Somerville Traffic Commission approves major Elm Street bike lane overhaul

Other Committee · Meeting of April 9, 2026

Somerville Traffic Commission approves Elm Street protected bike lanes and Mossland Street dead-end. The commission voted 5-0 to approve the Elm Beacon Connector project, which adds protected bike lanes along the full length of Elm Street and converts Mossland Street, which senior planner Adam Polinsky said carries "over 2,000 cars a day," into a dead-ended neighborway. The project removes 81 on-street parking spaces on Elm Street alone.

Commissioners also approved a separate Broadway pedestrian-safety project near Wallace Street and Simpson Avenue, where staff found 85th-percentile vehicle speeds near 30 mph in a 25 mph zone and only about 70 percent driver yielding to pedestrians. Commissioner Lena Webb said dead-ending Mossland was "a great choice" but flagged concerns about flex posts and pavement conditions on Elm.

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Source: the Other Committee meeting of April 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.