November 2019
Cambridge and Watertown finished refreshing red bus lane markings on Mount Auburn Street. Cambridge will refresh red bus lane markings on Belmont Street during the reconstruction project.
August 2019
Cambridge & Watertown consider "pilot" project to be complete and changes to Mount Auburn Street to be permanent.
June 2019
June 12 Cambridge & Watertown hosted an open house with information about the evaluation of this project at the BB&N Administration building.
Click here to see the display boards.
Click here for summary factsheet.
Staff for other projects related to the bus priority pilot also attended to share information, including:
April 2019
Project team closed the post-implementation survey. Thank you for your feedback!
December 2018
Early December, post-pilot evaluation begins with post-implementation survey.
Ongoing evaluation and monitoring of the traffic operations on the corridor.
StreetFilms created a video highlighting the Cambridge-Watertown bus priority pilot and other the #BostonBRT projects in the region. Click here to watch this video.
November 2018
November 15, signal timing and coordination on Mt. Auburn at Coolidge Ave and Fresh Pond Parkway has been corrected and is functioning as intended.
November 5 to 14, City of Cambridge and DCR staff together made extensive observations and fixed the signal timing and coordination issues.
October 2018
October 26, Cambridge, Watertown, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, MBTA, MassDOT, and the Barr Foundation participated in the launch event.
October 25, Cambridge staff finished implementing bus priority lane markings, signage, and transit priority signals. DCR finished first calibrations.
Mid-October, Check out this new document with questions and answers on the design of the new bus and bike-only lanes, transit signal priority, and queue jump features.
October 15, project staff began implementing features of the Mt. Auburn Bus Priority Pilot project. DCR also worked signal installation and timing changes at Coolidge Avenue. Additional monitoring and calibration continued through the week.
Early October, The City created a two-page flyer with the latest information on the upcoming installation of the dedicated bus lane and how-to information for people driving, walking, and biking along the corridor.
In addition, the city created these brief videos, providing more information about the pilot and its impacts:
August 2018
Week of August 27, Cambridge staff restriped Mount Auburn St. to reconfigure traffic lanes, add clearer lane markings, add bicycle lanes, and reconfigure where Brattle Street merges with Mt. Auburn Street westbound.
Early August, Watertown implemented shared bus queue jump/right-turn-on-red lanes at School and Walnut Streets. View updated plans here.
July 2018
Cambridge high school students working with the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program did outreach on the corridor.
June 2018
Project staff adjusted implementation timeline to the fall to stay coordinated with needed DCR intersection work.
May 2018
May 1, Staff from Cambridge and Watertown hosted a joint community meeting. See Meeting Presentation (PDF)
Draft Plans of the Mount Auburn St Bus Priority Pilot Project (PDF) in 3 files:
Factsheet about the Bus Priority Pilot Project
March 2018
March 27, Strawberry Hill Neighborhood Meeting View the meeting presentation (PDF).
The City has also released a Mt. Auburn Street Bus Priority Pilot Q&A for Strawberry Hill residents (PDF).
December 2017
Cambridge, in partnership with Watertown, received a community grant from the Barr Foundation to work with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) to pilot bus priority improvements for routes 71 and 73 along Mt. Auburn St., between Belmont St. and Fresh Pond Parkway.