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Changes to Central Hill Campus Parking

With construction on the new Somerville High School building project underway, gradual changes to parking options on the Central Hill Campus (which includes City Hall, Somerville High School, and the Somerville Public Library) and the surrounding public streets have begun.

The City understands that although these changes are necessary for the completion of the new high school project, the shift of some employee parking from designated lots on the campus to nearby streets will present some challenges and growing pains to both employees and nearby residents.

An extensive parking study was conducted in the spring of 2017. The study’s executive summary is available for review at this link. A second study was conducted in the spring of 2018, with the intention of measuring the impacts of the first phase of parking removal, verifying the results of the 2017 study, and collecting new data that was not collected as part of the 2017 study. The results of the 2018 study are available at this link, and a summary presentation is available at this link. The City is working on implementing the recommendations of the 2018 study and mitigating the impacts of parking removal.

It is important to note that parking will be eliminated in phases, not all at one time. The next parking impact is scheduled to take place in June 2020, when the School Street parking lot will be taken offline.

We have conducted surveys of School staff, City and Library staff, and neighborhood residents to help understand the availability of on-street parking and transportation alternatives on Central Hill. A survey for residents is available at this link. Please submit only one response per unit!

Questions? Please contact Justin Schreiber, at jschreiber@somervillema.gov


Background Information on Somerville High School Renovation
With the oldest sections of the school built in the late 1800s, Somerville High School is one of the oldest secondary schools in New England that has not undergone extensive renovation. In 2015, City and School officials determined there was a more urgent need for review and research on renovation or rebuilding needs due to several important factors, including the potential for the school to lose its accreditation, building and structural issues, and high energy consumption.

The Somerville High School Building Committee was convened in September 2015 to identify the educational plan and an associated facility that would meet the needs of the 21st century learning environment. The committee reviewed options for renovation or replacement of the current school that would support that proposed educational plan. Those options included: base repair, full renovation, addition/renovation, new construction at the existing site, or new construction at another site. Following discussion of nine proposed options, the SBC voted to submit one option for final review by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which was ultimately approved by the Board, the Mayor, and the Somerville City Council.


Schedule of Meetings
We encourage residents to take part in meetings to discuss Central Hill Campus parking. Upcoming Central Hill Plan meetings can be found on the calendar at SomervilleMA.gov.


Share Your Questions, Concerns, or Feedback
Please share your questions, concerns, and suggestions related to parking during the construction of the new Somerville High School below, or visit www.somervillema.gov/ParkingFeedback