hey uh good evening everyone um thank you for joining us um appreciate you participating in this c highway reconstruction design um public meeting um my name is Jeffrey Alexis here with the public works engineering division I'm also served as the project manager of design for the um for the c highway reconstruction project um joined here by um are we Julia Julia Campbell our Deputy Chief of streets she's gonna introduce herself hi everybody thanks for the introduction Jeff um I'm just here but Jeff is running the show thanks Julia um and also you guys have met Hannah um I'll let her introduce herself once again Hannah you muted hi everyone my name is Hannah I work on the active Transportation team with BTD and then I I'm also joined with my colleague Francis good evening everyone um Francis olera with the street cabinet and I am the community engagement specialist sorry just realiz my camera thank you all all right so tonight um we're here we here to talk about um the com Highway project um this is our final um design me to give you an update on where we're at um in regards to this project um as well as construction um so today we want to provide an overview of the project goals um and a Define design um I believe a lot of you have seen this already but we want to kind of share this with you um um we wanted to share the general construction timeline um essentially you mean this process is going to take a couple years so we want to let everyone know um what they should expect in regards to the construction and lastly um we want to share how you be able to sign up to receive construction updates um during um this process so c highway why are we reconstructing C's Highway C C Highway hasn't been um reconstructed and updated since 1955 um when street cars ran along um the road way um in order to make more room for for cars and to allow vehicles or nonresidents to pass quickly through Cummins Highway um what they did was reconstru reconstruct the street to provide um four lanes of traffic as you see now um in the current layout um which of course you mean has um led to a number of of of issues in LA in the quarter um including um speeding um so what we heard about C's Highway and why it needed to upgrade um sorry I'm going to try to speak slower for the for the interpreters um but what we heard um is that the the the street is is people don't feel safe they don't feel safe crossing the streets they don't feel safe walking or biking along the corridor um the sidewalks are in dis disrepair um people can't walk along the corridor without tripping without stumbling their toes um on on the streets um on the sidewalks that have um lips and raay sidewalks um of course the road needs to be paved repaved um National grid um has been along the has been along the corar making repairs to their infrastructure ahead of um these improvements but um even so you mean the the roadway needed some work um utility cuts um not only from from National Grid but also Boston Water and Sewer Commission um and of course we heard about the speeding you mean cars traveling um regularly PL passing along the court over over 40 miles per hour um I mean it's PE cars coming onto Highway um without you mean paying attention we we've heard about the crashes over the past couple of weeks um at some of the intersections um and the last thing that we kind of heard is that um it's very dark along the corridor um just the lighting is just not adequate so this is something that we wanted to kind of take care of as part of this project so beginning of the spring uh we are looking to completely rebuild Cummings Highway from the Wood Avenue at Harvest Street intersection um to Fairway Street um we are proposing to um repave this section approaching um matapan Square approaching River Street however um the majority of the constructed improvements we're looking at um working with the transportation department to make those improvements as part of the Mad M matapan Square re um project or reconstruction project so in regards to the investment um on c highway this is the first investment or large investment that we're doing um since 1955 um since the the Charlie cars were removed so in regards to um this project and how much this project has been budgeted for um this is a $32 million um investment along this Corridor um we understood that this is a neighborhood that's been divested in the past um there's a lot of issues that needs to be addressed in regards to this Corridor um and the city is fully committed um in moving forward and completing this project um for the residents of this neighborhood what we tend to do is rebuild the sidewalks modernize the traffic signals along the corridor and of course repave this deteriorating street so what we're looking at for um comen Highway um is essentially to provide a trainline neighborhood we understand that it's called the highway it's not technically it's not in Highway um but our our our intent is to make it a a street that is safer for families um to connect to resident connect residents to Open Spaces um and to make it easier for elders across the street um we want to provide a connection to you mean the Franklin Park Zoo The neonza Greenway um River Trail um these are all act these are all um public spaces that you mean people in this community should be able to access to wherever they at um wherever they are or wherever they live um in and in um the neighborhood of matapan so in order to develop this design um the public process that we went through um ultimately we started um in 2019 this project was initiated in 2018 um we had three Community meetings at the mad hunt Community Center um in April of 20 2019 um I believe we have another one in February I think the last one we had was in February 2020 um where it was more of a town a town housee you mean open um open kind of um meeting where we tried to share you mean some of our ideas hear from the community about how we kind of move forward with this project um what we understood it was a lot of distrust between the city um and this neighborhood because of I mean some of the issues that they've kind of gone and they felt like they they weren't addressed so we wanted to come out and have a conversation um which led to to somewhat of a design where we um ultimately proposed a pilot in October of 2020 which was the first phase um to provide a proof of concept um to to show that design that was de developed through these um conversations through the city's goals and ideals um to to meet the needs of this neighborhood um also I mean to address um I mean some of the safety issues and speeding issues that kind of that occurred um during the pandemic you mean less people were walking less people were driving which ultimately created a number of speeding up opportunities along the corridor um throughout this time we we we we um my colleagues from BTD as well as me a couple of times we was we were out walking on coms highway to talk to the people that actually live on this street who who experience this street um who have to deal with um the traffic and um and some of the issues in regards to the to the infrastructure um we had a number of um popups and tabling at the matapan Farmers Market from October 2020 to um the summer of 2023 um to just to kind of share information and provide updates as well as um answer any questions in regards to the com Highway project in in addition to that um as I mentioned you mean we we we were ultimately looking at trust building with this community um in regards to this project um it's not listed on here but we did have a number of um Community conversations and virtual conversations um where we talked about um not only the the services that the City offers um and and what we're trying to do um it's it about sharing information with the community um but in addition to that it we wanted to kind of pinpoint what we were looking to accomplish as part of the Cummins Highway project um one of the first um meetings that we had um I believe we coordinated um with M pan food and fitness powerful Pathways as well as um the urban Outdoor Association to host a special tea talk um with a gentleman name of Charles Brown um we had a number of panelists that kind of talked about black mobility in the US um ultimately um from that meeting we kind of jumped into these this series of of conversations where we talked about heat resiliency um and climate change we talked about air quality and pollution land use Street lighting Public Health storm water and flooding we talked about the bus ridership um and how we can make improvements to um the bus the 30 Route the Route 30 Route 30 bus um Street trees along the corter um we had a conversation about intersections um and and vehicle flow um and designed at fall Ages which pretty much you mean which pretty much showed how we make decisions and regards to um design for a for a street for intersections um for a project I mean we're not just making this up in we're not just working in the vacuum we are looking at principles and guidelines in order to come up with these um these proposals um we had a conversation about um people with dis disabilities um as well as public art and as I mentioned we all we all wanted to figure out ways that we can um incorporate all of these elements and make them a component in the com Highway reconstruction project so from there um we developed and moved forward with um this design where we looked at reducing the number of travel Lanes on c highway to make it safer um we l at the capacity understood that um providing one L in each direction would make com Highway safer but then also um it would be allow traffic to flow efficiently um so what you can see here I mean this is an updated R rendering from what we've shown in the past um which pretty much provides a little bit more detail um of what you can expect coming as highway to look like in the future um this is not 100% accurate but um it's it's fairly close um as you can see here um one lane of travel in each Direction um which makes the crosswalks um shorter and safer for people crossing um we're looking at um adding a number of trees along the corter we're proposing over 100 trees along the corridor we we tried to maintain um I believe all of the existing trees Street trees along the cor I we may have have to remove one um to the design um but we will be providing um green spaces New Street lightings along the corter as you can see here this is a dual arm street lights will street light which will provide lighting um not only for the street but also for the bicycle bicycle Lan as well as the sidewalks um you mean to to address that one of the main issues that that the community expressed is that they felt like it was dark um on coming highway um we will be providing parking um along the curb and that's something that that you mean the community has expressed that they wanted us to to retain along the quarter and we make sure that we um allocated um sufficient space along the quarter here was another look at cumin Highway at the intersection of Rockingham um as I mentioned you have the Dual um street lights for the roadways and for the sidewalks there'll be new sidewalks all along the corridor um we'll be repaving the roadway um it'll be a smooth Road way not which not not what's out there right now um we we're proposing raise crosswalks so raise crosswalks the the roadway at um along the the crosswalks will be raised um so pedestrians walking along um across walking along the street um will be at an elevated um elevated level so you mean the cars that are driving up to um not totally sure what the name of this Treet is but on on all the approaches we have to slow down in order to to to drive up and then over um the crosswalk so this this is a a traffic C calming element that makes it safer for pedestrians to cross streets um as I mentioned we were providing green spaces all all along on the corridor I we wanted to take a look at um improving you mean we're designing for resiliency um and sustainability sustainability it's it's a major component part of this project so we are looking at proposing green infrastructure um bio swells um um Planters um plan spaces um all along the corter to Res reduce FL um flooding um during storms um lastly we want to talk about the roundabout um this was the design element that we wanted to to to try to manage this um intersection in a lot more safer way to make it more um accessible for pedestrians cyclists um as well as vehicles um as as we all know it's it's very difficult for vehicles to turn on and off the way Boston Street to turn in and out of great Greenfield Road um so with this with this design um you mean of course it's it's a roundabout I mean it's it's a one lane of traffic one travel Lane that goes around um the roundabout in order to to access Comm in's Highway um or if you want to take a U-turn I mean it it's it's um as I mentioned shortens the crossing distance Crossing distances at this intersection where the crossing distances are currently you mean 70 80 feet um long so that amounts to you mean individuals pedestrians spending a lot of time on this roadway or in the street um this ultimately looks at making it safer for not only for pedestrians to cross for cyclists to get through but also to make it safer for um for for cars to slow them down ultimately as I mentioned resiliency and Su sustainability is a has been a major important component of this project um as part of this project um the residents requested that we take a look at the air quality along the corridor um as part of our design um our preliminary design we did install um eight sensors on Street poles along the corridor um and one in the matap pin um mat hunt Woods um what we learned was that the air quality um along the corridor was was similar to you mean other levels that we observed um in Boston um there was no discernable difference um in in in air quality along cin Highway um however the air pollution was about 10% lower um in the m h Woods we which is urban wild I mean which is to be understanded understood um but um what we're plan on doing um they were removed I believe as of um January February of this year um we are planning on um reinstalling them once the construction is completed to see you mean what effects that you mean this design and improvements that we've made not only um in the infrastructure Laine the quarter but also the green infrastructure improvements um will have if they will have an impact um on air quality as a whole so that's something that we we're taking a look at and we're still working through um as of right now and if you want if you have any more questions um or concerns or just want to know more information about the air quality peace reach out to us and we'll get that information to you um in addition to the Highway project um we're also looking at making um some safety improvements um in the neighborhood you mean so the cross streets that approaches Southside North Side um neighborhoods have come in Highway um we're adding speed humps across Boston to calm calm the side streets one of the one of the issues that we heard about this project and during the pilot was that U people were using the side streets um as cut throughs um we are looking at providing speed H humps to to ultimately slow down speeds on these residential streets um and um in addition to that um which will slow speeds to 20 20 to 20 to 25 miles per hour um but in in in addition to that um public works department we are looking at as part of our annual um state of good repair R reconstruction program to um address some of the the side streets that need attention um there of side streets on the North side and south side of K Highway that need um sidewalk repairs I mean some of them that don't have sidewalks some of them the roadways are in good condition so um the ramps may not be um compliant so we are looking at making those improvements albeit after the Highway um project is completed we would will need to allocate um budgeting for that but um that is something that we are looking at at doing as part um of this project and kind of just continuing that conversation um with the community so in regards to construction um we're ready to start this spring um I hope you guys are as happy as I am uh we we're finally getting the shovel in the ground um we're hoping to have um construction completed um by the end of 2026 um so that's the roadway completed tree plantings um new lights green infrastructure um hopefully we have a nice ribbon cutting um people can can attend um but what we're looking at for construction during this time um we're still working on on the actual start times for the quarter of when construction will start of course and we understand you mean the the peak traffic in the morning Peak traff traffic in the afternoon um during those peak hours so we're looking at construction um at least being halted on a day-to-day basis um Monday through Friday at 3 pm um we're still working on how we can kind of get this this construction completed um in a more accelerated manner um we know the community has been dealing with construction um for the past you mean four or five years with the utility um improvements that are being done so we we're looking at how we can make this um make this less of disruption for you in the long term um if you have any questions you want to be updated um in regards to the cumins highway and the construction um here's the website here at boston.gov cumins DH Highway um and of course if you have any questions I mean you can also check out um you can also sign up um or send emails to cumins at Boston goov so if you want to learn more come sideway project info these are the websites um I believe someone might be putting them in the chat um if you can copy and paste but thank you Jeff um thank you Hannah so yeah thank you everyone for joining um I did want to note that we have um a couple of a number of people from across the streets cabinet here including um our colleagues Norman and tan who are part of the construction management team um and maybe I'll let them introduce themselves if they would like to good evening go ahead no man you go us good evening Lan Parks here chief engineer of City Boston construction management um assisting and running this operation for the come Highway project here hi everyone I'm tan Fam I'm the engineer for the construction management section and uh I'll be manage will help up manage this uh c highway project um and so we have a number of people who can answer your questions today um I also wanted to note that we have some electeds um on this meeting and we passing out on to them if they would like to introduce themselves as well um great okay so we so I know we have a couple questions in the chat um and this will work out if we have questions in the chat we just alternate between um answering your questions and then also um you're welcome to raise your hand and then we'll unmute you um so that you're able to um ask a question um so first I'm going to I see that Ruth George has asked a question so I'm going to unmute you thank you Hannah um and thank you Jeff for the updates in our last meeting I asked a few questions as it relates to signage around the project um our long comings Highway trying to raise visibility for the residents that um who are pedestrians and they may not live there but they walk and drive in that area if there would be signage out there that would be um reasonably sized so that they are aware of the construction that's going to be happening there that was one of the questions that I asked last time I didn't see that embedded in the response here so just following up with that the second question that was asked had to do with the roundabout um concerns about um those who are new to the area that may not be familiar with driving in and around roundabouts the need to have potentially trans um cribed um translated signage that directed individuals on how to properly utilize the roundabout those are just two questions both of them to me have issues of safety as it relates to the work and how it's being done so I I just wanted to kind of get some updates around both of those if possible all right thank you Ruth um quick question Hannah is it okay for me to stop stop sharing is that fine all right all right um uh thank you R for your questions um uh yes we we are working um with our design consultant as well as the transportation department um in regards to the signage along the corridor um I believe at the last meeting um one of the questions that was asked was um for additional signage at the roundabout as well as additional signage um on I guess at some of the intersections and The Crossings along the corridor um just to just to clarify are you referring to the the RFB and the flashing lights is that what you're also referring to that would also be fine yep I remember that was also part of the conversation okay um so we we got an answer for the rfbs um which is essentially um at this time we're going to install the project um as um designed as shown um we are going to monitor um the corridor because ultimately a lot of the improvements that we're proposing along the quarter should make it safer um if there are issues that you're noticing as as I mean we're also going to be evaluating the the project but then also if if residents are seeing issues um that something that we can definitely um take a second look at um and make those those improvements as needed um for this project I mean one of the main things that we want to do is um analysis and evaluate um whether it's qualitative or quantitative we want to take a look at this as part of um this design process I mean to do a better job I mean ultimately we're going to take a look at the project and see what we can do with this if there's improvements that we can make to make it safer um we're definitely going continue to do so um regarding the signage um and and translated signs um I mean other my colleagues from BTD probably jump into that a little bit more but like my understanding is that we're um installing um traffic signs that are um that according to Mt mutcd um guides and regulations um we we're installing signs that you mean that are used for safety um we're not necessarily developing our own signs to to post um along the corter but um in terms of you mean yielding for pedestrians I mean that that is something that we are looking at um in in installing um along the corridor ahead of the the roundabout to make it safer to make people know to let people know um that pedestrians are using any spaces um yeah I I don't know I don't know if we can if anything we can do in regards to um uh instructing people how to use roundabouts um so even if it's not the instruction just the directional signs on the roundabout for those who are bilingual we have a large Haitian population in the community that lives here we also have a growing Latino population I know throughout the city I've seen other parts where sometimes signs are translated and so I guess I'm trying to understand especially for those who've never used it if there's an opportunity to just put a sign that's within the roundabout directing them in another language um I I am concerned that we are in doing this like some of the as we're not concerned I'd like to believe that as we're doing these updates we're taking into consideration bilingual populations yeah I can answer that real quick um yes we did take note of your concern at the last meeting and what we can do is we can install um corrugated we can it's all corrugated cardboard posters on um our street pools these will be sort of temporary but we've installed them across the city whenever there's a new change to a traffic signal um or Street configuration um we can definitely put those up just I'm just gonna jump in very quickly Hannah um so Ruth thank you for uh the comments and the concerns and I apologize because I wasn't at that last meeting but um one of the things that our team and and Jeff and industries cabinet as a whole um are trying to be very sensitive to the fact that a lot of our traffic control signs are written in English or they're Texton and that honestly even for someone who is English as a primary or first language they are difficult to get the information quickly because you're trying to focus on driving your multi-ton vehicle right so um the signs at the roundabout there will be uh several signs on all of the approaches and inside the roundabout Center that either communicate to folks to keep right or show a series of arrows for the circulation of the direction of the roundabout itself so trying to make use a as you rightly pointed out um whatever signs are available and and Allowed by law um that communicate that information without using English words thank you that is that's really what I was I was advocating for appreciate that clarication John and thank you Hannah for also identifying that those signs will be put up um just so as we um for example the come Highway neighborhood association is here we can reiterate to our associate members that those signs are going to go up and and so that they can raise awareness locally we appreciate both of your all three of your feedback thank you um I going to go to a question from the chat jazella you asked a question about where construction will begin um Norman would you be able to provide some information about construction management plans yes I'm sorry yes um so we're looking to bark and start this we already start this process now as far as doing some test pits uh for utilities um having coordination with utilities as far as the work work scope that we're doing there along kman Highway um we're looking to to somewhere around shovels in the ground probably around the 14th somewhere the second week of April um we're still configuring that timeline um as we go through the test P test pits and um working along but somewhere you see the middle of April we starting the process there starting coming from wood a working our way down to Fairway um in a slow process and it's digging uh we're still coordinating with the utilities as far as the methodology which we'll be using to uh to just disassemble the the roadway there yeah and so we will definitely send out um more details by email once we have it okay so I'm GNA go to Shaquana who ask I'm gonna ask you to unmute hi good good afternoon everyone um I I've been I've lived here for like four years and um I was not aware of the entire thing but so far um I just have a few questions because in the four years I've lived here I've seen the um the design and um I have some questions so the traffic they said that they're doing this to what to slow down traffic or to improve traffic because I live 15 minutes from um metapan square and that's walking and it takes me 20 minutes to drive down there with this um with this uncoming design also um I don't live everywhere else I only live here so I can only speak I know we're taking um all this money and infrastructure with tax and everything to build um bike lanes are we going to start um charging bike bicycle Riders um excise tax as well because I to be honest I see more handicaps um I feel like the if those lanes were made for handicaps I would feel better cuz I see more handicap people um in their scooters on coming highway then I do see cyclists um also instead of um you put in all those some of those stuff there um the sleeping um the sleeping humps will be better to slow down speeding because speeding what I've noticed while living here speeding happens between a certain time of day it happens really early in the morning when there is less um vehicles on the road or probably really late at night thank thank you sha um all right I'm going to try to address um your questions or your comments I I did get um a couple of them down um and um in regards to the traffic on coming highway um yes we we did an analysis um along the corridor in regards to the number of travel Lanes um and um in regards to the capacity com Highway the Eng shows that it doesn't need for travel Lanes um we understand that there there are concerns with traffic congestion along the quarter um which is one of the reasons why we wanted to implement um the pilot which did um which did show us that traffic could flow um and it could work you mean there were some issues there were some concerns um mainly the meting the Medan had ago um just in regards to Vehicles being able to pass emergency vehicles um though that did cause a concern during the pilot um which we did um analyze and use the information from to improve on this design um in regards to you mean driving into matapan square you're absolutely correct um the matapan square intersection pretty much creates a block um along cumins highway on blue halav as well as River Street um which is why the the transportation department is looking at providing um improvements to that intersection as well as traffic signal improvements one of the things that they did mention that they are working on is add an additional phase for Cummins highway to provide more traffic to flow out of Cummins Highway um as part of this project um although we are proposing uh uh to reduce the number of travel Lanes along the corridor from um Hollingsworth Street down to matapan square we are still maintaining two lanes approaching mapan Square for the exact reason that you mentioned like the the traffic will need to flow so we have to provide that capacity um but um but as you mentioned all on other days other times during the day there is there is ample opportunity for for every drivers to speed on coming highway there's a number of crashes along the corridor um not just people getting hit but also other vehicles getting hit um as well as um property damage um there the crashes that that don't get reported to EMS to the BPD you mean because you mean no one was injured um so this this is exactly what we're trying to tackle as part of this project in addition to to making the road safer for all modes of traffic so not just cars but also pedestrians as well as um cyclist I mean we we we we have this space so we want to provide um more um more safer and and better accommodations for I mean people who are handicapped or disabled um to to walk along this corter so you mean we wanted to take a look at all users as part of this project um and and traffic was definitely one of them and that's something that we we will continue to address um as part of the mapine square reconstruction project um which is I mean how we we we tend tend to look at you mean providing or maintaining traffic flow on the corridor um I believe that was that was just one um yeah because I was asking also about the B the buy claims so we live in we live in Boston and I we live in Massachusetts and we have warm times not so frequently this is like one of the rare years where um we have such a nice weather and throughout the year you probably see one maybe two cyclists on the on the street and um we're taking up an entire section of Street as I said if it was being used for handicaps I would feel better because I do see a lot more people in scooters um going about their business than um than I do see B then I do see people on bikes um and I don't and I feel like that is not being mentioned at all um also um for the for the for the bus um there's nothing being done pertaining to the MBTA for the people in the community cuz it takes 30 minutes for one for one bus to arrive and just imagine you're paying your tax you're paying for this ride and you're spent you have to wait 30 minutes for the same Ride Like These are these are some of the issues that I feel like that's not being addressed concerning the development like everyone is taking the money and doing all these stuff and nobody's addressing what um what the people in the community is really that's really affecting them okay thank you thank you all right so I I'll I'll address the bikes um ultimate as I mentioned like we're we're we're reducing the number of travel Lanes on coming this highway it's not for a bike project um we're we're ultimately looking at um making this roadway safer I mean safety is is is the the major go the precipice of this project because of the number of crashes along the corridor because of the number of people who have injured along this Corridor um we have this space to allocate to to the bike Lanes um and I mean of course I mean you not see a lot of people biking on CS Highway um because personally I don't feel like it's safe to um I've I've rode I've rode my bike on CS Highway um before the pilot during the pilot um I mean there was a gentleman who was killed right his bike going come in Highway um it it's as it currently stands right now it's not a safe in my opinion a safe road to ride your bike on because of the speeding um what we what we're ultimately you mean aiming to do is make it safer for people who do want a bike and of of course I mean with the weather that's changing the weather that's improving it's going to provide access to you mean in the pon of Greenway it's going to provide access to the Franklin Park and those bike lanes that were built in those areas um ultimately the intent is to you mean provide these accommodations for the people who actually lived here who want to ride their bikes I mean I've I've been out on Highway and seen a bunch of kids riding their bikes on some of the side streets you mean it would be great if they'd be able to ride their bikes on Highway in a safe space um and won't have to worry about cars or pedestrians um so that's ultimately what we're look looking at we we're looking at providing accommodations for all for all users you mean to to get around Boston I mean that's that's ultimately what it is and and and we're looking at providing those accommodations as part of this project um in regards to the MBTA um I hear you um we know that the headways on the the rout 30 bus around 20 to 30 minutes um during the day um it may be longer in some of the the off peak hours um as part of this project we are proposing um better better infrastructure for for the NBTA bus stops um we we we were looking at providing um additional shelters along the corter which we are TR still trying to do um that's still a conversation with the NBTA we're trying to have like even like the E Inc signs that kind of you may have real time displays about when time what time the buses are coming those are all things that we are still trying to aim to do and and NBTA does have some Pilots um and and we did request for for some of those some shelters be to be installed on cols highway so we're still working through that um we'll have this space along c highway we are providing ada8 compliant um bus stops in regards to their guidelines as of today um so that that that is another Improvement that we are we have made it substantial improvements in regards to this design um for the MBTA bus stops but like as I mentioned like we're continue to to to try to do more um as part of this project even after it's completed um thank you I'm gonna move on to rney thank you Hannah hi everyone I'm Whitney celesten I'm your forign M leaz on appreciated by Ruth not then myself and Eric took over so and I do want to thank um all our Engineers all the BTD team for all their work on this project we definitely want to see um better things come to the neighborhood my question is around um the section that you shared around the Sono we sh around 651 and I'm going to put in the chat so everyone can take a look at it so when you open up that image you'll see that for me in my opinion it's a little slim and what I'm thinking about is the fact that the Mah hunt school is up the up the street it also hosts a cultural center as you know um enrollment is going up at that school that's um a Haitian Creole Bilingual School the first one in the city of Boston and so with a larger haian population coming on right there are going to be more school buses more cars dropping off kids I've been asking this question since this project started and then the February meeting and again we want to put all our trust into our engineers and their assessment so my question is around um what was the assessment like around the width of this entry for this roundabout or any other ones along the way because I'm concerned about the width and school buses using it school buses are not always small there are larger school buses and also thinking about how the hump will affect that like what was your assess like around this area um considering these features um and the fact that large not just school buses large trucks also travel that road a lot so thanks for any feedback thank you rudney um so yeah so in regards to um the the travel Lanes along the corridor um they're they're 11 feet wide um they're I mean standard um width for for for roadways um for for travel Lanes along the c um throughout the city of Boston um we've honestly have gone down to you mean 10 feet wide um travel Lanes throughout the city in certain locations um the NBTA buses they want they want at least 10 and a half um so buses school buses will have no issues I mean traveling Along coming highway in regards to the 11 feet wide um travel Lan that we are providing is probably part of this project around the roundabout um the roundabout the travel Lane for the roundabout technically um the space that's available is 15t wide um in addition to that um the roundabout is actually mountable um because of the sonoko gas station and because of their um their operations in terms of the the fuel tankers um we had to provide a a mountable roundabout in order for them to be able to make I mean a a a uturn or you mean to go around um this intersection in a safe manner that you mean it's not going to impact you mean other other um other approaching traffic so um yes absolutely that's something that we looked at um we did have conversations with this with the gas um station owner at Soko um in regards to this um and so they are aware um but in terms of the the the roadway whiffs um as I mentioned like we're going from a four lane to a two lane so we we we definitely had enough um space to accommodate um proper and appropriate um travel Lanes um along the corridor thank you thank you thank you um Vicki you're next yes good evening everyone um I Am pro and Vicky sigar um part of Matan food and fitness slash matapan food access manager slash farmers market manager and because we're at the um parking lot City Parking Lot Number 14 which faces cumming's Highway what I'm asking is if you can please let us know and share with me or share with all of us how we can navigate to make sure that um our customers and guests are being able to come to the farmers market safely we're on comings in Fairway can you let can you tell me where you're going to start construction that's my first please proceed yes listening do you want do you want me to answer please somebody yes I'll answer thank thank thank you Vicki um definitely you're on our contact list you're on our agenda um we are working through the pre-construction process um we are you you met um tan and Norman earlier um as part of this meeting um tan will be the resident engineer out on the field working on this project um working with the contractor um more than you'll probably see him out there um if you're out there during the week um regarding the matapan farmers market absolutely um we we our our contractors are um are not or as part of their their construction are supposed to maintain access to any of the businesses along any of the projects and corters that they work on um in in regards to construction it is disruptive um we understand that I mean the road was going to be reconstructed the sidewalks are going to be restruct reconstructed for the most part um and then I'll let construction management jump in um if they have any to add um I I I know for my time with them like generally if a sidewalk needs to be reconstructed you mean it'll happen Monday through Friday um and they try not to leave the the the sidewalks open um in term not not open in terms of um open for Access but um open where you mean the concrete is gone there's just gravel the sidewalk is like in inaccessible um generally if they're if they're reconstructing the sidewalk and they need to repour the concrete that is something they try to do prior to the weekend so that they don't want to have a sidewalk to be closed over the weekend um which ultimately will will hopefully um allow you mean access and and allow people to I know they line up right on Fairway around CS Highway in order to enter into the m m pan Farmers Market um but they they should be reaching out to you um to have a conversation to let you know when construction is going to start when it's going to be in your area um as I mentioned like there there is a um a link that you can sign off on an update for updates but um they they are supposed to be reaching out to you um specifically to have that conversation um and and let you know what what what to expect um but ultimately they they they know that they they need to um look out for for for for you in regards to um your business um tan tan or Norman did you guys want to add anything hi Vicki I'm tan I'll be the engineer for that project um I will sure be let you U you know get you posted and uh keep you updated as the uh as the project going um I'll be on site almost every day uh if you have any concern you can come out and look for me or or look for even the contract they going to work with you if if you have any concern you can let me know if the contract not working you know you know not doing what they supposed to do and uh we do everything we can to uh make sure you get in and out of the park lot all right the um the farmers's market the Manan Square Farmers Market opens July 13th I know that you guys are going to be starting whoever is going to be starting in April that's fine I just need to make sure that I'm in contact with others so that we are U making sure that everything that we need to bring for our affordable um locally grown food along with all the services and programs that we're planning will be able to happen and we are all doing it together yes ABS absolutely and and our um our community engagement team they will be connecting you with the construction management team um just to provide you with that information and of course give you a heads up um give you notification on on when they're going to be in that area um for the for the construction you're you're on our list we got you thank you much if I may add to that if I may good again um yes we're planning we're definitely working with all all the all of the um business owners there along the car of blue of um sorry cus Highway um we've already started talking with um David's funeral home um the the local business of the gas stations um uh we we've also T talk spoken with um the other funeral home used to be Shields but now it's Lopes low low funeral home and that you know we're working along with them as far as uh as he get Services there and how that's going to be difficult on his business because it's always been small along that area of Hollingsworth and Highway um and definitely we can um we will we working along with with the uh Farmers Market the store there um and working along keep in mind we're not the last part of this project we're going to do would be the corridor of redoing the radway from River Street to Fairway so that caror will be accessible um with with no restrictions of any type of construction going on there for the for the beginning um so yes we'll definitely keep all all those things in mind along with the residents there and how it with effect um the contractor is sympathetic to the whole bit um he was on a walk through there two weeks ago um he's a very good uh contractor is mccon that's doing the work along there so um and I'm going to be out there along with along with Engineers tan and my associate Barber strella be out there to make sure this uh project goes along as smooth as possible um and working along with the residents there and of course the Lea's a community engagements if there is a um owners you know business local businesses meeting I would like for you to um allow M pan food and fitness to be a part of that because the farmers market is it is a business and it is a place where people can um get locally grown food and other resources so please I ask that you include us thank you absolutely go ahead Hannah um I'm going to call on sorry if I mispronounce your name um it's okay no problem hi so I am a Cummins Highway resident I've been on cing taiway for about 19 years but I've been a madin resident for about 30 years um and I know when I remember when they began doing their analysis on cuming Highway in 2020 and my first thoughts was like well you're not really getting the proper analysis of coming highway because this is a pandemic nobody's on the road there's no buses and so you say that we don't need the four lanes but if you see in the morning there is parents lined up on cumings highway so the other lanes are getting used by drivers that going to work so I don't know if we thought that through when we think about bus drive because I think rudney brought this up about the buses and parents parking so that's something to consider because I don't know if we took that into consideration like I know there are parking spots but remember now they're they're building all these new buildings around c highway so these parking spots are going to be taken up so by residents that live in the area on and on Highway and then you have additional people that's going to be coming in the morning now to park to wait for these buses to come and these buses are going to be pulled over these kids take forever to get on the bus so that's going to be more traffic just things to just consider when we're thinking about just our two lanes another thing I wanted to mention was we said we did our analysis I know you guys looked at Greenfield and cing Highway and called that a hi trffic um High crash area I don't know a safety RI but by my house which is which is a part of your design there part of your when you show your picture that's where all the crashes happen the last time you guys spoke to matapan I said this on the meeting right after that meeting there were seven crashes right in the same spot that I told you guys crashes happened you were not going to see that on your analysis because you did it in 2020 when there was hardly no traffic there was nobody really riding on the road but even during Co there was still some traffic time traffic happening here so I just have concerns about that particular area and I know you say oh we're raising the road cars stop it's not like cars are just going straight through four ways they stop every day hesitate I see Mis crashes every single day and I'm I do the analysis I I live right on C and I my my office is in on the third floor so I can look on cumings Highway every day I see N Miss crashes every day so these are things that I don't think is being considered so when I say you say you came to the community I was walking the whole of 2020 I worked at Matan Community Health Center so I walked cumings highway I never nobody ever asked me how I felt like what is your concerns and I would have told you is the crashes that happened I had cars crashed into my house this is why I'm so passionate about the crashes that happened on cing taiway and that is really my concern about the safety of the elders I've lived here for 30 years so I've known a lot of people that live in this community I have a lot of my friends their parents still live here they walk to this the gas station every day to go play their numbers I worry about people like her because somebody just the other day they were on coming highway they were on the sidewalk now we got pedestrians we have to wear about bicycle Riders we have to worry about people in their cars we have to worry about so I'm I'm bringing this to your concern so when you consider that intersection that four-way intersection even with the Rays you're still going to get some accidents there and I can give you an example Washington Street and Fuller Street there was an intersection four-way there wasn't even a I don't even know if that was four-way but accidents used to happen there all the time they had to put a light there because it was crazy so many accidents this was back in the late 90s early 2000s so I just want you to think of when you think of your analysis think about it that way because this is that's a four-way traffic and it's very dangerous I'm done thank thank you for your comments um yeah I I mean I mean the the intent of this this project is to improve safety um in in regards to our traffic analysis um as I mentioned this project started in 2018 um the traffic analys that analysis that we did for Highway was based on the numbers from 2018 um when traffic was a lot more significantly higher um then during the P pandemic so we use that analysis and that data in order to design Highway um in regards to the number of of of travel lanes that that that this this roadway required um so in terms of you mean covid yes we took we we we did look at the traffic and Analysis um and and we did do I mean traffic studies along the corter during covid um we we've done a significant amount of of of traffic collection along K Highway as part of the pilot after the pilot um how about Crashers though how about the number of Crashers on coming highway because if you said you started in 2018 the crashes I started counting the number of crashes in 2017 when the first car crashed into my house I had two crashes into my house so when the first car crashed I'm like what's happening on Highway and so there have probably been a signif there was a significant amount of accidents between 2017 and 2020 so so yeah no we we we understand I I I completely understand like I I I grew up in matapan I grew up in matapan um I had a friend of mine who actually lived on c highway as well so like I I'm familiar with the neighborhood I'm filling with the crashes I'm feeling with the speed and all in the corridor um I'm feeling familiar with just the the the the the traffic um on a on a daily basis on the weekends during the weekdays um so like I I I understand I mean and that's one of the things that we're looking at you mean improving on the quarter that's why we that's why we we just we decided to go with one lane in each Direction because ultimately what that's going to do is slow down the the cars that are actually traveling on coming highway you mean crashes don't just happen I mean like like we've gotten away from calling crashes accidents because they're not accidents there there there are things that are actually being done that that pretty much give drivers that that that that increases the the the opportunity um or the likelihood that a a driver is going to crash um so that's what we're trying to remove as part of this project that's what we're trying to do we're trying to slow down slow Vehicles down if cars aren't driving as fast as they used to on cumings Highway you I mean there there are going to be less crashes for cars that are coming out of the side streets because the side streets I think I believe you're talking about Savannah and rugby which is just been on the radar for years we've had the property owner ask us to to put a guard rail at that location that was that's I'm talking about that property that's the property I'm talking about completely understood completely understood um what what I'm trying to express is that the race crossings that we are proposing on all the approaches ultimately cars are going to have to slow down when entering and exiting off of the approaches off the side streets if they don't they're gonna damage their vehicles like it's not it's not it's not a comfortable ride to have to ride up and then kind of ride straight for about 10 feet and then kind of ride down if you're speeding around if you're speeding over that hump to get on to Highway which is now a on lane roadway if if someone's doing that then I mean that's that's not that's out of our control but in terms of the engineering design and how we're we're looking to slow Vehicles down this is this is the right way to do it to to also maintain traffic flow along the corter um I I drive on cing Highway throughout the day um a lot of the times you're not seeing like definitely the peak hours youing this cars on on in both lanes especially when they when they need a que approaching Matan square but I ideally for the most of the for the most of the the the time you mean you have cars that are driving you mean one behind the other you mean along the quarter on both sides so in those two lanes you'll have one car behind the other that driving at whatever speed they want to drive but I mean you rarely see oncoming Highway unless it's during the peak hours where you their cars side by side driving down com in Highway um so that that's what we're we're looking at and and we know that outside of those peak hours people are speeding people are driving 40 miles an hour 50 miles an hour it's it's very easy to to get into a crash you mean if a car is entering and exer out of matap pin of of cins Highway if you're driving 50 miles an hour um it's it's it's it's a recipe for for crashes so I mean that's something that we're trying to reduce along this Corridor because we know that it it we know the crashes happened I mean we we hear about them all the time we know there was a hit and a hit and run the other day um at at Brockton and bismar um so like that's ultimately what we're trying to prevent as as part of these designs like we we we have to design our roadways to improve safety um and that and in order to prove safety you have to slow cars down so that that's that's what um reducing the number of travel Lanes is is is is um is meant to um accomplish I think putting stop signs there too on coming taiway because you gota I'm telling you even with the single Lan people are going to still speed but that's just my that's my opinion on it I see it happen on Washington Street I don't know why it wouldn't happen on C's highway but I me okay well see so that's we looked at we looked at everything we looked at we looked at um there's there's certain type of traffic cing elements or measures that we can use on a street like c highway c highway it's it's a it's a arterial um I mean there there are there are a number of of traffic elements that are not appropriate for coming highway one of the one of the issues or one of the requests that we've gotten throughout this process was speed humps we can't propose speed humps on Comm Highway because of the class ification of roadway that it is you mean you have emergency vehicles using this roadway um if you have a fire truck or an ambulance who needs to get through you mean ideally they're gonna be using C Highway you mean they can't hit a speed bump every 250 feet so like like so that ideally I mean we're looking at this design to still maintain a fully function fully traffic flowing coming highway but just at a slower speed I mean that that's that's ultimately the the intent of this project thank thank you do you have the next question yeah um Joanne hi good evening um I'm Joanne and um I'm also co-chair of the c highway input Association been living here for about over 30 years now off cin Highway um I agree with a lot of what the calls are saying but I'm not sure if there's time to change much I'm suggesting maybe the rugby in Savannah adding a stop sign or maybe another set of Lights um the first set of Lights oncoming highway is actually the exit of my street which is Rockdale then you have where the Blue Line Comm purple line commuter rail is and then there's not another light until you get to itasa um so maybe that a suggestion for adding another set of light um I too think that maybe it's pointless now but the assessment starting in 2019 everybody was home that's pretty much I traveled and walked the streets and ran every morning and never really saw this you know anyone approaching me to discuss what they you know what we think of this uh new plans it's desperately needed the roads are horrible they're dangerous as is without that right now there are a lot of kids that try Trav there a lot of buses um I did hear on the call that which I didn't pick up at the last meeting the two-way is going to be back into effect from lope has funeral home is that correct and just a one lean from that point on to woodro I just want to confirm if that's the case um also I may have missed this but uh what's the exact location that the construction is going to be starting that way we can pass pass on to our neighborhood um you know residents and given this is starting in April I personally think they should be already signage digital signage probably placed in two locations maybe at the commuter rail stop and then at woodro letting the neighbors know and the the the drivers who actually flow through this area hundreds of cars every day that destruction is starting with a digital signage in the date of when the construction begins thank you thank you I can take that last question real quick and that we will be adding um signs along the corridor um so that folks walking down the street driving can learn about the project and it will have the website and contact information on those signs as well when is that do be placed out is that when the construction's already started I think personally should be like effective immediately April is literally around the corner yes absolutely we're trying our best to get them out as soon as possible okay and then I'm not sure if I missed this one what what Lane are you starting on both lanes what side is the construction plan to do we plan to start construction and I know it's hard to get equipment off the road but again some the someone else had this question question is this going to be on the weekends which gets busier um equipment's going to be left all along the road this is going into like in a year and a half project although I know it's needed I just want to just have everyone thinking a lot more of the residents that are here every day and the way that we're able to maneuver around the city if if I may jump in here so um with that question you asked about the equipment on the road uh the contractor mcord he he's um investing investing his time along with uh his stakes in the community um actually he's looking to take resident of of an office base over on uh tamper Street by simol um as far as looking looking for sites there offer Comming highway to be able to bring his equipment to to uh as we call the lay down spot U that's out of the way that takes that's going to take away from any type of U um congestion on on c highway um we're working along with with going to work along with uh the utility companies as we stand right now we said for a start date of April the middle of April we're still working through some through some coordination with some utilities on on the process there so we so we can get a better start and work out um issues as you know um being a longtime manapan resident myself um along that car there's a lot of ledge there a lot of things to um to to address as as they Embark upon this um this construction project yes are you able to answer the construction what link like I'm assuming that you don't plan to start constructions on both sides at the same time um no uh we're working some plans out with BTD I'm sorry with um what you call it a trans a transportation plan um to work on we're not looking to we're not looking to take out both lanes at the same time um just trying to coordinate so the traffic flows and and the work can proceed there so we're still working that that plan out okay I appreciate that and just to be clear sorry just one more question I think I saw it in the chat but I just wanted to be clear for everyone else are you planning to start is construction planning to start at woodro which is like the cemetery that coming over the hill there from woodro woodro would have wood have sorry what have what what have in Hobbit yes we're looking to start working down okay that's as we stand right now as we as as we stand right now and I gave a April date that's at least a date that we're targeting with that we're targeting with but that's not a Hardline date okay as I said because we're working a lot with utilities and coordinating some things that we that we're we're looking along there to that we have to Embark upon okay I appreciate that so then that definitely makes me reiterate again the the need for signage I I do agree with car thank you thank you yeah and I just want to jump in quickly um just to answer your questions about signage um we have I was just going to mention um that we have included in the contract um um changeable message message signs um as part of this project so essentially the signs that you mean indicate or highlight that you mean there's construction going on or that you mean a change um in the traffic configuration is happening um believe that we did that as part of the the pilot um so that's something that that that that the contractor should be installing as part of this project as well um regarding traffic sign Savannah rugby we are looking at um not specifically a traffic signal um but we are looking at potentially putting an RFB which is a rectangular rapid FL flash beaking um for pedestrians who need to cross if it's warranted in the future um ultimately we we look at um warrants and whether it is required um at a location and that that directly has to go with you mean the amount of cross traffic that's either coming in or out of cin Highway um or out of the Main Street um so as I mentioned we will be looking at it we will be evaluating in the future but as as right now we didn't see there was a a need as right now um for a traffic signal at that location but as I mentioned that's something we're going to look at um thank you um running show on time so I just want to make sure that we try to get um to everyone's questions um who are who are currently lined up yeah um Sheila hi thank you will there be I don't see it in the drawing a traffic light at that rotary and if there is not a design for a traffic light there needs to be one you're looking at people's Goodwill entering and maneuvering the rotary and they're coming in from about maybe four possibly five directions especially if someone wants to make a U-turn so without a traffic light you're gonna have just chaos BR down of cars so a traffic light has to be put there now you mentioned that you did the road traffic assessment six years ago you began it in uh 18 well that doesn't seem to be logical given that the traffic pattern has increased this is now 24 and as it is traffic backs up all way trying to get through to matap pants Square it backs up all the way up to and including the uh the rugby area now you're going to put some bumps along the road I imagine these bumps are going to be in the side streets how do you imagine with the traffic backed up as it is now chaos chaos at The Rotary how do you envision people who live on the side streets to ever get out onto Cummings Highway so now these folks will have to go up down Blake Street in order to get to um out to mapan this doesn't make sense at all and then when you talk about two lanes one lane two lanes going to one and then you talk about how the emergency vehicles are going to have to go they're going to be riding on the sidewalks how else are the EM when you have backed up traffic the emergency vehicles are going to have to get up on the sidewalks because it'll be just you talk about slowing down absolutely you're GNA slow down traffic there'll be no movement so bottom line put traffic lights at The Rotary stop signs at the places where the side streets intersect cins highway it's a dream that was conceived God knows when you started it in 2018 this is 20 24 now six years later your dream cannot stay the same year after year after year without taking into consideration the existing traffic pattern thank you thank you um all right so I'm G to try to run through your comments um your questions um as quickly as possible um in regards I I'll start backwards in terms in regards to the the the the approaches on to highway there will be stop signs on all those side streets approaching Comm Highway um cars will need to stop they will have to stop according to the the engineering design if they don't they're going to damage their vehicles um if they're driving at speeds that are higher than I mean even 30 miles an hour like if they're driving 30 miles an hour over the the race cross and they're going to damage their vehicles um so I that's definitely a in the- field infrastructure deterent for for cars driving quickly into um cins Highway they're not gonna be able to drive quickly and they're not going to damage their vehicles they're going to damage people I I ideally I'm trying to express that we're trying to get cars to to slow down on K Highway like that is the goal because like as you understand like they're and as you heard there's a number of crashes along this Corridor we're trying to slow the vehicles down so that it's safer um I also yeah absolutely gonna slow them down because there won't be any movement they'll be back I mean well I I I also want to add that we had a pilot we had a pilot implemented for this project you mean for for over a year where it was one lane in each Direction C you mean Vehicles residents who lived on the side streets were able to get in and out of  Highway you mean albeit you mean we want all drivers to be driving slower on CS Highway through cin Highway um this design is actually a better re a better iteration of the pilot the pilot clearly had you mean some some flaws in regards to the roadway because we we we couldn't actually implement the design as um as it needed to be um we we are looking at um we have looked at the traffic and when I when I when I express that we looked at the traffic from 2018 that's when the traffic was the worst on cins Highway because of the mo the amount of vehicles that were recorded using this roadway since Co the since Co when Co first hit the the the the volume of traffic plummeted um and it's steadily increased over the years absolutely um but I I I believe the last time we checked which was um I believe this year um in or or or late last year in regards to the traffic that was on cumin Highway it still has not reached the peak traffic volumes that were on C's Highway when we took the the traffic counts in 2018 so all all I'm saying is that we use the most drastic um traffic information in regards to C Highway in order to design it um to to to to slow Vehicles down so like we we took into account that capacity and how it would be a it would be able to function on  highway so if there's less cars it'll it'll work even better um and as I mentioned like we we understand the traffic approach in um approaching matapan Square as part of um the design and and it it does backup we we understand that and we've been out there we've saw we've seen it um which is why we're looking at which is why we're maintaining those two lanes um that are entering into Highway um what e um eastbound eastbound into matapan square when the BTD the BTD uh madin Square project is actually completed and implemented it will allow for more traffic to flow out of c highway so that c highway isn't backing up so that it isn't dealing with those um those congestion issues that that happen in the peak so that that is something that we continue to work on that being said we can't wait until the the ptd project is completed to make cins Highway safe like we we have the budgeting we have the design um which is why we want to move forward and and a lot of those things will come after so we are looking at um progressing in regards to making to improving safety Lo this Corridor um which is we'll then look at you mean traffic signals Crossing signals if those are needed um that is something that we will we will be evaluating but um as I mentioned like we we have the we've done the pilot and the pilot was technically in in terms of the design a lot worse than what we're proposing because like I the median the median was was impediment for vehicles being able to to maneuver around coms Highway the meting is going to be gone as part of this project so it will allow traffic to flow at it more efficiently um but Al be it a safer way what about a traffic light at The Rotary oh yeah I'm sorry um we also looked at that we also looked at a traffic light um what we ultimately determined was that um because of the traffic that is coming out of way basa Street the traffic that is coming out of Alabama Street which which is essentially a a private way um and there's only the number of of individuals actually access the road coming in and out um and the number of traffic that comes out of greenfi roadway a lot of the times the traffic at that intersection would be um for coming had would be green so then you would still continue having vehicles speeding through this intersection um I mean I I ideally um we we envisioned or we looked at the design and what would be more safer for pedestrians for for cyclists um for drivers would be to provide a roundabout um we do have examples of roundabouts throughout the city of Boston one one in particular that I can mention um is in he High Square in Jamaica plane um where it it's it's it's it's easy to function through I mean to be honest um ideally the vehicles that are traveling from along  Highway will be able to to for the most part travel on come Highway um in a a more efficient manner um when entering this roundabout I mean theic to a traffic light I mean listen just put a traffic light there you don't have to go to you know too much you need a traffic well if you don't put it there now you will eventually I mean this it's something that we evaluated and then we uh based on the engineering U we we chose to go with u a roundabout to help improve and slow down cars along this Corridor roundabout is fine if you have a traffic light sorry to interject but who is we because these um it sounds like um the actual citizen didn't get a vote in any of this I mean I think I'm I don't know if you said Chaya or someone else but I had my hand raised and I didn't get a voice my opinion yet so I don't know if it's Chilla Burke or Chilla someone the other lady spoke her piece and now this one's interrupted I would just like to ask a question to get an answer too thank thank you Sheila um I don't I don't know if you's next in the queue but I mean you you already have the the floor so please please proceed yeah someone mentioned that um they would like English other um another language has a second language for people that don't speak English how would they be able to get around on americ Legion Highway or whatever but there are 35 languages that offer for the driver now how would that be implemented right now we have go stop proceed with cautious so if they don't understand that how would 35 languages be put up so people can understand it in their language there was a um the host she had said that they were going to put signs up when construction begins Hannah sorry about that Hannah yeah thank you yes so thanks for this suggestion um this is definitely something that we can um add um using our temporary signs when the construction is complete I think you're asking about some sort of signage um that provides um so they so they can understand that you go right or left but I'm saying there are 35 languages off it now for the driver's exam how are we going to appease everyone up here in Mass with signals in all those different languages well um maybe you can chat me um if you have more spe specific questions but as a city um we do my pafic question um so as a city were going to put signs up and I'm like wondering how do you get 35 languages and signs put up around that area that's being built so so I I I don't I don't mean to um interject but um in in regards to the the traffic signs along the corridor um which with the traffic signs that are mandated in terms of being standards by the state those are the ones that will be along the quarter that we'll be installing as part of the project which will essentially you mean it'll be arrows to kind of direct people where to go um in the roundabout yield signs um crosswalk sign pedestrian crosswalk signs I mean no left on no turn on left signs those are all standard signs that the city of Boston uses and we we will be implementing as part of this project I believe what Hannah is referring to is additional signage that we will be P posting along the core um that aren't traffic signs um to provide people with more information on how to use um the cor um or be able to reach out to to the city if they have any questions is that is that correct Anna I think that's what I was asking how how are you GNA put up 35 languages for people that's driving that do not understand English or do not read English how would you put up all those signs would it be in a light that's flashing going from one language to another or what no no go ahead go ahead yeah I was just gonna add that they we have um cardboard signs and I can I can chat with you after this and definitely show you an example of what we've installed across the city um just because there's a couple other people in the queue I want to um let ask a question I'm going to um my question so thank you and that was the other question that I had one was already answered in the chat and now you answer this one so thank you thank you um Shirley I'm gonna ask you to unmute hello can you hear me yes okay yes uh my name is Shirley Carrington and I am a 44e resident of Wood Avenue Wood Avenue is already very very problematic in terms of traffic and crashes and accidents and deaths so I'm concerned about all of that traffic is pro detours anyway but when the construction starts I think we're going to see an increase in traffic coming down Wood Avenue so I'm concerned about air quality the traffic being lined up and and cars um putting out all kinds of fumes and I am just concerned about the increased traffic as people DET toour because they're going to get to Wood a and commment and they're going to take an immediate right to avoid traffic all the traffic uh problems that we're going to encounter as this construction begins so that's my concern any thought given to anything that could happen happen regarding that detour um so um as part of this project we're not closing the roadway for for traffic um I understand that you mean there may be some drivers or individuals who may choose to use cut cut cut through streets um like you mean would have you mean which is what something that we've kind of heard about um as part of the pilot um but I mean when it comes to construction it it's it's disruptive we we we understand that we understand people are going to try to avoid it um um in regards to um the the safety along the quarter um or on the side streets um that as I mentioned like that's something that we are looking at addressing I mean in the future um as part of this project neighborhood the neighborhood um the safety search program which will be installing speed humps along um the side streets that's something that that that that will probably be occurring um simultaneously with the cumin Highway project I I don't know an actual date start date for when they're going to be um implementing those speed humps but um the city I mean we we're also um working on looking at what have um for the future as well but I mean it's it's it's construction it's some it's disruptive we understand that um it it is also temp um temporary um I mean whether it be two years I don't know it's long time to say temporary but um we we we are we we ultimately we need to take the time to to improve this street um so we just ask for you for for your your continued patience um with us if there's any issues please let us know please reach out to us um and we'll try to address it um as as best as we can um in terms of that traffic or if any issues arise um we T we talked about the air quality we had the mild on comment Highway um I believe maybe during the pilot um we looked at the air quality um along the corridor it wasn't you me any different from other other areas in Boston um we're going to continue monitor that but um in terms of the air quality me that this from my understanding was not an issue at this is not an issue at this time um but um but yeah just ask for your patience during this construction because we know it's going to be disruptive we just want to people to be informed um we wanted people people to be updated about what's going on um so that you mean they are taking the time and they are ready um um taking the additional time that they may need they may need to take um because of of construction um congestion or traffic that may result from it so um we just we're just asking for your patience I to be honest thank you thank you um Jella hi thank you so much for going into detail um about our questions so I have a question about the um just put it in the chat the uh rotary and the sooko gas station I'm looking at the rendering um that I just put in the chat and where is the entrance to the sonoko gas station because the um the idea of the rotary is for traffic to flow um and so when somebody pulls first I I like to know where would the entrance be and also how the sudden slowness and or stop if you will that of that turn uh is going to be handled so for example as I'm driving I'm in the rotary and I'm driving um and I want to pull over to the sonoko gas station I'm going to significantly in the rotary while I'm in the rotary I'm going to significantly slow down and then make a turn um and there's going to be traffic behind me so two questions um where's the entrance of the gas station and then how is you know uh a the speeding going to be handle when somebody wants when a driver wants to pull in this into this inoko gas station thank you thank you um so uh the the sonoko gas station entrances um for the most part um actually they're being maintained um so the entrance that there's that there is on Green Field the entrance that's on um come's Highway the two entrances that are C's Highway um the curb the curb um curb cuts for for driveways those are going to be maintained um ideally if you're traveling um eastbound um on Highway which is pretty much from wav and you're you're driving towards mapan Square um you can either enter off of Greenfield Road um so same way you would do um now you would turn onto Greenfield Road and turn into the the turn left into the gas station um or you can continue going through the O the rotary traveling eastbound and turn right into um the sonoko gas station um what you what you can't do uh what we are changing um is we're building a median so if you're coming out of the sonoko gas station um from cumins Highway you won't be able to take a left so You' have to continue going down um cumins Highway eastbound towards matapan square if you're if you're trying to come out of SO gas station um tur it on to cins um we we've had a conversation with the sonoko gas station owner about their operations what they're eventually going to be doing is they're going to be driving eastbound on cumins Highway turning into um sonoko and then uh um pumping in their gas like they normally do what they usually do um and then come out on Green Field and go around the round about to continue westbound um they looked at it we we did the the Turning movements uh regarding their tankers um and it works so that that's that's ultimately what what we kind of chose to do um for that design like the roundabout being mountable is a must for their for their um for their operations thank you I appreciate that it's just with the rendering I don't CU I see the side um the r or whatever side uh sidewalk and then uh green I I could probably I mean I could probably share share my screen just show quickly but I mean if if anything we can I can send you if you can share a screen that would be great as you speak that would be nice thank you y y yep yep all right uh do this sh okay um so this is the the traffic payment marking plan um for the roundabout as you can see this is all the signage that's showing which direction you should be traveling it's going to be surrounded in in this um in this um elevated um Island area um but if you're traveling down cumins you're driving into the roundabout you can either turn on to Green Field and take a left in or you can continue driving on cumins and take a right in either here or in here if you're coming out you have to take a right in both of these entrances um so that is something that we're changing we did provide a median here um as an approach to the roundabout as well um to not have cars turning in and out ahead of the the the roundabout to kind of keep traffic flowing efficiently so sorry Jeff uh Nathaniel think here with uh BTD if you are going to go westbound on Cummins you can exit onto green Greenfield street so even though there's the median there that makes it so that you can only turn right onto cumins from the entrance on cumins you can go on to Greenfield Street enter the roundabout and then make a left on cumins to continue West just want to add that in in case anyone is concerned about that uh the gas station will still be accessible from all directions yes thank you Danel that's really sad because Greenfield Road already would be congested trying to get in on to cin Highway God Bless the people who trying to get into the gasoline station from Greenfield Road good luck on that one thank you I'm gonna move on to other folks niq um Pamela hi I have two questions um I wanted to touch on the rotary again and I just want to um Advocate support for either there being a Crossing signal if not a traffic light there definitely needs to be some sort of Crossing signal at that rotary or some sort of Beacon um that you guys discussed before um I think it's very dangerous I do not like the traffic s rotary in hid Square I do not like it when it comes to Crossing that rotary so I am advocating that we have some some sort of other signal there if it's not a traffic light um it it possibly a beacon or just a Crossing signal that pedestrians could press to cross the rotary secondly can you please identify for me what you consider to be a median you said that coming out of the gas station you would only be able to take a right to go west I think you said towards matap pan what what is going to be there to to um discourage people from taking a left turn um yes thank thank you Pamela um we we've working we're working with our design consultant in regards to um the need for traffic signal or RFB um approaching the the roundabout um I I understand your concern um I mean we we we are allowing um what we are proposing for for the roundabout um approaches I mean it's it's it's a uh engineering design that that that's ultimately takes a look at um improving spaces for pedestrians and where they should cross which is outside of the roundabout um The Crossing distances are are shortened where um on one one approach you mean it's 11 foot wide um it's 11 foot wide wide um davel Lane and from there you cross and there's a a a small area where you can um you can um wait for vehicles to to pass technically cars should be stopping um before you before um while you're in the crosswalk but um we're looking at it we're seeing what we can do as I mentioned we are looking at making um future improvements as part of this project as needed um in regards to um people taking a left out of sonok gas station onto cumins Highway to drive westbound um there will be a median um in between the two travel Lanes so they won't be they won't be able to to take a left onto Highway if they take a left out of Highway they're going to be driving on the the wrong side of the road um so that's that's ultimately so so there's going to be like concrete there some sort of conrete okay all right okay thank you no problem um all right and Fatima I see you have your hand up H hi good evening thank you for your presentation um quick question I had put an an question in chat about you had a a meeting in 2022 regarding specifically for um disability is there a a link to the report or something that came out of that um I didn't see anything that we could share um just to get a better understanding about how that whatever was uh spoken about specifically um to address because we do have a lot of people who we now I don't know if it's high or low but I do have seen people who use electric uh wheelchair motorized wheelchairs um on coming highway on bluehill Avenue but I I don't think that I've actually seen any specific um recommendations from anybody any representation at meetings that I've been at that are integrated where that's discussed at all so is there some report or or is there a recording of that meeting or that that you know you can give us a reference to be appreciated thank you yes so Jen just um linked that meeting recording in the chat and for everyone this was a meeting that we held um in 2022 about how we dis look the different aspects that we look into when we um try to design a street to be safer um so one of the key design features is raise crosswalks so rais crosswalks are flat they site they are um even from sidewalk to sidewalk so instead of a c standard curb ramp which could develop more issues and cause um uh issues for people using Mobility devices the race crosswalk um which we've installed across the city is generally more comfortable for people who are in wheelchairs or using canes or other devices um um Jeff do you have anything other to add about our how we integrate Ada into design um I'll add a few words um ultimately um the disabilities commission um and their representatives have been involved um in development of of this project in this design um since the beginning um any think they're they're part of the the public Improvement commission we need their approval in order to move forward with any of our projects um ultimately we take their guidance um in regards to how we design our streets um for people with disabilities people of the elderly as well um ultimately not only do we want to meet you mean Ada Ada standards um aab um standards and guidelines but I mean our disability commission has you mean even even more extensive um guidelines that we that we want to maintain um and adhere to as part of this project um one of them like I think one of the things I can mention is that you mean they they make sure that we provide um a minimum a five feet clearance um on our sidewalks or any spaces um where where pedestrians are walking so that is something that we we took a look at um providing all throughout um cumins Highway on the sidewalks um and areas where you mean there may be some parking or even you mean areas where they may be create infrastructure we are looking at providing um spaces that you mean provide access for people who may have disabilities and and if someone has um who does have disabilities or is a care or is a personal L with s disabilities how who do they contact when they come across issues in Road design or in sidewalks in curs who do they reach out to um yeah I mean they they can reach out to disabilities Commission in regards to this project um if they run into issues they they can contact me because we are still in um um in the construction process um so if there's something that that that that needs to be flagged um definitely let us know um and and we can um see what we can do from har right so hey um I'm just gonna chime in here to that if you encounter issues generally in the city of Boston not specifically related to the commin highway project uh reporting them to 311 is your best bet for getting those resolved so for uh this project obviously if there are things that come up during construction or with the design um the folks from the city on this call are the ones for that but again for General issues not related to  Highway 311 I think this is beyond the long talking about so I'll reach out to Jeff and whoever disability Commission than thank you all right and then Vicki yes hi thank you very much for allowing me to speak again um one of the things that listening to everyone um is that you know we it could be beneficial for us to have um wherever the crosswalks are that people have an opportunity to push the button to say it's time that you can walk and that is a learning tool for even for people who maybe have a different language but they know that this is a time that they can walk and that um drivers know that they can't drive I know on Morton Street they changed there's a left that you used to be able to take and now you have to go down to Harvard Street and go into the First Street in order to get back onto onto um Morton Street um and I'm pretty sure that that's destruct it's you know challenging for the people who live on that street but again someone said something about you know signage and making sure that that information is given out prior to all the construction that's going that's going to happen that's important instead of having getting where you think you're going and then realize oh I can't go that way that's not fair and it's kind of time consuming if you're trying to pick up your child or whatever or doesn't matter but it would be um bet better and maybe people wouldn't feel so frustrated and annoyed if they had this information ahead a time and I don't mean when they get where they're supposed to turn I mean two blocks away so they know that oh I can't go that way and whoever was saying it put the information out there before construction um let me take myself a little bit off of um I'm here so just I just wanted to share that because it is um it it's I'm it's good that we're all here speaking this but but this is a good way for us to um inform others who are you know in the community who's driving and biking and walking so yeah oh yes Kenya sorry I just want to ask a quick question is the city looking to implement different languages for signage across the city and not just in matapan CU that seems taken about a good hour in this conversation so I'm just curious to know is that a plan for the city to take signage and driving and street signs and all this good stuff across the entire city of Boston is that a plan that you all are aware of that I'm not no um there is in a Citywide plan um what I had mentioned is that as part of Street design when um when we Implement New Street designs we sometimes install temporary signage um it's cardboard signs they they stay up on Street polls for a very long time um and that with we have the flexibility to craft messages to help people adjust to the new configuration and to um share more messaging yeah so that's what I was referencing okay I was just curious thank you did I comment or no yeah yes please um representative I was happy to hear you so so the intersection that Vicki's referring to get to Kenya's Point um I I heard that you know the question about 35 different um languages there's what we do with signs and with um traffic signs is there Universal signs that are that really communicate across all languages and whether or not Idol in Italy or France or in the United States there are things that universally communicate and that's what the point of all the the the signage is so yes I think to Kenya's point I think let's not overcommit to say we're going to try to get 35 sign languages and in in 35 languages that's not what we're going to do and so to VI's point about that um particular intersection I'm at it literally right at this moment um that was communic at the best we could to folks who are um near this intersection but um obviously you never tell everyone no one is going to ever always be in one of these meetings to know that we're about to make these changes and so the Courtland Street left that we eliminated was one of the most dangerous leps in all of New England literally in all of New England and so it is much safer to go down to Harvard and yes we tried our best to communicate that in advance there's no way we got to the entire community and so we hope that obviously the 26 or 27 homes on Court Street uh have found that it's okay to go around the other way on their way home instead of the way they used to go but there is a button there to Vicki's point I hope that's what she was saying is there I I couldn't figure out were you saying you want one of those buttons or you saying you didn't want one of those buttons um that that you can now cross at that intersection is that what you were saying Vick I I couldn't get that but over time now that I live in this intersection often I I can say folks have gotten much better now about going to Harvard Street instead of trying to take their illegal left now on to Courtland because they have realized over time there not the easiest way for them but they have realized over time it is a much safer left with the light giving you a left turn at Harvard and not trying to dash across the street and have all those crashes we used to have at courner yes and I'm I'm not complaining I'm not anything I just what I'm saying is that didn't realize it and then when I fig finally figured it out I was fine with it I think my concern was that you had to take a laugh to get back on to Morton to get on to Courtland which was it's fine it's all fine what it was is that I didn't we didn't I didn't know it that's just my own personal thing but and I I think your big point is if we can tell them in advance that's what you were saying do the block Advance before you get there like even if if the temporary times are gonna be there be a couple left I mean you know we're on the same page the unfortunate thing is that you have this um this the signs that say you know there's a pedestrian signs and people are still not understanding that you can you have to stop I saw the car on the right stop there's a and this person's was getting ready to cross the crosswalk and I was holding my breath because I could not I didn't know if the car the car on the left was going to continue to go so to me that felt like this person doesn't know the rules of the road and that was scary and then you still have have people who are taking the left on to Courtland even though the sign says you can't do that that's all I'm saying so I don't I don't know how to I I see it all the time and um you know my I'm not going to apologize it's not anything that anybody has done wrong I think it's it works if you if you follow the rules that's kind of how I'm feeling and um you know it's and and that's why I said you know hoping that if we you know have good signage that people will see it before Cummings Highway reconstruction happens so they start to understand that you can't do what you used to do I hope that makes some sense yes AB absolutely thank than thank you Vicky um yeah have one more one more response not so much to Vicky but yeah yeah go ahead I think I think after covid I have F not just with signs with red lights with stop signs folks almost treated it as though it's a suggestion not a rule and that's just not just with the signs of left turns but I've seen now folks run lights go around you at red lights blow at you when you just come to complete stop it's almost like a suggestion at this point but we hear you loud and clear thanks Vick thank you thank you so much for being there for us thank you V thank you representative um yeah I I I just want to add um I I I mean I think that was the last question pretty much at the end um we're about 30 minutes over um the initial closing time um I I just want to add in regards to the signage um construction management will be working with um the contractor mcore construction um we did develop a construction management plan with our design consultant in regards to this project um where it would request for the contractor to install um change changeable message signs which are the um the El ronic signs but you can you mean program you mean some language or term you mean to inform residents drivers that you mean whether the the the traffic configuration is changing um signs along the roadway to say that you mean there's there's road work ahead or um work Zone like all of that information is technically should be provided along cumin Highway approaching  Highway um as part of the construction um I I I know we um initially requested for um a CH changeable message sign to be installed at the um American Legion Highway intersection um approaching cing Highway um as well as um another one that's um roughly around um matapan Square so folks driving entering the work Zone um during construction possibly after construction when the construction is completed to a certain extent we just want to inform drivers that there's a new traffic configuration along c highway so that they're aware if they're not familiar with this new traffic configuration they need to drive slower they need to drive safer you mean so that they can get used to it and understand what the new Street layout is and configuration will be so that is something that we we have included as part of the trafficing management plan as I mentioned conru man or as construction management has mentioned that's still in the process and they're still working on that yes we we understand April is coming very soon so we we will be providing um um that information to the community please sign up for the for the for the updates um because I mean that's that's ideally the primary um Avenue that we're going to be using to reach out to and provide um information to the community so please sign up for those we'll get those out to you um we'll get any any information up to you Vicki we're gonna we're going to reach out in regards to your business um just to make sure that um that you're aware what's going on um when they get out there but it looks like they're going to be starting on the other end so um you may not have may not have concerns um as of April um but we we we'll get in touch with you um I don't know Hannah do you want to kind of jump in and and close this out yeah thank you everyone um just mindful of time and I just wanted to point everyone to um the email address that you can send concerns or questions comments at boston.gov there were few other questions that I think we can answer and we'll try to send an email out with this video recording um and try to answer those remaining questions but thank you so much everyone for joining and um sharing your questions and they're definitely things that we'll take into account and we appreciate the feedback thank you Hannah that's thanks everyone have a great night thank you good night good night good night service