Everybody should log in to the Spring Hill Sewer Separation project presentation ... only to see @BenForWard3 with a very, very new baby on his lap. It's super cute.

https://www.somervillema.gov/events/2020/12/14/virtual-meeting-share-updates-spring-hill-sewer-separation-project

1/?

We are assured that the slides will be made available online after the meeting.

I seriously, seriously wish that slides could be available at least a little bit before the meeting so I could do a pre-read and come prepared with thoughtful questions.

2/?

@BenForWard3 "To be clear, I am very, very enthusiastic about this project. Also, the city councilors have not been involved in the planning. We are seeing this for the first time just like you."

Cool, cool. Business as usual then.

3/?

He says that this will "of course" come before the city council for funding approval.

We all know how that goes.

"Here's the plan, we want to break ground tomorrow morning, if you don't approve it RIGHT NOW then it's your fault that we lose a year and a million dollars."

4/?

He turned off his camera after offering brief remarks, so now you're just watching a sewer project.

Ha ha fooled you.

5/?

I know that they're posting the slides after the meeting, but why wait?

You don't deserve to wait.

You're precious and your time is important to me.

6/?

Let it be noted, we need sewer updates. We have a "combined" sewer system.

When it rains heavily, poop comes out of the drains and dumps (hee hee) into the mystic.

7/?

Here's the "limits of work."

Project area 1 is going to final design and construction "next year."

Project area 2 is not going to final until later.

8/?

As mentioned, we're in the final design now, with a goal of starting construction in August 2021.

9/?

"Except for two streets, everything is getting a new water infrastructure."

10/?

I think that the claim is that this upgrade will alleviate flooding in the "low lying" parts of the city (where I live).

Did I mention the poop in the water? It's nasty.

11/?

Hey, here's a picture of Union Square.

I bet they used the much storied OSPCD drone (which is the subject of some consternation as we talk about surveillance technologies and how the city uses them).

12/?

We're talking about the ecosystem of utilities that exist under a street.

the city has flexibility to move its own infrastructure, but has to negotiate changes to telecom, electrical and gas.

That cost us millions when Eversource dragged their feet on Union Square.

13/?

Hey look, we're referring to the #VisionZero report and the #somervision2040 document ... both of which are ... on a shelf somewhere, so far as I know.

But hey, it's nice to see that somebody read the vision zero thing. We worked hard on that.

14/?

I like the green stormwater infrastructure. I prefer planted areas, which we call "bioswales", but this is still good.

15/?

Dammit! I was too slow on the one that had trees planted above it!

Here's a "traditional" bioretention basin.

I didn't know that we had these on Somerville Ave!

16/?

It will not surprise you to learn that I leaned in close and squinted at this picture, before smiling.

This is the kind of plan, at first blush, that I like to see.

Said the tree guy.

17/?

OMG BUMP OUTS TO PRESERVE EXISTING TREES WHAT IS THIS WIZARD IDEA?

18/?

Curb extensions to bring the sidewalk to the bus ... which apparently reduces the time required to stop and pick up passengers, and also makes for nicer waiting.

19/?

These bike slides are described as "preliminary" and the city is at pains to be sure we know that this is not all completely decided.

I.e: These are design elements ... not the design itself.

20/?

I urge the city to remember that pick-up / drop off is a thing, and that loading zones are a thing.

Otherwise they just park on the bike lane.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk on how Beacon Street is working out.

21/?

Mmmmmm, chicanes. Make 'em slalom, I say.

Can we just call them "moguls" instead? Sounds like more fun for the aggressive members of the crowd.

22/?

"Trees have a natural traffic calming effect, even without bump-outs."

It's true.

Because there are mature trees in places where people have given a vigorous shit about their neighborhood for decades.

Drivers react to that.

23/?

Reduction in parking of ~20%. Seems like an eminently reasonable compromise.

Let's be clear, I would take much more ... but this seems thoughtful at the outset.

24/?

Describing Central St. as "terrifying" to bike is not inaccurate. It's also exhausting, but that's the hill's fault.

25/?

Separated bike infrastructure for Central.

You know ... given the number of ambulances that go up Central to get to the hospital ... this one might actually be a good case for a mountable curb.

26/?

My mouth dropped open. "Make it one way, with two full lanes for two way bike traffic." Also, they're not 100% on the bollards and might go with something heavier.

This is ... not bad at all.

27/?

Summer Street. Also challenging in an all around sort of way right now. "A huge pedestrian corridor."

I can barely see Summer as a street at -all-. It's a great opportunity to reduce car traffic all around.

28/?

They're going through section by section, showing cartoons of the proposed changes.

I will have to look in detail, but I feel like there's a lot to work with here.

Sorry, my snark is failing me. I came in with low expectations and they have been dramatically exceeded.

29/?

HOLY HELL WE'RE RECLAIMING THE PUBLIC WAY FOR A PARK AND TREES.

30/?

"But mah radial velocity" hollered the haters

31/?

"We're removing three trees, because they're dead."

Fair.

32/?

A rare live thread by @aefrieden!

https://twitter.com/aefrieden/status/1338630729014632452

33/?

Let me be the first to say that this (replacing asphalt for cars on the public way with parks for humans) IS THE FUTURE THAT LIBERALS WANT.

(P.s: @EricRobbert ... can we not about Liberals versus The Left this evening? I'm having a nice night)

https://twitter.com/somershade1/status/1338640355873394689

34/?

With respect to the staff, this ain't Tufte.

What's going on here?

35/?

All the stuff in black is "a lot harder to move" because "we don't own it.

So ... the utility properties protect my trees from curbs being moved?

An odd alliance, but I'll take it.

36/?

This is a good point.

For all that it's a serious flashpoint in our public conversations, I've never seen a good justification or definitions around how we count "spaces."

We had a parking study planned, but the city scrapped it.

https://twitter.com/dogbiking/status/1338640802113794048

37/?

I just realized something that I'm loving about this presentation.

The individual contributors are being allowed to show their work.

This isn't a mayoral keynote followed by the director's remarks.

This ... looks like better management than I've seen before.

#hattip

38?

We're proposing to move some bus stops around. I don't have the data to know how thoughtfully this was done - I have to assume that it's sensible.

"Fewer, but higher quality bus stops."

I'm sure that's going to create some stress.

39/?

Eleven new crosswalks on Highland.

Huh.

I hope those traffic calming measures work.

If a driver hits a person at 20 MPH, the person usually lives. If they are going 40 MPH, the pedestrian usually dies.

That's the range we work with in the city. Life to death.

40/?

The in-lane bus stops at the hospital make a -lot- of sense.

I mean, this was an easy hit but the team connected and did well with it.

Like, you're going home from the hospital on a bus. Let's make it easy.

41/?

Oh. I get it. There's no new bike lane on the Western park of Highland. That's where we're going to see chafing.

42/?

And, again, preserving the existing canopy.

Quite impressive.

That's the end of the presentation and we're in to Q&A.

43/?

The first question is about delivery trucks and how we can support the increased need for them to do their deliveries.

"Curb access is very much on our minds right now."

It's okay to not know all the answers, but it's really important to get tight with the questions.

44/?

"Simply building a street that does not take that [delivery truck access] into account is a mistake."

Staff call out Beacon Street by name.

Thanks folks. I'm glad you're hearing this stuff.

45/?

Staff callout that it is possible to create cycling facilities that will encourage unsafe speeds (by cyclists) in areas where there is not physical separation from pedestrians.

Yes, cyclists, we are deliberately slowing you as you enter "mixing zones."

46/?

Staff with a gentle joke about how we need to support commuter traffic, "when people get to commute again."

Indeed.

Strange days.

47/?

You know, for all that I get -incredibly- frustrated with my city, on many fronts, it is -filled- with passionate, smart, hardworking people.

Respect to these questions.

48/?

For the questioner who asked how we clear snow from bike lanes "around the bollards."

Like this.

49/?

See, what we need here is a -tunnel- to support -my- north/south needs ... which are to get to Assembly Square from Park and Somerville Ave.

We could add an -elevator- to get to city hall.

50/?

Man, @DerrickAndADog quote tweets my very snarkiest take at the end of an otherwise very sensible and nice thread.

Read his awesome take here.

https://twitter.com/DerrickAndADog/status/1338628701697826820

51/?

With that, folks, I think I'm going to drop out. Thank you for hanging in and giving a damn. Thanks to my fellow chatterers on this hell-site that we try to use to get the news out.

And seriously, thanks to the city staff for this. This was good stuff.

52/?