The entrance and exit into the Marriott hotel will be narrowed to reduce the pedestrian and bicycle crossing distance and improve visibility of pedestrians and cyclists to people in vehicles. The existing bus/shuttle drop-off space in front of the Marriott hotel will be removed to allow space for a raised separated bike lane, and the hotel’s drop off space will be widened to allow buses to drop off passengers within the covered area instead of using the on-street drop-off zone, which was an important desired design feature established with the Kendall Marriott Hotel during stakeholder conversations.

The existing sidewalk on the north side of the street will be relocated to the north of the existing trees, which allows the raised separated bike lanes to be located between the existing trees and the curb. This will need to be coordinated with the final plans for the Volpe project.

The width between the existing median and the curb on the north side of Broadway will not allow for on-street parking, but space for pick-up and drop-off of transportation network companies (TNC), such as Uber and Lyft, can be provided in front of the new Volpe buildings. Crossing markings on the proposed raised separated bike lanes and paved access areas between existing trees should be provided at pick-up and drop-off locations to facilitate pedestrian access along this curb.

The existing mid-block crossing in front of the Marriott will be moved east to allow for a new median opening and left turn lane at 5th Street, to be created as part of the Volpe project. A new mid-block crosswalk will also be added to the west of the Green Garage entrance connecting to the new street connection proposed by MITIMCo between 5th Street and the 6th Street Walkway.

The proposed plan for Third Street includes protected 6 – 8 foot wide cycle tracks on both sides of the street and 11-foot-wide travel lanes in both directions. The existing cycle track at One Broadway will remain as is and connect to the proposed cycle track. The bike facilities will be located between the existing trees and the vehicular travel lanes. Wherever possible, on-street parking will be maintained between the raised separated bike lane and travel lanes. In some locations there is not adequate width to maintaining the existing trees and on-street parking. In these locations, on-street parking has been maintained on one side of the street only. These parking spaces currently serve as both loading and parking areas. As was heard through public input during the project’s public engagement meetings, there may be a need to provide pick-up and drop-off locations in these areas in place of some of the parking spaces.

The proposed raised separated bike lanes will connect to the existing separated bike lanes on Binney Street to the east and the proposed raised separated bike lanes on Binney Street to the west. The separated bike lanes will also connect to the proposed bicycle infrastructure on Broadway and Main Street to the south. A marked bike crossing will be provided at Potter Street to connect to the raised separated bike path on Potter Street proposed as part of the Volpe project. During the project’s public engagement sessions, a concern was raised, noting that a pedestrian pinch point existed at the corner of 303 Third Street and Potter Street. To respond, the bicycle facility was realigned to provide additional space for pedestrians waiting to cross the intersection, or accessing the 303 Third Street entrance.

Two options were studied for the southbound vehicular travel lane configuration approaching Broadway on Third Street. Based on the issues studied, Approach Option B with a shared right-through lane and a left turn only lane is recommended. This option would also include an exclusive transit through lane for buses, which may be added as needed for increased bus service. This is the recommended approach as it provides the greatest flexibility for a future intersection design that is inclusive of an exclusive bus lane. More information on each option is available in Section 4 of the Report.

For Main Street between Ames Street and Galileo Galilei Way, the proposed streetscape design includes protected one-way bike lanes on each side of the street. The existing median would be removed to allow for the protected bike lanes to be installed without significant impact to the existing parking and trees. These bike lanes would connect to the existing separated bike lanes on Vassar Street and proposed separated bike lanes on Galileo Galilei Way as well as the on-street bike lanes to the west on Main Street.

Ideally, the bicycle facilities on Main Street should be raised to provide the greatest level of cyclist comfort and protection. Further study is needed however to understand the feasibility of raised bicycle lanes due to the depth of the redline tunnel, and concern relating to the relocation of utilities and drainage.

This option would consist of a 10-foot-wide separated bi-directional bike lane (5 feet wide in each direction) with flexible barriers, 11-foot-wide travel lanes in each direction, and 8-foot-wide parking lanes adjacent to the curb. This option would also allow for shuttle/bus loading areas on either side of the street. This center bike lane concept was proposed due to the unique alignment of eastern Main Street connecting to Galaxy Park, and the inclusion of a contraflow raised separated bicycle lane to the intersection of Broadway. The bicycle lane barriers providing separation between the two-way bike lane and the vehicular lanes need to be flexible to allow emergency vehicles to drive over them if necessary, as there would be less than 18 feet clear between the parked cars and the barriers in this design.

In order to avoid conflicts between cyclists and turning vehicles, left turn movements into and out of the MIT parking and loading area (Ford Lot), Dock Street, and Hayward Street would not be allowed for westbound traffic. Right turns into and out of these areas would still be possible for eastbound traffic. Because of this, traffic entering these locations from the north on Third Street would need to take a right on Broadway, a left on Ames Street, and another left onto Main Street to access these locations. Traffic headed to the west from these locations would need to head east towards Broadway and take a right turn onto Memorial Drive.

In this option, at the eastern end of Main Street, cyclists would need to transition from a side running bike lane on Broadway to a center running bike lane on Main Street, as described in the previous West of Ames Street section. It may be possible to restrict through traffic on this section of Main Street to reduce conflicts at this location. The bike lanes would also transition to side bike lanes at Ames Street. The pavement markings and traffic signal would need to be modified to provide protection for these movements.

This option would include protected 6- to 8-foot-wide one-way bike lanes on each side of the street and two 11-foot-wide travel lanes. The bike lanes would be located between the existing trees and the vehicular travel lane protected by a raised curb or barriers. As was discussed in the West of Ames Street section above providing raised protected bicycle lanes is the preferred bicycle facility design, in order to provide the greatest level of cyclist protection.

Further study is needed however to understand the feasibility of raised bicycle lanes due to the depth of the redline tunnel, utilities and drainage.

In this option, the bus/shuttle passengers will need to cross the bike lane to load and unload. This could be done with floating bus stops which would allow passengers to load between the bike lane and the curb or with bus stops where the passengers would cross the cycle track while loading.

Due to input received during public outreach, CRA Board meetings and stakeholder conversations, an alternative Option C – woonerf, or slow street design, was proposed. A woonerf is defined as a “living street” where all road users, especially vulnerable users such as people walking and biking, share more equal priority in space and design. This option presents the road as a more natural transition between adjacent public realm spaces and aims to slow vehicle traffic and so that cyclists and vehicles may safely share the street rather than providing dedicated space for each. It also allows for placemaking opportunities, such as pocket parks, additional fixed or movable seating, moveable planters, public art installations, and specialty paving to make this section of Main Street feel like a destination, not just a passageway.

This option would include various traffic calming measures to reduce vehicle speeds and would also include signage to indicate that this section of the street is intended only for local traffic. Traffic calming measures could include raised pavement grades, narrower travel lanes, unique pavement markings to make the travel lanes feel narrower, and street furnishings, such as planters, to designate pedestrian spaces within the street. These traffic calming measures would still allow vehicle access to local businesses for parking and loading, but would provide a signal to drivers that the travel lanes are shared with other users and would encourage non-local traffic to follow other routes. Loading areas would be limited to locations where off-street loading is not available. Designated drop-off spaces would be provided for taxis and rideshare/transportation network companies (TNC) to discourage blocking of narrow lanes.

As noted, this design option was proposed as a way to respond to feedback heard during the public engagement process. Input collected from residents included comments asking for a more pedestrian-oriented design on Main Street. The woonerf concept also addresses concerns from MITIMCo related to Option B (the side-bike lane concept), which significantly limits curbside uses for retail, including pick-up and drop off opportunities and parking; it also addresses their concerns for Option A (the center-bike lane concept), which restricted certain turning movements for their parking and loading facilities at the Ford Lot, at Dock Street, and at Hayward Street. Additionally, during the Transit Advisory meeting, members noted that floating bus stop islands, which would be part of Option B’s side-bike lane design, felt less comfortable and protected than the conditions presented in Option C.