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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

City "Actively Pursuing" Hubway Station for Magoun Square

Last night's Housing and Community Development meeting brought some exciting news for Magoun Square businesses and residents as it was revealed that the City will "actively pursue" a Hubway Bicycle Station for the business district when they enter into negotiations with the company this Spring.

While discussing legislative item number 195173, a representative from the Administration revealed that  the city is "actively pursuing" a station for the Magoun Square/Trum Field area, but that Hubway does have specific criteria for locations before they agree to install a station. Hubway began a phased launch of the bicycle-renting stations in Somerville in July of 2011, eventually becoming fully expanded in the Fall of 2012.

As the sponsor of this item, I thought it would be a great addition to the area considering the increased bicycle lanes and visibly improved traffic markings. The completion of the Community Path Extension to Lowell Street (and eventually to Boston), however, was my main leverage for wanting the station near Magoun. Currently, Magoun Square does have some bicycle parking including one directly next to Olde Magoun's Saloon that's installed from the Spring to early Winter.

After sending the great news through my Twitter feed last night (@Ward5Online), one person also recommended Winter Hill as an ideal location for Hubway, calling it a "lost opportunity."

Hubway does provide a location map that has an interactive tool feature to suggest locations. I encourage all to suggest locations where they feel Hubway would be best utilized.

The City will enter into these negotiations this Spring with Director of Transportation and Infrastructure Hayes Morrison stepping up to the plate for Somerville.

3 comments:

Spencer said...

Awesome news!! That would mean I can catch the red line to Davis, and then Hubway along the community path to get home. It's no GLX, but it's a decent option for when the buses come infrequently (late nights and Sundays).

Anonymous said...

Sounds great. As long as we don't remove parking spaces to accomodate.

huge said...

That's fantastic news. Even if it requires a loss of 1 or 2 parking spaces. Two spaces mean nothing compared to increased mobility for hundreds of people.