Cambridge to Launch Hampshire Street Safety Improvement Project

The Cambridge Traffic, Parking, and Transportation Department announced today that it will soon launch a project to add separated bike lanes to Hampshire Street between Inman Square and Broadway. 

Through the Hampshire Street Safety Improvement Project, the City will create a more comfortable biking connection between Inman Square and the Port/Kendall Square, improve existing crosswalks, and make changes to parking and loading. This "quick-build" project will change the layout of the street with new pavement markings, signs, and flex posts.

The City will introduce the project to the public with two events:

• An in-person Community Open House on Monday, November 7. Attendees are invited to drop by the DPW Building at 147 Hampshire Street any time between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
• The project's First Community Meeting on Tuesday, November 15. The event will take place virtually over Zoom from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will be recorded. 

These will be the first of three planned community meetings and two planned community open houses to gather feedback. Learn more about the project schedule at www.cambridgema.gov/HampshireStSafety. 

Hampshire Street is a busy corridor navigated daily by people, biking, walking, and driving. It’s also a key piece in the City of Cambridge’s plan for a safe, connected bicycle network. Separated bicycle lanes increase comfort for people biking by using a barrier to separate them from vehicle traffic. The City’s goal is to encourage more people to bike and increase safety by building a network of these separated lanes, connecting important destinations throughout Cambridge. Safer, more comfortable bike infrastructure helps us get closer to “Vision Zero” -- our commitment to eliminating transportation-related deaths and serious injuries while increasing healthy, equitable mobility for all.

The project also helps the City meet the requirements of the Cycling Safety Ordinance, which mandates the installation of separated bike lanes on Hampshire Street.

Quick-build projects do not require construction: we do not plan to dig into the ground or make changes to the width or shape of the road. Instead, the City uses paint, flex-posts, new signage, traffic signal upgrades, and changes to signal timing. These methods allow the City to make changes to our streets more rapidly and to make adjustments even after a design is installed.

Interested in getting involved? Sign up for the project email list, check out the project webpage, or attend the events above to learn more!