Western Avenue Reconstruction Project Community Meeting

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Western Avenue Reconstruction Project Community Meeting 

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

7:00 - 9:00 PM

Cambridge Citywide Senior Center
806 Massachusetts Avenue
Central Square
Cambridge, MA 02139 (click here for map)
 

You are welcome to be a part of this opportunity for the community to discuss changes that would make Western Avenue more neighborhood-friendly. A citizen advisory committee was formed to advise the city on the design, and has met twice so far. There will be additional community meetings as the design moves forward. The community design process will continue through June 2010 followed by engineering design. Construction is expected to begin in summer 2011.

We are currently at the very beginning stages of design. The purpose of this initial community-wide meeting is to give residents an opportunity to learn about the scope of the project and provide initial input as to what they like and don’t like about Western Avenue, what works and what doesn’t work. If you cannot attend the meeting, be sure to fill out our quick survey to give us some feedback by clicking here, or contact Jeff Rosemblum directly (contact info below).

Project website
For more information about the project, please visit our website: http://westernavenue.info. On the website, you will find some great maps and other resources that help us better understand the corridor. Copies of the committee presentations and meeting notes are also available.

Community walks of Western Avenue corridor
In addition the public meeting, there are three upcoming community walks that we have scheduled so far for the project. These informal walks are led by city staff with occasional outside guests. The walks provide opportunities for neighbors to learn more about the project, and provide input to city staff. The walks are free and open to the public. Each walk will start near Central Square, go down Western Avenue to the Charles River, and back.

#1 Project Overview walk
Monday, April 5, 2010
6:00 – 7:30 PM
(meet at Andala Café, click here for map)
Led by Jeff Rosenblum, Project Manager for Western Ave. surface design
Community Development Department, City of Cambridge

#2 Human Centered Design, Design for persons w/ Disabilities walk
Monday, April 12, 2010
6:00 – 7:30 PM
(meet at Au Bon Pain, 684 Mass Ave, Central Square, click here for map)
Led by Chris Hart, Institute for Human Centered Design
And Michael Muehe, Executive Director, Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities

#3 Traffic, Signals, and Stop Signs walk
Monday, April 26, 2010
6:00 – 7:30 PM
(meet at Andala Café, click here for map)
Led by Jeff Parenti, City Traffic Engineer, City of Cambridge

All walks are on RAIN or SHINE. In the event of rain, we will sit inside for part of the time before the walk.

Western Avenue is scheduled to be fully reconstructed. The underground stormwater system, utilities, the roadway and the sidewalks will all need to be replaced. The redesign will consider all street users: walkers, bicyclists, bus riders and drivers. The redesign process is about to begin and will consider traffic patterns, lighting, trees, green space and environmentally friendly features.

Please forward this to your neighbors, and recommend they sign up for email updates at: http://westernavenue.info. Please feel free to contact Jeff for more information about the project.

Jeff Rosenblum, PE
Transportation Planner
Environmental and Transportation Planning
Cambridge Community Development Department
344 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139 [ map ]
617/ 349-4615 FAX 617/ 349-4669 TTY 617/ 349-4621 MOBILE: 617/ 939-3824
[email protected]