Municipal Updates, June 2
Housing Production Plan available for review, pedestrian crossing improvements, speed humps, and more.
Note: To keep Municipal Updates emails delivered to your inbox, make sure you have the ‘Municipal Updates’ section toggled on in your subscription settings.
The City Manager’s Office is pleased to share its latest edition of Municipal Updates – an aggregation of departmental and divisional news and updates related to programs and policies.
Housing Production Plan Available for Viewing
The municipality’s Housing Production Plan (HPP) is now available for public review. The HPP was presented to the Planning Board on April 9. It is scheduled to go before City Council for adoption in June.
In Massachusetts, the HPP is a plan that helps a community better understand local housing needs and demand, development constraints and opportunities, and a vision for future affordable housing. The HPP is a proactive strategy that focuses on developing and preserving homes that meet the requirements of the state's affordable housing law, commonly known as Chapter 40B.
An HPP is approved by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) for a five-year period and includes:
Data: an assessment of housing needs and demand based on current data, population and development trends, and regional growth factors.
Limitations: an analysis of physical and regulatory development constraints.
Goals: housing goals, including an annual numeric housing production target.
Strategies: implementation strategies to work towards goals.
The City of Worcester's HPP has been made possible through an FY2023 Housing Choice Grant Program award. It is part of Worcester's commitment to plan for and foster the production of housing that meets the needs of current and future residents.
Pedestrian Crossing Improvements/Street Project Updates
The Department of Transportation & Mobility (DTM) recently shared news that construction of pedestrian crossing improvements is underway at eight locations across Worcester this spring.
These improvements are being constructed on busy arterial and collector streets that lacked crosswalks or in locations where existing crosswalks did not provide adequate safety and accessibility accommodations. The designs include elements such as curb extensions to shorten crossing distances and improve visibility, center medians to protect pedestrians mid-block, Americans with Disabilities Act compliant wheelchair ramps, marked crosswalks with pedestrian crossing signs, and rapid flashing beacons.
Construction of these projects is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Follow progress and learn more at: Pedestrian Safety Improvements | City of Worcester
Residents can also view DTM’s new project mapping tool for a full list of street resurfacing and improvement projects underway or scheduled to start later this year: 2025 Roadway Projects.
Speed Humps
You may have noticed something in the middle of your street. It’s not a jump. It’s a speed hump to help slow you down.
The City of Worcester launched a pilot seasonal speed hump program in 2021 that involved the placement of 20 temporary speed humps during the June - October timeframe. The program has expanded considerably since that time and 80 speed humps, including a combination of seasonal, permanent, and raised crosswalks are planned for 2025. These new installations, in addition to permanent speed humps installed in previous years, will result in over 100 of these traffic calming elements installed on Worcester's streets.
In 2025, permanent speed humps are being installed at locations where initial trials using temporary speed humps proved effective at managing vehicle speeds, as well as on a few streets that have been selected for new speed hump installations but are undergoing roadway reconstruction.
Other locations that are either new or in their second year of trials will receive seasonal speed humps. The status for both permanent speed hump locations and seasonal pilot speed hump locations are mapped and summarized below.
View speed hump locations and installation status here.
Community Preservation Program
The Community Preservation Program (CPP) successfully closed the first round of funding applications on Friday, May 9. Overall, there were 28 applications received across the three funding categories, including 17 projects related to historic resource perseveration, 9 projects related to open space and outdoor recreation, and two projects related to community housing. The total requested amount was $8.9M for an available $4M.
Recommended projects will be presented to City Council for final approval at the July 15 City Council meeting. City Council can affirm, reject, or lower CPC funding recommendations. City Council is bound to act only upon an affirmative recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) and cannot consider requests that do not receive a CPC recommendation per M.G.L Chapter 44B.
Once City Council has approved a recommended project, the contract with the City of Worcester may be executed and projects may begin.
Residents can stay up to date on the process by signing up for the CPP Newsletter here: Sign up for the Newsletter.