This is pretty bad for people in wheelchairs, and dangerous for everyone - cones don't provide any protection. Most of the relevant sidewalk is in Cambridge.

Here's a picture I took on Monday when all the cones from the pedestrian walkway got blown down.

The closed part of the Som. Ave. sidewalk adjacent to the RR tracks near Porter T station is unstable because it is built over the "roof" of a long-discontinued passenger waiting area down at RR track level. The closed portion of the sidewalk is in both Cambridge & Somerville. Both cities are working with the MBTA which is in charge of the reconstruction of the sidewalk and its shaky underpinnings. For 3 mos. pedestrians have risked their lives walking in the roadway with not a word of explanation. The problem is that this project involves 3 jurisdictions, making it impossible for users to know who to call. Cambridge does have a liaison to the project, however, so perhaps this is the place to ask for a publicly-posted explanation of the sidewalk closing and the schedule for its reopening.

Even the enforcement of the road way is lacking from the cpd. I bet the truck I the picture was there for about an hour, blocking the road right after a turn, the bike lane, and a fire hydrant. Even if an able bodied pedestrian wants to use the unprotected temporary sidewalk, they can't even check if it's safe to do so as they can't see around the truck that is illegally there.

Is any of this related to the recently announced "bike lane" which is to be constructed on the northbound side of Somerville Ave., from Target to the intersection? Though not part of the plans as presented to the community at public meetings, city staff apparently decided to do this, presumably in conjunction with suggestions from some who bike at these meetings. Unfortunately, the public announcement about this newly adopted plan characterized it as something "the community requested," when it was manifestly NOT "THE community," but rather a portion thereof. The plan may or may not have merit (we'll see), but it was disingenuous to describe it as coming from "the community." (Why do they do this??)

Is any of this related to the recently announced "bike lane" which is to be constructed on the northbound side of Somerville Ave., from Target to the intersection? Though not part of the plans as presented to the community at public meetings, city staff apparently decided to do this, presumably in conjunction with suggestions from some who bike at these meetings. Unfortunately, the public announcement about this newly adopted plan characterized it as something "the community requested," when it was manifestly NOT "THE community," but rather a portion thereof. The plan may or may not have merit (we'll see), but it was disingenuous to describe it as coming from "the community." (Why do they do this??)

Public Works - DA (Inspections) assigned this issue to Public Works - MM (Engineering)

Why would a collapsing sidewalk have anything to do with a bike lane on the other side of the street?

This is not the proper place to argue about the merits of a bike lane or not. Please take that to the proper forum, and avoid trolling anonymously here.

The sidewalk closure adjacent to the railroad tracks is an MBTA project and they are in the process of implementing a proper TMP. The opposite side of the street is a TMP implemented by a private developer for the Target renovation. The MBTA will be contacted again today to ensure proper safety precautions are taken prior to the start of their work. Thank you.

The sidewalk closure adjacent to the railroad tracks is an MBTA project and they are in the process of implementing a proper TMP. The MBTA will be implementing a more permanent sidewalk detour to ensure proper safety precautions are taken prior to the start of their work. Thank you.