A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 18-90, regarding the possibility of installing a crosswalk at across Western Avenue at Soden Street

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE Traffic, Parking, and Transportation 344 Broadway Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 www.cambridgema.gov/traffic Joseph E. Barr, Director Phone: [phone removed] Stephanie McAuliffe, Assistant Director for Parking Management Fax: [phone removed] Brooke McKenna, Assistant Director for Street Management MEMORANDUM TO: Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager FROM: Joseph E. Barr, Director DATE: November 14, 2018 RE: Awaiting Report 18-90: Request for Crosswalk Across Western Avenue at Soden Street This memorandum is in response to Order #3 from the September 24, 2018 City Council Meeting (Awaiting Report 18-90) regarding a request for a crosswalk across Western Avenue at Soden Street (circled in orange in the aerial map below). Western Avenue was recently subject to a full reconstruction effort as part of a Department of Public Works’ capital project that established the new cycle track, improved sidewalks, and added new crosswalks at locations throughout the corridor between Central Square and Memorial Drive. That project resulted in the creation of a new crosswalk 200 feet to the west of Soden Street at Kinnaird Street (circled in green in the image below) as well as a significant reduction in the crossing length at the crosswalk 350 feet to the east at Pleasant Street (circled in blue in the image below).

Page 2 of 2 The majority of the pedestrian routes in the north-south direction are already served by the nearby crosswalk at Kinnaird Street and the estimated pedestrian demand for a crosswalk at this location is very low because Soden Street does not continue south of Western Avenue and there are limited retail land uses in the immediate area. The addition of a new crosswalk at Soden Street would also require the removal of a minimum of 2 parking spaces, as well as the reconstruction of the recently completed sidewalks in order to provide accessible sidewalk ramps. This intersection was also studied and discussed with the community as a potential crosswalk location during the Western Avenue reconstruction, and was not pursued further due to the low crossing demand and the parking loss. With these considerations in mind, we do not recommend installing a new crosswalk at this location.