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Somerville presents first Safe Streets annual report: 29‑mile priority bike network, 3‑mile per year target and cost estimates
Summary
City staff presented the first Safe Streets Ordinance annual report, summarizing past progress, a 29‑mile priority network, a 3‑mile per‑year installation target, quick‑build vs. permanent approaches, an estimated $431,900 per quick‑build mile cost, and funding and schedule risks tied to federal grants and capital contracts.
Councilors reviewed the City of Somerville’s first annual report required by the Safe Streets Ordinance, a staff presentation that summarized progress on separated bicycle facilities, pedestrian and transit infrastructure, and multi‑year forecasts for completing the city’s priority bike network.
Justin Schreiber, senior transportation planner in the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, presented the report and said the priority network totals just over 29 bicycle centerline miles. The ordinance requires the city to plan for installing no less than three miles from the priority network in a given construction season and to produce a multiyear plan for completing the network by the ordinance deadline (with a possible one‑year extension to March 1, 2029).
Schreiber walked the committee through 2024 production (about three miles constructed during the ordinance year) and the 2025 planned installations (just over three miles), which include projects tied to sewer separation work, developer mitigation, MassDOT projects and mobility quick‑build projects. He summarized near‑term plans for 2026–2027 and grouped 2028–2030 projects where year‑by‑year certainty is lower.
On costs, the report estimated an order‑of‑magnitude per‑mile quick‑build cost of $431,900 that includes staff time, materials, consultant work and an allocation for operations and maintenance. Schreiber and other staff clarified that the per‑mile estimate covers quick‑build facilities only and does not extract the cost contribution of bike facilities embedded in larger capital reconstruction projects.
Directors cautioned about risks: mobility staff said the city has prepared contingency plans (plan A/B/C) because federal grant awards and multi‑year capital contracts can change; staff also cited construction unpredictability and multi‑year state projects as schedule risks. Councilors asked about specific cases, including Western Pearl Street and the L and Beacon Connector; mobility staff said some project concepts still require public engagement and that any changes to project direction would be reflected in future reports and would require updating the priority network to preserve the overall mileage goal.
Councilors and staff discussed neighborways (traffic‑calmed streets intended for biking), how those are publicized and how they compare with protected bike lanes. Staff said neighborways are part of the broader network; some neighborways can be constructed with permanent materials and be part of longer‑term work. Staff also noted that Mobility and related departments ran more than 100 outreach events the prior year.
The committee received the report, asked follow‑up questions and then marked the Safe Streets item complete for this meeting; staff will continue public engagement, track project status on the interactive Vision Zero/Safe Streets map and return with updates in future annual reports.
