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?
I regularly walk to local destinations like city parks and sports fields, the farmers market and commuter rail. I bike with my kids to downtown or school, and take the train (commuter rail and orange line) to Assembly and Boston for family outings. A few times a year, I travel with my 89-year-old father who has mobility, vision, and hearing impairments, and we combining driving and walking to meet his needs.
Melrose’s network of streets and sidewalks is safer than some of our neighbors in Greater Boston, but too often drivers block sidewalks and crosswalks or speed through neighborhoods, past schools, and through our business districts. I feel a sense of fear most often when biking or walking with my kids or walking with my dad — a clear reminder that our streets still don’t fully protect people of all ages and abilities.
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 manages 25 miles of public roads—millions of square feet of public space largely devoted to cars with no overall plan. Over the past decade, we’ve made progress with new sidewalks, safer cycling, and innovative placemaking like parklets. Next, Melrose should expand its traffic-calming program, continue to pursue regional safety grants, and establish a Vision Zero Commission to guide street design and policy.
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.
I’ll work with the mayor to file an ordinance creating a Vision Zero Commission with authority to align city departments around our street safety and sustainability goals—especially critical since transportation is our largest source of emissions.
I’ll also continue to use my place in the broader regional and national safe/complete streets space to find funding that can meet our goals without creating new stress on our budget.
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?
I’ll strengthen the city’s partnership with MassDOT’s Safe Routes to School program, which I’ve worked with for many years, and use a new Vision Zero Commission to address barriers to walking and biking near schools. I’ve helped deliver sidewalk improvements near Hoover School and MVMMS/MHS, and I will continue leading elementary bike buses to get kids excited about riding safely.
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 bring deep regional connections from a decade of working directly with local volunteers in the Melrose Ped/Bike Committee; city planners and elected officials in Melrose, Stoneham, Wakefield, Malden, and Medford; and the support of institutions through my participation in Smart Growth America’s Transportation Safety Champions Institute and the Boston-Region MPO Vision Zero Task Force. I leverage all of these relationships to bring new funding and ideas to Melrose and keep us engaged in regional planning that keeps Melrose at the forefront of street safety.
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?
Safe, attractive streets drive foot traffic and support local business. Features like raised crosswalks, pedestrian-friendly intersections, and parklets create inviting public spaces. I helped build Melrose’s first parklets, improved crosswalk visibility, and transformed Central Terrace into a vibrant gathering spot.
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.)?
My priorities for business districts include establishing a Vision Zero Commission to guide safe-streets planning with business community input; restoring downtown parklets; improving pedestrian signals; adding bike parking; addressing blind driveways; and working with employers to offer transit passes.
I will build on my record of accomplishments to take advantage of every opportunity to make our streets safer with little to no cost to Melrose taxpayers, and will continue to search for grants and prioritize budget requests for safe streets.
Before I joined the council, I used the MBTA’s Oak Grove rehabilitation project to fund a half-mile of new Melrose sidewalks with safer crossings, including creating the Spot Pond Brook Greenway that will soon create a multi-use path from Melrose to Boston via the Northern Strand. I also supported a $400,000 state grant for neighborhood sidewalks for the Hoover school and brought technical experts to help inform its design.
As the Ward 7 City Councilor, I guided $50,000 in federal ARPA funding to create the Traffic Calming Toolkit, a website that combines crash data with pedestrian volumes and demographics to prioritize traffic calming measures with equity in mind. Again, no cost to taxpayers.
As a City Councilor At-Large, I introduced Melrose to a $10M regional federal grant for 10 cities in the Boston Region to study and build street safety pilots at major crash locations in the city. Through my work on the Boston Region’s Municipal Planning Organization’s Vision Zero Task Force, I continue to help guide Melrose and the region on a vision for street safety that extends beyond our borders.
Finally, I’ve attended dozens of neighborhood meetings, and responded to countless texts, calls, and emails on these issues. I’ve listened to residents and worked street by street with residents, city staff, and city councilors to prioritize and strengthen these efforts citywide. If re-elected, I pledge to prioritize the creation of a Vision Zero Commission, a public body that can help the city develop a formal traffic calming program, review city designs, and develop policy recommendations for the council and mayor.
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?
Melrose needs a comprehensive street safety plan that anticipates growth, involves residents in setting priorities, and creates a clear process with city buy-in to request and track traffic calming projects.
I’ll establish a Vision Zero Commission with members from city departments, the council, and the public to review designs, set safety policies, and ensure resident input leads to action. If re-elected, I’ll work with the mayor to launch it by the end of 2026.