The Manager's report back on Garden Street two-way traffic alternatives. CHARTER RIGHT EXERCISED BY COUNCILLOR SOBRINHO-WHEELER IN COUNCIL MARCH 31, 2025

Executive Summary

This report summarizes three previously contemplated layouts for Garden Street along with an additional option that includes a full two-way street for drivers for the length of the project area, stretching from Huron Avenue to Mason Street. Included towards the end of the report, there are considerations for the City Council to weigh as they review and discuss these options.

As with most street design projects, there are trade-offs when new elements are added – which in this case was separated bike lanes – because width of our streets is limited. The options reviewed range from keeping the existing configuration that includes as much parking and loading as possible, to a two-way vehicle travel option with no parking or loading at all. Two other options consist of a mix of the parking and vehicle travel direction trade-offs.

Overall, preserving or increasing the parking supply and restoring two-way traffic represent competing needs. The following pages summarizes the four options reviewed as part of this report. For simplicity, we do not include a discussion of Garden Street between Concord Avenue and Mason Street, as none of the alternatives considered would make changes to that area.

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Option 1 keeps Garden Street as it is today. This consists of one-way vehicle traffic from Huron Avenue to Concord Avenue, with one-way bike lanes on both sides of the street. There is parking and loading access on one side of the street between Linnaean Street and Concord Avenue. Does not meet goal. This option does not meet this policy order goal and instead maximizes parking and loading access. Meets goal. This option would require no changes to ensure bi-directional bicycle access as it is in effect today.

The community process favored the current setup of one-way bike lanes on both sides of the street. Goal 3. Preserve parking/loading Meets goal. This option (along with Option 2) provides the most parking and loading access. Of the 67 parking spaces between Linnaean Street and Concord Avenue before the project was installed, this option maintains 52 of them. Cost: $25,000.

Timeline: Summer 2025 Restoring aspects of the project that were disturbed by recent construction and paving are covered by a combination of the contractor (Eversource) restoration activities and the City through maintenance contracts.

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Option 2 adds two-way vehicle travel between Huron Avenue and Linnaean Street alongside a two-way separated bike lane on the south side of the street. From Linnaean Street to Concord Avenue, there would remain one-way vehicle traffic, with one-way bike lanes on both sides of the street. There is parking and loading access on one side of the street between Linnaean Street and Concord Avenue. Goal partially met.

This option restores a section of Garden Street to two-way traffic between Huron Avenue and Linnaean Street, but keeps the one-way between Linnaean Street and Concord Avenue. This change could allow some drivers who are currently using Raymond Street to instead return to using Linnaean Street to Garden Street when heading to the north. This could potentially reintroduce additional vehicle trips to Linnaean Street, which had experienced a decline in vehicle trips after the project was completed. Meets goal.

This option includes a two-way separated bike lane on the south side of the street between Huron Avenue and Linnaean Street and one-way separated bike lanes on both sides of the street between Linnaean Street and Concord Avenue. The community process favored one-way bike lanes on both sides of the street and this option has that layout between Linnaean Street and Concord Avenue.

The two-way section between Huron Avenue and Linnaean Street is in a lower vehicular volume section with fewer connecting side streets, which may mitigate some of the concerns about two-way bike lanes. This option requires changes to the Huron Avenue and Linnaean Street traffic signals to reintroduce two-way traffic and to cross people biking over to the other side of the road. This may increase delay for drivers. Meets goal. This option (along with Option 1) provides the most parking and loading access.

Of the 67 parking spaces between Linnaean Street and Concord Avenue before the project was installed, this option maintains 52 of them. Cost: $87,000. Timeline: Fall 2025 Aspects of the project that were disturbed by recent construction and paving would be restored in a temporary Option 1 layout by contractor (Eversource). The City would pay for design, installation, and outreach costs associated with changing a portion of the project.

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Option 3 adds two-way vehicle traffic between Huron Avenue and Shepard Street. From Shepard Street to Concord Avenue, there would remain one-way vehicle traffic. There would be a two-way bike lane on the south side of the street between Huron Avenue and Linnaean Street and one-way bike lanes on both sides of the street between Linnaean Street and Concord Avenue. There is parking and loading access on one side of the street between Shepard Street and Concord Avenue. Goal partially met.

This option restores a section of Garden Street to two-way traffic between Huron Avenue and Shepard Street, but keeps the one-way between Shepard Street and Concord Avenue. This change could allow some drivers who are currently using Raymond Street to instead return to using Linnaean Street to Garden Street when heading to the north.

This could potentially reintroduce additional vehicle trips to Linnaean Street and Shepard Street, both of which had experienced a decline in vehicle trips after the project was completed. Meets goal. This option includes a two-way separated bike lane on the south side of the street between Huron Avenue and Linnaean Street and one-way separated bike lanes on both sides of the street between Linnaean Street and Concord Avenue.

The community process favored the one-way bike lanes on both sides of the street and this option has that setup between Linnaean Street and Concord Avenue. The two-way section between Huron Avenue and Linnaean Street is in a lower vehicular volume section with fewer connecting side streets, which may mitigate some of the concerns about two-way bike lanes.

This option requires changes to the Huron Avenue and Linnaean Street traffic signals to reintroduce two-way traffic and to cross people biking over to the other side of the road. This may increase delay for drivers. Goal partially met. This option provides parking and loading access only between Shepard Street and Concord Avenue. It would remove the 29 parking and loading spaces between Linnaean Street and Shepard Street.