibility of both spaces and injecting an air of unity throughout the community.

Rendering via City of Somerville/Somerville By Design

The next step in the process takes place on Wednesday, September 10. The project team is set to release traffic analysis data as well as concept renderings for what the project could look like, based in part on the former. The traffic data will pertain to vehicle types, speeds, parking regulations, delivery activities, transit activities and intersection analyses, to name a few of the items, to hopefully help develop a functional roadway for pedestrians, bikers, drivers, transit riders and everyone in between.

To help spark more community chatter and aggregate ideas, the project team has launched a MindMixer page with three topics to prompt discussion. Currently the prompts listed are as follows:

Public outreach is a major component for the early stages of Winter Hill’s redevelopment and though part of Wednesday’s presentation will be the unveiling of preliminary design renderings. But city officials are hoping to corral residents’ input so that they can get back to the drawing board and revise their designs that’ll better adhere to the wants and needs of the people.

“We look forward to realizing the full potential of this corridor as a dynamic and unique neighborhood artery, and using the SomervillebyDesign process to coordinate the improvement project with larger neighborhood planning efforts for the Winter Hill neighborhood,” wrote Somerville brass on the SomervilleByDesign website.

The meeting will take place at the Arthur D. Healey School cafeteria at 5 Meacham Street at 6:30 p.m. and last until 8 p.m. If you have thoughts or ideas of your own on the Winter Hill overhaul, give us a taste in the comments section below.

Rendering via City of Somerville/Somerville By Design
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