We removed a little over 50 of the approximately 110 parking spaces on Garden Street within the project limits. As part of the design process, parking was prioritized in the eastern section, largely between Linnaean Street and Mason Street. Between Shepard Street and Mason Street, only about five spaces of about 37 were removed. The majority of the parking loss was located on the Huron Avenue end of the project, where most houses have driveways.
Our informal observations (on the evenings of Monday, November 7; Tuesday, November 8; and Wednesday, November 9) noted that between five and seven parking spaces remained available each night in the blocks between Linnaean Street and Shepard Street, showing that this parking removal still resulted in an excess of spaces being available each night for residents.
We plan to do a more thorough parking study with multiple observation windows within the next few months and will post the results on the project website.
Our design consultant, Toole Design, performed a study using StreetLight Data to estimate the effects of a change to one-way. StreetLight data shows only those using navigation devices (such as navigation apps on phones). To perform a StreetLight Data analysis, you pick a time period, an origin point, and several destination gates to get navigation app counts, and then adjust the values to reflect real-world conditions using actual count data. This method scales the StreetLight data up to align with real-world volumes as best they can.
From the analysis memo: "Analyses looked at daily trends and averaged hourly data in the morning peak period from 7 to 9 a.m. and the evening peak period from 4 to 6 p.m. on weekdays (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) in October 2021. Based on discussions with the City, October 2021 trends were evaluated such that typical school-year trends unaffected by holiday travel in November and December would be represented."
The June 2022 counts were used to scale the volumes up, but the routes analyzed reflected a multi-date time period in October 2021 when Harvard was in session and the community back from summer vacations. We have a permanent traffic count station at the Garden Street at Huron Avenue/Sherman Street intersection, and it shows that total vehicle volumes vary by about 5 percent between June and October, which is within the margin of error for both the StreetLight analysis in general, as well as day-to-day swings.
Our first community meeting on the project spoke about the project’s background, context, and the existing conditions, including crashes (
additional info). However, there are likely more crashes than the 19 shown in the presentation, as we only have data from reported crashes (calls to the Cambridge Police Department), not ones that resulted in the two parties handling the crash repercussions privately. The available data show us that all reported crashes that included a driver striking a person walking or biking resulted in an injury to the person walking or biking. Separated bike lanes increase the space between people biking and driving allowing for additional time to identify, process, and avoid potential conflicts (
additional info). They also reduce crossing distances for people walking and increase yielding rates at crosswalks (
additional info). They are part of a proactive investment to reduce the likelihood of future crashes and injuries.
We posted the FAQs below before we installed the project.
How will Garden Street change for people driving?
One way for vehicles
Garden Street will become a one-way for vehicles between Huron Avenue and the triangle at Concord Avenue. People driving on this part of Garden Street will only be able to travel eastbound, toward Cambridge Common/Harvard Square. People driving away from Harvard Square may use Concord Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue, or otherwise reroute their trips. We will share information about the directional change with Google Maps, Waze, and other wayfinding apps so that they aren’t directing drivers westbound on Garden Street.
Green paint indicating where to yield to people biking
People driving will notice green paint where separated bike lanes intersect with side streets – this reminds drivers who are turning that they must yield to people biking straight.
How will Garden Street change for people biking?
Separated bike lanes
This project will install separated bike lanes on each side of Garden Street. Eastbound separated bike lanes traveling toward Harvard Square will begin at Huron Avenue and end at Berkeley Street (slightly before Mason Street). Westbound separated bike lanes traveling away from Harvard Square will begin at Mason Street and end at Huron Avenue. Separated bike lanes will be at least five feet wide, with a striped buffer between the bike lane and vehicular travel lane. Flex posts in the buffer lane will add a physical barrier between people biking and people driving.
Temporary standard bike lane
Until overheard wires are removed, likely next year, there will be a temporary condition for people biking westbound between Waterhouse Street and Concord Avenue. In that section, there will be a standard bike lane between the parking and travel lanes.
New bike signals
There will be new bike signals at the Huron Avenue/Sherman Street intersection, Linnaean Street intersection, and Concord Avenue/Follen Street intersections. These will indicate when people biking can safely proceed through the intersection.
How will parking and loading change?
Permit Parking
A little less than half of the permit parking spaces on Garden Street between Huron Avenue and Mason Street will be removed (total spaces will change from 112 to 59).
In response to community feedback, the final design retains a significant amount of permit parking close to Harvard Square.
- Between Concord Avenue and Mason Street, the number of permit parking spaces will decrease from 19 to 13, with parking maintained on the north side of the street near the apartment buildings.
- Between Shepard Street and Concord Avenue, the number of permit parking spaces will increase from 18 to 19.
- Between Linnaean Street and Shepard Street, the number of permit parking spaces will decrease from 49 to 27.
- Between Huron Avenue and Linnaean Street, the number of parking spaces will decrease from 26 to zero.
Click here for details on parking changes.
Accessible/Disability spaces
We will increase the number of accessible/disability spaces between Concord Street and Mason Street from three to five. We will keep two spaces at First Church, relocate one space to the Berkeley Street accessible ramp, and add two new spaces along the curb on Waterhouse Street.
Loading
We will add one new loading zone and retain all existing loading zones. Changes to loading include:
- A new loading zone near Shepard Street
- A relocated loading zone near Chauncy Street
How will crosswalks improve?
Installing separated bike lanes improves existing crosswalks. By installing separated bike lanes, crossing distances become shorter, sightlines are improved, and each potential conflict can be handled separately (i.e., cross bike lane, then vehicle lanes). These lanes also visually narrow the roadway for drivers, encouraging lower speeds and higher yielding rates at crosswalks. At most crosswalks along the project area, tan-colored roadway paint will be added to add additional emphasis and provide clearer direction to people walking.
The Waterhouse Street and Shepard Street crosswalks were the most often mentioned as needing improvement during the outreach process for this project. In addition to the above improvements as part of the installation of separated bike lanes, we will do the following:
- At Waterhouse Street, we will install a rectangular rapid flashing beacon (RRFB) as part of the project. This is a push-button activated flashing crosswalk sign.
- At Shepard Street, we plan to add the second crosswalk across Garden Street or move the crosswalk to the other corner to improve visibility as part of an upcoming DPW reconstruction project (FY23).
What will happen to current bus and shuttle routes?
MBTA
Three MBTA bus routes use a portion of Garden Street within the project area (between Mason Street and Garden Street). We will improve visibility for bus drivers by moving the Harvard-bound bus stop at Garden Street and Concord Avenue to south of the crosswalk across Garden Street. This stop is currently located within the intersection. There are no planned changes to the bus routes themselves as part of this project.
Lesley University
Lesley University shuttles that currently use Garden Street in the westbound direction will instead use Waterhouse Street for trips between their campuses. There are no changes to existing shuttle stop locations
Harvard University
Harvard University shuttles that currently use Garden Street in both directions to access Radcliffe Quad will instead use Massachusetts Avenue and Linnaean Street (their current backup route) in place of westbound travel on Garden Street. They will still travel eastbound on Garden Street as they do today when returning toward Harvard Square. On occasion, shuttles may use Concord Avenue and Madison Street as the new backup route--however, this would be infrequent. There are no changes to existing shuttle stop locations.