Personal Experience with Non-Car Travel
Please share your recent experiences walking, biking, using public transit, or traveling with someone who has mobility challenges around Melrose. How safe and accessible did you find those experiences outside of a car?
My wife and I are out in the neighborhood nearly every night, walking a loop from Vinton to Trenton or Cottage, along West Wyoming to Main Street, and finishing on the Fells Parkway. Our 10-year-old regularly bikes to friends and Main Street shops, and my wife commutes to Boston using both Cedar Park and Oak Grove.
My experience walking in Melrose is largely positive: accessibility is good and most sidewalks are in solid shape. One area that clearly needs attention is the Fells Parkway—its uneven surface and potholes are a safety and comfort issue. I’m also cautious about my son biking on Wyoming and West Emerson. He uses safer alternatives to reach his friends and Main Street, but those corridors would benefit from surface repairs, traffic-calming, and clearer bike infrastructure to make them family-friendly.
Near-Term Municipal Actions
Please name one concrete step the City of Melrose should take within the next two years to make streets and sidewalks safer for people walking, biking, or using mobility devices. How will you ensure this step will serve people of all ages, abilities, and neighborhoods equitably?
The City of Melrose should proactively research, fund, and promote non-car travel. By making walking and biking safer and more convenient—through better crossings, traffic calming, protected lanes where feasible, and well-lit, well-maintained sidewalks—we reduce congestion, improve safety, and strengthen community health. This also means pairing infrastructure with education and enforcement: drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians all need to follow the rules of the road. For cyclists specifically, we should continue to promote and enforce compliance with state traffic laws, while expanding bike parking, wayfinding, and Safe Routes to School so families can choose bikes and feet with confidence.
City’s Role in Advancing Active Transportation & Climate Goals
Transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions in Massachusetts. What role should the City of Melrose play in encouraging people to travel by foot, bike, or transit? Please share one specific action you would take as a councilor, and explain how it supports Melrose’s sustainability and climate goals.
Residents deserve a clear picture of where Melrose’s biggest emissions—and energy dollars—come from. As noted in the Mayor’s May budget address, utility costs are up roughly 20% this year, which makes transparency and action urgent. As a councilor, I’ll prioritize a simple, public Energy & Emissions Dashboard that shows, at a glance, how much energy we use and spend across major categories—municipal buildings and schools, fleet fuel, streetlights, and water/sewer operations—along with estimated greenhouse-gas emissions. Publishing this data (kWh, therms, gallons, dollars, and MTCO₂e), normalized per square foot or per student where appropriate, will help city staff and residents spot waste, track savings, and choose the smartest next steps. Clear metrics and regular reporting build trust and make any future funding asks, including overrides, easier to evaluate on the merits.
School Travel & Family Transportation
Melrose does not provide school buses and students are not assigned to their neighborhood elementary school by default, contributing to significant car traffic at drop-off and pick-up. Name one specific thing you would do to help families who want safe, reliable options to get children to and from school without relying on cars?
This is a real challenge. As noted, Melrose doesn’t provide student transportation, and school assignments aren’t based on proximity. With the current budget crunch, large new programs aren’t realistic. That’s why I support scaling solutions that are low-cost, safe, and community-driven—starting with a city-supported Bike Bus (bike train) and Walking School Bus program.
Parents and volunteers have already partnered with MPD to run Bike Buses at Horace Mann and now Lincoln. I’d formalize this citywide for the fall and spring by:
Official adoption & coordination: Designate a Safe Routes to School coordinator (could be part-time/ stipend) to help PTOs map routes, schedule rides, and recruit/train volunteers.
Safety standards: Publish simple, city-endorsed operating guidelines (helmets, ride captains/sweepers, route speeds, hand signals, weather policy). Coordinate with MPD for occasional escort at busy crossings and with DPW for quick-hit fixes (paint refresh, signage, trimming vegetation).
Inclusive options: Pair Bike Buses with Walking School Buses so families without bikes—or who prefer to walk—have a safe option.
Minimal cost, outside funding: Use grants (e.g., MassDOT Safe Routes), small equipment micro-grants (lights, bells), and donated racks to keep city costs low.
Measure & improve: Track participation, near-miss reports, and on-time arrivals; adjust routes and crossing support accordingly.
This approach gives families a safe, fun alternative now—without big new spending—while we continue longer-term work on safer streets near schools.
Regional Connectivity
Many nearby communities are investing in interconnected trails and paths that support both recreation and commuting. How would you work with neighboring communities and state/regional agencies to expand safe walking and biking connections to and from Melrose?
I’d start by bringing our neighbors to the same table. If Malden, Wakefield, and Stoneham have ped/bike groups, I’d connect them with our committee to co-design routes that feel safe for families—think calm side streets, short protected links across busy roads, and clear wayfinding to schools, parks, and train stations. We can start with quick-build pilots—wayfinding, curb extensions, high-visibility crosswalks, and protected segments using flex posts or raised separators—then evaluate and scale what works. I visit Cambridge and Somerville often and would like to adapt their proven tools—raised edges, flex posts, and colored bike zones—where our street widths and traffic patterns support them. Finally, I’d ask DCR to partner with us on Fellsway East to tackle speeding and install clearly signed, signalized crossings to the Middlesex Fells trails. These steps make it easier to walk and bike within Melrose and across city lines—safely, comfortably, and hopefully soon.
Street Design & Business Districts
How can street design improve safety and foot traffic in Melrose’s business districts? Name one specific thing you would do to encourage the city and business community to make these areas more inviting for people walking, biking, or arriving by transit?
Slower, people-first streets are the foundation for thriving business districts. I support clearly signed slow zones (20–25 mph), reinforced by raised/brick crosswalks and raised intersections—the same traffic-calming treatments that have worked in Somerville. These designs cue drivers to slow down without relying solely on enforcement. We should also bring back seasonal parklets and curbside “streateries,” which previously boosted dwell time and those valuable “just popped in” visits that small businesses rely on. Pair these with curb extensions/daylighting, high-visibility crosswalks, leading pedestrian intervals, better street lighting, and bike corrals so short trips feel easy on foot or bike. In my opinion, the more the street communicates “people are here,” the more drivers naturally follow the rules—and the more customers stick around.
A simple fix that would help right away: more places to lock a bike. On Main Street—where my son gets his haircuts—there’s nowhere close by to secure his bike. That’s common across Melrose. I’d work with merchants and PTOs to place racks where people actually stop: outside cafés, barbers, fields, and near train stations. Think reliable inverted-U racks, a few covered racks at longer-stay destinations, and seasonal bike corrals on high-foot-traffic blocks. It’s an easy win: safer, friendlier streets, more quick errands by bike, and fewer short car trips.
Budget and Staffing Priorities
Budget cuts impact the City’s ability to implement street projects, pursue state transportation grants, and enforce safety laws. What specific actions would you take (e.g., prioritizing budget, accessing other funding sources) to improve the City’s ability to respond to resident requests (e.g., traffic calming, speed enforcement, street design, etc.)?
I’ve heard from many neighbors that the city website can be confusing when you just want to report a pothole or a dangerous crossing. So I’m offering an easy alternative: a dedicated page on ChristopherforMelrose.com where you can submit road and traffic issues by form, text, or email—whatever’s easiest. I’ll route each request to the city and follow up so you know it’s been received. In addition, I plan to conduct regular “ward walks” to proactively check street conditions—an approach a previous Ward 3 councilor used effectively—and file requests directly so they’re on the record. My goal is a simple, friendly process with a clear paper trail—so residents don’t have to chase answers.
Most Pressing Street Safety Issue
What do you see as the single most pressing street safety issue in your ward (for ward council candidates) or in the city as a whole (for at-large candidates)? As a City Councilor, how would you address it?
The two issues I hear about most are speeding and poor street conditions. Residents want calmer traffic on cut-through streets and safer crossings near schools and business districts, and they want a predictable plan to repave pothole-ridden roads—not just quick patches.
As I mentioned earlier, I’ll report problems firsthand by regularly walking Ward 3 and logging hazards—potholes, faded markings, missing signs—so they’re on the record and tracked to resolution. To reduce speeding, we should pair data-driven enforcement with self-enforcing street design: raised crosswalks and intersections, curb extensions and daylighting at corners, speed cushions on cut-through blocks, leading pedestrian intervals at signals, and highly visible markings. Cities like Somerville also use contrasting pavement materials and painted zones to cue slower driving. Finally, I support targeted police enforcement at documented hot spots—with tickets (not warnings) for egregious speeding—to reinforce the message that our neighborhood streets are for people first.