Shared Streets & Spaces: 2020 Round 2 project narratives

The Shared Streets and Spaces Program provides technical assistance and project funding to help Massachusetts cities and towns design and implement changes to curbs, streets, and parking areas in support of public health, safe mobility, and community growth and revitalization.

• Acushnet received $12,917.50 to provide access to a public park from the Slocum Street corridor along River Street by installing a new path.
• Andover received $7,975 to install new bicycle racks.
• Billerica received $20,000 to upgrade signage and crosswalks around all eight schools – elementary, middle and high schools – in Billerica. The grant will fund the purchase of supplies such as signs, posts, and paint.
• Braintree received $291,237.50 to update crosswalks, construct ADA-compliant ramps, and install signage and flashing safety beacons at four elementary schools and two middle schools.
• Brookline received $35,085 to expand outdoor seating in parking lanes, on sidewalks, and in parking lots to support local businesses.
• Dedham received $285,915 to construct 1,550 feet of new sidewalk, ADA-compliant wheelchair ramps, new road striping and signage, and crosswalks along the south side of Cedar Street, providing new and safer connections to residential neighborhoods.
• East Longmeadow received $117,573.50 to construct 180 feet of new asphalt trail from the northern terminus of the Redstone Rail Trail to Maple Court, install new traffic calming measures, and establish outdoor dining areas making use of 22 parking spaces and including public art to be designed and implemented by local business owners and other abutters.
• Everett received $150,000 to implement peak-hour northbound bus-lanes on approximately 1/2 mile of Broadway and 1/4 mile of Main Street in order to alleviate delays for bus passengers.
• Fitchburg received $53,295.45 to implement a multi-element project including reimagining Commercial Street as a pedestrian-only street, replacing on-street parking with traffic calming measures, establishing formal loading zones, restoring crosswalks, and making existing crosswalk ramps ADA-accessible.
• Framingham received $266,250 to construct new ADA-compliant concrete sidewalks, new bump-outs at intersections, and shortened crossing distances, all for improved pedestrian safety.
• Gardner received $47,999 to create outdoor dining opportunities in two downtown locations. These areas will also serve as waiting areas for customers of barbers, and hair and nail salons.
• Greenfield received $66,018 to support local restaurants by implementing outdoor dining at seven locations and temporarily closing certain streets for use by pedestrians only.
• Holliston received $12,000 to convert Front Street to one-way in the southbound direction and create a pedestrian zone to the intersection at Winthrop Street, to include curb extension, crosswalks, and wayfinding to help access the Upper Charles Rail Trail.
• Leicester received $20,000 to fund 12 new benches and six new solar-powered flashing signs to slow traffic and ensure safety for pedestrians at three crosswalks located near the Town Common, Becker College, and Leicester Middle School.
• Lynn received $125,000 to fund the installation of bike lanes - buffered, where feasible – without the need for street reconstruction or alteration.
• Marblehead received two grants totaling $67,000 to install flashing safety beacons, new pedestrian-oriented signage, pedestrian-activated buttons, and ADA-compliant ramps, all proximate to a multiuse rail trail and a middle school. The second grant will fund umbrellas, tents, planters, chairs, tables, jersey barriers, and portable ramps to accommodate outdoor dining on sidewalks and in portions of streets.
• Merrimac received $6,200 to fund 50 feet of new sidewalk next to Town Hall.
• Middleton received $164,936.43 to convert a ¾ mile section of an existing rail bed to a temporary multiuse trail, which, along with upgrades and traffic calming measures at associated nearby crossings, will connect residents to a local school as well as increase space for people to be outside. The project will use crushed stone to provide a suitable base for permanent construction of the trail.
• Milton received $57,731.32 to improve an existing road to include a new bi-directional protected bicycle lane and better pick-up and drop-off at the St. Mary’s School and the Pierce Middle School.
• Natick received $55,000 to create a separated bike/shared-use lane by making use of the shoulders on a segment of Route 30 connecting the Snake Brook Trail at Cochituate State Park on the east (in the Town of Wayland) with the commercial Speen Street area on the west (in the Town of Natick).
• Newburyport received $244,912 to support 16 seasonal, reusable parklets in the downtown area, to include installing new code-compliant curb cuts/ramps and newly laid brick sidewalks.
• North Adams received $44,483 to support the establishment of new outdoor dining areas, including traffic calming infrastructure, new signage, pavement markings, safety barriers, and the reallocation of on-street parking.
• Northbridge received $135,739.80 to reconfigure a school parking lot to create a safer drop-off area, install a temporary sidewalk using water barriers to connect the parking lot with the crossing guard crosswalk, redirect entrance and egress patterns for the school, install new signage, and add two new ADA-accessible parking spaces.
• Princeton received $40,791.20 to create a temporary ADA compliant 1,600-foot sidewalk to provide safe passage for pedestrians walking and biking in the local business center.
• Revere received $21,540 to repurpose on-street parking and extend sidewalks to provide outdoor dining in two project locations.
• Shelburne received $6,048 to improve safety for school children by installing solar-powered pedestrian safety beacons at the Mechanic Street/Grove Street intersection adjacent to the Buckland Shelburne Elementary School.
• Shirley received $200,000 to install a multipurpose path to connect a regional middle school to sports fields, the library, Town Hall, and the Shirley MBTA Commuter Station.
• Somerville received $38,930 to install quick-build protected bicycle lanes across the Wellington Bridge (MA Route 28/Fellsway).
• Springfield received $100,000 to reconstruct intersections at St. James Avenue/Wellesley Street and Dwight Street/Bruce Landon Way with new bike lanes, expanded bus stops, and pedestrian curb extensions to reduce crossing distance, improve sightlines, and narrow vehicular lanes.
• Sterling received two grants totaling $66,000 to fund safety beacons, curb extensions, better crosswalk delineation, and flexible posts in the area of Boutelle Road, Muddy Pond Road, and Bean Road. The second grant will fund the implementation of a dedicated bike lane from Waushacum Avenue to the Central Mass Rail Trail, improve curb ramps and crosswalks, and convert on-street parking into dedicated space for outdoor dining.
• Swampscott received $150,000 to convert an abandoned railroad corridor into a safe and accessible linear park that will link to other existing trails, including the Marblehead and Salem Trail and the Northern Strand.
• Taunton received $150,000 to provide traffic calming, enhanced pedestrian safety, and ADA-accessibility measures at a dangerous three-way intersection used by elementary, middle, and high school students.
• Topsfield received $181,864.91 to construct and install semi-permanent parklets, outdoor seating, solar-powered lamps. Temporary signage, curb extensions, and yield markings will all be installed to create a safer space for pedestrians, including along a key elementary school route.
• Uxbridge received $241,875 to construct 4,000 feet of sidewalk, to include accessible curb-ramps, signage, and crosswalks, in order to better and more safely connect two schools and recreational areas.
• Wayland received $29,070 to repurpose off-street parking to install a new outdoor dining and seating area while also establishing new connections to the Mass Central Rail Trail.
• West Boylston received $147,460 to install traffic calming measures and 720 feet of ADA-accessible sidewalk, including wheelchair ramps and driveway aprons, within a school zone.
• Westhampton received $61,100 to provide a new and safer child drop-off and pick-up zone at the Westhampton Elementary School.
• Weymouth received $30,090 to support temporary outdoor dining by reimagining on-street parking areas as dining space, supported by new traffic calming measures.
• Worcester received $136,740 to install outdoor seating areas and ADA-compliant sidewalks in the Canal District, to include experimenting with converting streets to use by pedestrians only, traffic calming, and speed reduction measures.