Union Square to Be Torn Up All Over Again

Union Square in Somerville has been torn up for a couple of years now, and it looked this fall as though the project was finally nearing completion. Now the news is that Somerville is looking at tearing up Union Square all over again.

The idea, as we understand it, is to reestablish Washington Street, which comes from Harvard Square and continues toward Sullivan Square and I93. Some years back Washington Street was cut off by a pedestrian plaza, and traffic from Harvard Square is routed onto Somerville Avenue for a short distance.

The new plan would cut Washington Street back through that plaza, so the main street would run past Precinct and The Independent. A stretch of Somerville Avenue would be turned into a plaza, with traffic rerouted onto Washington Street. Several of the one-way streets in Union Square would become two-way again.

This project appears to be linked to the Green Line extension project, which also promises to remake Union Square, for the third time it would appear.

Pictures:


Current street configuration of Union Square with plaza blocking Washington Street.


Proposed street configuration of Union Square with plaza blocking Somerville Avenue.