East Arlington Street Being Repurposed For Safe Activities

ARLINGTON, MA — The town will make temporary changes to Mary Street starting the week of Oct. 5 as part of the Shared Streets Pilot Project. Shared streets components such as cones, sandwich boards, sawhorses and signs, will be installed to provide safe social distancing space for pedestrians and bicyclists and slow vehicular traffic.

The project is funded by a $10,947 Shared Streets grant from MassDOT. The program is intended to support projects that promote public health, safe mobility and renewed commerce by quickly providing new or repurposed space for socially distant travel and dining.

The Mary Street Shared Streets Pilot Project will be in place for approximately six weeks. The expected timeline is:

• Week of September 21: Letter notifications mailed to abutters; Town orders materials for shared street project.
• Monday, October 5: Department of Planning and Community Development updates Select Board on Mary Street project at its scheduled meeting.
• Week of October 5: Town installs shared street pilot project on Mary Street.
• Week of November 16: Town removes materials of Mary Street shared street.
• Winter 2021: Town evaluates data collected during Mary Street shared street

The Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD) seeks feedback from Mary Street residents and the neighborhood on the project design by Friday, Oct. 2. The proposed design includes general locations of the cones, sandwich boards, sawhorses, and signs.

The materials will be located precisely in the field before the project installation, and the portability of the materials used will allow for tweaks and changes to their location depending on site conditions. Feedback from residents will be considered during the final location of shared street components.

Arlington has been piloting shared streets since May 2020, and has regularly updated the Select Board about the progress and results of the pilots. The following document list includes further information about the Mary Street pilot project, including details about the proposed design, as well as FAQs about shared streets and presentations to the Select Board about shared streets over the last several months.

• Notification letter sent to Mary Street residents, including timeline, FAQs, and design overview;
• Detailed shared streets design proposed for Mary Street;
• Select Board presentation from August 17 which reviewed the Brooks Avenue reinstallation photos and Mary Street pilot community engagement;
• Select Board presentation from July 20 which provided an overview of shared street design guidelines, goals, and potential project concepts;
• Select Board presentation from June 1 which provided a summary of the Brooks Avenue demonstration project results; and
• Select Board presentation from May 18 which provided an overview of the purpose and reasoning behind shared streets and a request to create weeklong demonstration project on Brooks Avenue.