Somerville PTAC Votes to Send MBTA Letter Urging Better Route 80 and 85 Service

Finance Committee · Meeting of June 18, 2026

Somerville's Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee voted unanimously to send a comment letter to the MBTA urging better frequency and accessibility on Routes 80 and 85 amid a bus network redesign. The committee kept a contested bullet point calling on the MBTA to consider restoring Route 82 service near Gilman Square, where the Green Line station lacks an elevator that was originally planned; a show of hands ran roughly seven or eight to one or two in favor of keeping it. Mobility Division project manager Viola Augustin presented concept designs for a quick-build Somerville Avenue safety project that would reduce on-street parking from 117 to roughly 84 spaces — a 30 percent cut — with the steepest losses near Market Basket, where 13 spaces would be eliminated to accommodate fire-truck access and accessible bus bays.

The committee's design review subcommittee recommended concrete barriers near the Cambria Hotel to prevent cars from pulling into the protected bike lane, and favored full vehicle-pedestrian signal separation at the Granite, Dane, and Somerville Avenue intersection. Staff member Adam presented a planned transit signal priority system for Union Square, developed in partnership with the MBTA, which will use GPS-based bus detection, a queue-jump bus lane on Prospect Street, and up to 20 seconds of signal reallocation per cycle, targeting a fall 2026 launch.

In the full story:

• Opening Business and Letter-Writing Opportunities
• MBTA Bus Network Redesign Comment Letter
• Somerville Avenue Safety Improvements Project
• Transit Signal Priority in Union Square
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,004 words

Source: the Finance Committee meeting of June 18, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.