More than 50 local residents gathered at tables meant for much shorter legs to learn more about street and transit redesign on Central Broadway on Feb. 4 at the Healy School.

Brad Rawson, director of Transportation and Infrastructure with Somerville’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD), and Adam Polinski, a transit analyst with OSPCD, presented on the project and engaged with citizens on their concerns and suggestions.

“The goal is to talk about Central Broadway,” Rawson said. “We want to keep you and your neighbors safer and moving, supporting local merchants, and we want to get you through the Ball Square bridge closure.”

Rawson spoke about past projects such as Magoun Square in 2009-2010 and East Broadway in 2013-2015, listing a series of improvements, with Central Broadway being the next investment.

“We’ve had our footprint in this neighborhood, and yet there is this large gap from McGrath Highway to Magoun Square – Central Broadway – that really does feel like the Wild West,” he said. “We want our neighborhoods to be destinations – yes, they have to work for regional traffic patterns but at the end of the day, Somerville’s a city, [and] we want our city to be equitable, resilient, green and safe.”

The redesign includes various elements, from relocating or consolidating bus stops to re-timing light signals to adding designated bus and bicycle lanes. Polinski and Rawson expect implementation to begin in early spring. Much of the redesign was created with a commitment to a green, low-emission future in mind.

“Our city is committed to a zero carbon future, we cannot achieve that zero carbon future unless we eliminate the 35 percent of our carbon footprint that comes from the tailpipe of my Subaru, I’ll be the first to admit it,” Rawson said. “I was a 365-day bicycle rider until I became a dad - and we’re humble about the fact that people have different mobility choices and opportunities and needs at different stages of their lives. However, our society, again, has systematically denied the choice to walk, to bicycle and to use a reliable bus, and as a result has favored the automobile.”

Kat Rutkin, who lives just off Broadway, attended the meeting because she uses Broadway extensively, primarily on foot and in her car, and wants to know what’s happening in her neighborhood.

“Broadway is pretty dangerous and intimidating, and I was really hoping for repaving because when I’m in my small car it feels like I’m in a rock tumbler,” she said. “A bike lane would be incredible – I stopped biking while I was pregnant because people were very aggressive. Especially trying to take a left onto School [Street], cars get really mad.”

Several residents brought up the issue of repaving Broadway, or at least the bike lanes. According to Polinski, the city is restricted to resurfacing one mile per year. There is a waiting list about five years long for streets that need repaving in Somerville. There is a flexible budget available to the city from a 10 cent surcharge on ride-sharing apps, which has been used to complete small, urgent repaving projects.

Ward 5 Councilor Mark Niedergang was there to keep up with the project, as a large portion of Winter Hill is in his ward.

“I get a lot of complaints about Broadway, and especially crossing Broadway from parents whose kids go to Healy or Winter Hill,” he said. “They worry a lot about safety.”

Niedergang has heard concerns about bike and pedestrian safety, as well as reliable bus routes.

“Bus riding is really important to low-income folks, who are often forgotten in conversations like this,” he said.

If residents want to get involved, there are ways to volunteer their time to support this project and future area development by planting trees or volunteering to collect neighborhood data. Details of the redesign are available on the city’s website.