Trends in Somerville: Transportation & Infrastructure Report September 2009 Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone City of Somerville Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development Transportation & Infrastructure Trends Report City of Somerville Comprehensive Plan Report Introduction Technical Report #3 I. REPORT INTRODUCTION use in Somerville declined by roughly 20% during the approximate same time period. The City of Somerville depends upon its infrastructure which • The majority of Somerville’s home heating comes from utility provides the fundamental systems needed for residents to undertake gas (62%), significantly more than many of its neighboring their daily routines and employment, for businesses to thrive, and cities: Boston (48%), Brookline (41%), Cambridge (63%), new development to proceed. The transportation network within Chelsea (41%), Everett (50%), and Medford (43%). Somerville allows the population to be mobile and brings people and • Due to the commuter and freight rail lines that run through business into and out of the city. The history and patterns of the city much of Somerville is divided, or connected, by development for both the transportation and infrastructure network bridges. affects the City’s ability to reach economic development and land use • Somerville has made significant investments in its roadways – goals. By understanding the historical patterns and current paving 100 streets in the last four years and completing four capabilities and functionalities of these systems, and comparing our major road reconstruction projects. current conditions with surrounding communities, Somerville can • Somerville's public urban forest comprises over 11,000 better prepare itself to meet future demands and desires. trees, which provide an estimated $16 million in annual ecological, economic, and social benefits to the city. This report was prepared by the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning Transportation and Community Development (OSPCD) in order to establish a solid • Given Somerville’s limited access to public transportation foundation of data from which to inform future policy decisions. (compared with other nearby cities and towns in the inner Key findings of the report include the following: core of Boston metro area), Somerville residents use public transportation at high levels—nearly one in three commuters Infrastructure use public transportation to commute to work. This is on par • The majority of Somerville’s active sewers were constructed with ridership levels in transit-rich Brookline, and above by 1920, and are combined with storm water drainage. public transit usage levels in Cambridge. • Somerville’s twelve original combined sewer outfall sites have • The MBTA bus network provides most of Somerville’s access been reduced to only two. to public transportation (along with Davis Square T stop, and • The eastern portion of Somerville experiences significant nearby Porter and Sullivan Square T stops). Bus reliability is a drainage problems due to, in large part, the construction of major concern in Somerville, as on-time service in a problem dams and the filling of the historic Millers River with heavy for nearly half of the 15 bus routes that run through rail infrastructure. Somerville. • Average daily consumption of water in Massachusetts Water • Most Somerville residents (85%) travel outside of the city to Resources Authority (MWRA) communities has been steadily find employment. Somerville is a bedroom community due to decreasing, from about 8 million gallons per day in 1992 to the imbalance in available jobs to available housing units, with just over 6.3 million gallons per day in 2007(-21.25%); water __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ September 2009 Page 3-1 Transportation & Infrastructure Trends Report City of Somerville Comprehensive Plan Report Introduction Technical Report #3 a ratio of 0.71 jobs per one housing unit. There are only 0.48 E. Rail Service jobs available per Somerville resident in the workforce. F. Paratransit • Somerville has more miles of roads per land area than any G. Registered Vehicles, Car Availability, and Car other surrounding community—approximately 25 miles of Sharing road per square mile of land. H. Bicyclists and Pedestrians • Somerville homeowners are less likely than most surrounding I. Bicycle and Pedestrian Accidents communities to have access to a vehicle, while Somerville J. Truck Routes renters are more likely than most surrounding communities K. Water Transportation to have access to a vehicle. L. Parking Future transportation projects V. Future Transportation Projects • After years of taking on burdensome transportation A. MBTA Green Line Extension infrastructure (elevated highways, heavy rails), Somerville is B. Community Path Extension now poised to benefit from mass transit investment, C. MBTA Orange Line Station Addition at developed in partnership with the federal and state Assembly Square governments. D. Urban Ring The Transportation and Infrastructure Trends report is divided into Data Sources and Methodology: five major sections and various subsections. They are: I. Introduction Infrastructure data was mainly derived from internal city departments II. History and a series of reports commissioned by the City and prepared by the III. Infrastructure Trends engineering firm Camp, Dresser and McKee. Water data sets were A. Sewers provided by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). B. Water th C. Telecommunications Information about the pre-20 century transportation development D. Utilities portions of the Transportation History Section relied heavily on E. Tunnels and Bridges information gathered from historical resources such as Beyond the F. Roadways & Reconstruction Projects Neck: The Architecture and Development of Somerville, Massachusetts. A G. Green Infrastructure significant amount of the narrative about highway expansion and IV. Transportation Trends mass-transit initiatives was informed by data from various City- A. Vehicular Traffic sponsored corridor studies and reports. B. Vehicular Accidents C. Commute to Work The primary data sources for the Transportation Section were the D. Buses U.S. Census, the Boston Metropolitan Agency’s (MPO) Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS), the Massachusetts Bay __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ September 2009 Page 3-2 Transportation & Infrastructure Trends Report City of Somerville Comprehensive Plan Report Introduction Technical Report #3 Transportation Authority, and Mass Highway. The Census provides public transportation and road network is focused upon reaching transportation data that are extremely rich in detail; however, downtown Boston and other key job centers, it was important to significant limitations must be acknowledged: consider these communities in commuting and mobility choices. Cities such as Cambridge and Boston were included in order to draw 1. The most complete Census data currently available was comparisons with easily identifiable trends and policies. collected in 2000, and may not accurately reflect conditions on the ground in 2009. By comparing key transportation and infrastructure findings with 2. Annual estimates published by the Census Bureau since 2000 surrounding communities, the City of Somerville will be able to study (the “American Community Survey”, or ACS) offer policies and protocols undertaken by other municipalities, and the significantly less detail and less accuracy than the decennial effects of these policies, to shape the City in ways beneficial to Census. The ACS reports data from 2007. The margin of residents, business owners, and visitors. error for many of these datasets is very high. Other information, such as data on the services of SCM Community Transportation or the information regarding Zipcar, came through interviews and email conversations with staff at the respective agencies or organizations. Comparison with Other Jurisdictions: To provide context for Somerville’s ongoing trends and changes, this report uses a number of comparable statistics, including data at the state, metropolitan and local scales. Nearly all of the metropolitan Boston area has the same, or similar, experiences with infrastructure implementation. This report, then, seeks to identify unique aspects of Somerville’s infrastructure improvements and limitations. For the transportation trends, significant comparison is drawn between Somerville, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett and Medford. Some communities were chosen based on geographic similarities within the region, such as Brookline, Everett and Chelsea’s relative distance from the main city center. As much of the __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ September 2009 Page 3-3 Transportation and Infrastructure Trends Report City of Somerville Comprehensive Plan History Technical Report #3 II. HISTORY Somerville’s geography and topography have directly shaped its development and continue to affect its growth. Its rolling hills, or Throughout its modern history, Somerville has served as a vital travel drumlins (sprung from glacial collisions and floods), provide the corridor, providing an important link to communities north of setting for ample residential development while lowland river and Boston via railroads and major roadways developed in the 19th and clay-deposit