Somerville Bicycle Committee Endorses T-Intersection as Top Choice for Magoon Square

Finance Committee · Meeting of June 4, 2026

Somerville's Bicycle Advisory Committee unanimously endorsed a T-intersection design as its top preference for the Magoon Square reconstruction, ranking a roundabout second and a tightened conventional signalized layout — called the X — last. Transportation Planner Greg Hannafin and project team member Lily Wirth of the city's Mobility Division presented three concept designs for the junction of Broadway, Medford Street, and Dexter Street; committee members Alex Frieden, Kat, Tom, Ted, and Paul each said the T option's signal-separated straight-line routing for cyclists felt safest, with several citing discomfort biking through Powderhouse Circle as a frame of reference. "As people who are very veteran cyclists are looking at Powderhouse and then this intersection — the roundabout would have to be structured in a way where it doesn't require such a high bar of experience in cycling," Frieden said.

The committee flagged the X design's unmitigated right-hook risk — where roughly one-third of eastbound Broadway drivers turn right onto Medford Street across the bike lane — as a near-disqualifying flaw. In a separate unanimous vote, the committee authorized a letter to the city requesting an exemption from a citywide appointment freeze so it can recruit new members before a December deadline set by the newly formed Review of Multiple Member Bodies Committee.

In the full story:

• New Member Recruitment and Appointment Freeze
• Broadway-Magoon Square Concept Design Review
• Broadway Quick-Build Intersection Safety Improvements
• Mobility Division Project Updates
• Wirth and Hannafin ran through a list of active and upcoming projects
• Who Was There
• The complete report — 3,099 words

Source: the Finance Committee meeting of June 4, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.