Work to Install Flex Posts and Concrete Curbing on Brattle Street Begins August 10

The City of Cambridge will begin installing flex posts and concrete curbing to separate the two-way bike lane on Brattle Street from general travel lanes. This work is part of the Brattle Street Safety Improvement Project.

Expect work on the western section of Brattle Street between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Thursday, August 10, and Friday, August 11. During installation, construction crews will stage equipment in the bike lane and westbound general travel lane (headed away from Harvard Square). People travelling in the bike lane and westbound general travel lane should exercise caution and expect impacts to travel. No parking restrictions are in place. This week, the City plans to install about half of the concrete curbing. We expect to announce the rest of the installation schedule in the coming weeks. Flex post and curb locations can be viewed on the project roll plan.

After curbing is installed, the City will replace the temporary stop signs at the Brattle Street/Appleton Steet intersection with permanent signage and move a stop sign at the Sparks Street/Brattle Street intersection to a new stop location, closer to the intersection with Brattle Street.  

About the Project

Cambridge's two-way bike lane on Brattle Street now spans the entire length of the street, connecting Harvard Square to West Cambridge. The bike lane on Brattle Street was installed in three phases:

• In 2017, the City installed a two-way separated bike lane on Brattle Street between Eliot Street and Mason Street, after Cambridge residents voted to spend $50,000 of the City’s participatory budgeting money to separate bike lanes from traffic. 
• In 2022, the City launched the Brattle Street Safety Improvement Project to extend the separated bike lanes to the rest of Brattle Street. The City installed separated bike lanes between Mason Street and Sparks Street in late 2022. 
• This summer, the City installed pedestrian crossing islands and separated bike lanes between Sparks Street and Mount Auburn Street.  

Between May 2022 and April 2023, the City held four online community meetings and two in-person open houses to solicit community feedback on the design of the Brattle Street Safety Improvement Project. Read materials from these meetings and watch recordings on the project webpage. 

This project helps the City of Cambridge meet the requirements of the Cycling Safety Ordinance, which mandates the installation of 25 miles of separated bike lanes by approximately 2026. These lanes increase comfort for people biking by using a physical barrier or curb to separate them from vehicles. 

Brattle Street is a key piece in the City of Cambridge’s plan for a safe, connected bicycle network. The City’s goal is to encourage more people to bike and increase safety by building a network of 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. 

Questions about this project? Visit the project webpage or contact Street Design Project Manager Andreas Wolfe at 617-349-9162 or awolfe@cambridgema.gov.

Photos (left to right): (1) Mock-up of what the bike lane will look like with concrete curbs in place. (2) Pedestrian islands under construction earlier this summer. (3) Photo of the section of the bike lane that was installed last fall.