Back in 2012, the City of Cambridge undertook a sizable endeavor to overhaul Western Avenue and turn it into a roadway that safely accommodates vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. The redesign has proven so successful and effective, in fact, that Western Ave. has been nominated as a top civic street transformation in 2014 nationwide.
Western Avenue provides a direct link between Central Square in Cambridge to Allston by way of the Harvard Business School. Because of the high density areas it caters to, coupled with Cambridge’s affinity for biking, made the reconstruction project necessary to maintain safe travels for any mode of transit.
Streetsblog, an online publication dedicated to transportation, infrastructure and urban living, took notice of this and realized how groundbreaking the final product is. To celebrate this fact, they nominated the project as one of five finalists for its Best Urban Street Transformation of 2014.
Voting is open to anybody and at the time this article was published 1,141 had cast a ballot. Currently, Western Ave. trails only E Street in San Bernadino, Calif. by a margin of 42 percent to 24 percent. Washington Avenue in Minneapolis, Minn., is hot on Western Ave.’s heels with 22 percent of the vote.
Broadway in Seattle and Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh are bringing up the rear with eight and four percent, respectively.
The winner will be selected on Tuesday, December 23.
“The Western Avenue road diet narrowed dangerously wide traffic lanes on this one-way street to make room for safer pedestrian crossings, a raised bike lane, and bus bulbs,” explained StreetsBlog with accompanying before and after photos.
According to the City of Cambridge, the following more detailed design features were included in the project:
- Two vehicle travel lanes from Pleasant St. to Blackstone Street
- One vehicle travel lane from Mass. Ave. to Pleasant Street
- Parking will remain on both sides of the street
- Pedestrian safety will be improved by adding new crosswalks and curb extensions, constructing raised crosswalks at unsignalized side streets.
- The intersection at Pleasant St., Franklin St., and Western Ave. are all being rebuilt to significantly improve pedestrian safety.
- A separated bicycle lane (raised “cycle track”) will be added
- Installation of new street trees, planting beds, trash/recycling containers, bus shelters, and energy efficient streetlights
- Cronin Park will be enlarged, landscaped, and enhanced with a rain garden and a commemorative installation “Celebrate the Coast”
Featured image of Western Avenue Bridge via Creative Commons/ Vitor Pamplona (CC BY 2.0)
