Union Square Somerville Infill and Small Developments

My favorite visual marker of Cambridge vs Somerville is the presence of infill construction, which is next to nonexistant in Cambridge
 
Texasian said:
I kinda like them. It’s basically a visual marker that lets you know your not in Cambridge anymore… well that and the sharp decrease in tree cover.
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i'm sure the city fathers (mothers? whatever) would be crestfallen to read your take re: tree cover. they try so hard and get recognized for those efforts!

in all seriousness, i've lived in da bridge, allston, arlington, dorchester, and fenway and my street and the surrounding area in somerville is easily the tree...iest(?) when compared to any of those places. the area around the upcoming union square station (ward two-ish) is certainly light on foliage, but it's also almost entirely an active construction site. the inner belt neighborhood -- easily somerville's ugliest area -- also is pretty barren with respect to trees, but is also simultaneously quasi-industrial, site of much construction, and scarred by mcgrath.
 
Somerville has recently been replacing older ash trees, due to the Emerald Ash Borer
 
West Somerville (around Davis) has excellent tree cover. East Somerville, as mentioned above, is much more industrial and lots of it is turning into a construction site.

Speaking of which, so far there's only 1 new noteworthy (ie noticeable from outside the neighborhood) building at Union, at Boynton Yards. Does anybody know the timetable for when we can see more visually impactful construction around here? Is there a substantial building coming out of the ground now that I am missing?
 
LOL. I'd rather the Town Line sign serve as a way to tell I've switched from Cambridge to Somerville. As it is, if you are in a blazing heat island with lime green vinyl siding melting off a triple decker onto a rusted chain link fence, chances are you are in Somerville.
 
Thunder Road demo - anyone know why they are demo’ing this piece by piece by hand from the inside out? Why not just take an excavator to it and be done in a day or two?
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I’m not sure who designed these new traffic lanes…but I’m pretty sure they don’t drive, or walk, or bike around here! Do they really think that drivers won’t cross those double lines when traffic backs up? What’s all that empty space in between those double lines for anyways??
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Dr. Rosen Rosen said:
I’m not sure who designed these new traffic lanes…but I’m pretty sure they don’t drive, or walk, or bike around here! Do they really think that drivers won’t cross those double lines when traffic backs up? What’s all that empty space in between those double lines for anyways??
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It takes many days to install roadway markings/controls. I would hold off passing judgement on the design until it is fully installed.
 
sm89 said:
It takes many days to install roadway markings/controls. I would hold off passing judgement on the design until it is fully installed.
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Fair enough - will do. I’m definitely rooting for success here, but have much less faith in the drivers around here to actually know what they’re doing. E.g., Have you seen all the drivers who blow through the right hand turn at Ricky’s? Not only is there a No Turn on Red sign, but there’s also a red arrow! (Don’t get me started…)
 
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The trend to rebuild churches into housing, by keeping the form and a few elements, is not one of the better ones from an urban design POV.
 
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