Dear Sherman Street Neighbors,
As part of our commitment to keeping you up to date on the latest information about the Sherman Street Quiet Zone we will be sending you a weekly email update. Also, during the week updates are being posted on the website as they are available (
https://www.cambridgema.gov/ShermanStreetCrossing
).
Some of the key updates from this past week are:
- This week the City received notice from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) indicating that they have no comments on the City's plans to implement a quiet zone. This response means that the initial 60 day time frame for comment from stakeholders will not be extended due to the July 26th notice issued to DPU. The July 26th notice was issued when MassDOT informed the City that DPU is the the agency responsible for highway-rail grade crossing safety, rather than MassDOT, as they had previously indicated.
- City staff is reviewing the feasibility of installing a small temporary driveway access on Sherman street for the Jose’s/Cambridge Montessori parking lot. If feasible, the access would allow for the short-term safety improvements required for the quiet zone while avoiding the negative impacts of access to the parking lot from Bellis Circle.
- The city issued an invitation to bid for the installation of the roadway safety improvements that will allow us to designate the quiet zone. No bids were received by the August 8th deadline, so the bid will be reissued and outreach to a wider pool of potential bidders will be done. This re-issuance will not impact the start date of the Quiet Zone, which is driven by the regulatory comment and notice periods rather than construction time frames. The City also has back up plans in place that will allow the work to be completed if the bidding process is not successful.
We will continue to provide additional updates as they become available.
