Mill Street 'Complete Streets' Redesign: Feds Give Worcester $2 Million For Planning

WORCESTER, MA — Maybe don't get used to that new Mill Street layout just yet.

Worcester will get $2 million from the federal government for a "complete streets" redesign of Mill Street — a plan that officials have said is the ultimate goal for a notorious road known as "the speedway."

Over the summer, the city's new Department of Transportation and Mobility began work on a unique redesign of Mill Street. The city re-striped the road to reduce vehicle lanes from two on each side to one on each side. The city also drew bike lanes next to curbs with parking separating the bike lane from moving traffic.

The plan attracted controversy, with a then-candidate for city council calling for work to stop completely until public hearings could be held. At a hearing convened on July 31, Department of Transportation and Mobility Commissioner Steve Rolle told residents his department was planning to apply for federal funds for the more sophisticated complete streets redesign of Mill Street, and that the re-striping was an interim fix for speeding and other safety issues. He also showed off sketches of what a complete streets redesign might look like, and it included new sidewalks and protected bike lanes.

The $2 million for the redesign is coming out of a larger $175 million pot of Congressionally Directed Spending for Massachusetts — money members of the state's Congressional delegation bring home to their districts for different types of projects. Other Worcester projects, from programming at the EcoTarium to the conversion of a hotel into housing along Oriol Drive, received CDS dollars, according to a news release from U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey.

Mill Street is still attracting controversy today, months after the re-striping was completed. On this week's city council agenda, At-Large Councilor Moe Bergman is asking for a citywide pause on re-striping projects akin to Mill Street — specifically, "pausing the elimination of travel lanes on public streets as a traffic-calming measure by the creation of on-street parking spaces in their place, such as on Mill Street."

At-Large Councilor Donna Colorio, meanwhile, wants a report on what "impact the reconfiguration has had on the street’s safety." Some Mill Street residents have felt unsafe parking in the new spaces between the travel lane and bike lane, fearing drivers will smash into parked cars while illegally driving in the new parking zones.