Medford keeps bicycle-pedestrian safety resolution in committee after commission outlines priorities

The Medford City Council’s Committee of the Whole on March 11, 2025 heard a presentation from the Medford Bicycle Advisory Commission and related speakers about pedestrian and bicycle safety and voted to keep Paper 25,037 in committee for further work and budget planning.

The discussion followed two recent pedestrian fatalities on state-controlled roads. Todd Blake, the city’s director of traffic and transportation, wrote that “the state, Mass Department of Transportation, Salem Street Rotary, and DCR, Misty Valley Parkway at Lakeview, and that High Street Rotary are working on plans to improve safety in these areas.” MassDOT’s concept plan for the Salem Street Rotary, shared by Blake, says it will focus on “realigning the curbing in and around the rotary to significantly reduce the width of the circulating roadway” and modifying radii to reduce travel speeds, with modifications targeted for implementation during this construction season as part of an I‑93 resurfacing project.

Why this matters: Councilors said the commission’s list of priorities will be used in upcoming FY26 budget discussions and in follow-up meetings about enforcement. Some safety steps can be done quickly on city-controlled streets;…