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Councilor Ladov proposes resident-led Complete Streets advisory committee to address pedestrian safety
Summary
Councilor Ladov told the municipal safety committee she wants a resident-led Complete Streets advisory committee to coordinate sidewalk, ADA and traffic-calming priorities, prepare the city for grants and advise departments; the council approved motions to request a school committee representative and to add a fire department representative.
Councilor Ladov proposed creating a resident-led Complete Streets, Transportation and Pedestrian Safety advisory committee to coordinate pedestrian-safety priorities and bolster the city’s grant readiness.
Ladov, speaking to the municipal safety committee, said the idea grew from years of constituent concerns about speeding, broken sidewalks and unsafe walking conditions for children, seniors and people with disabilities. “This is something really close to my heart,” she said, and described a committee that would be advisory, data-driven and collaborative across departments.
The proposal calls for one resident from each ward, a city council member, and departmental liaisons — including representatives from the police department, Department of Public Services, the Historical Commission and the Disability Commission. Ladov said the committee would not have enforcement power or its own budget, would operate under open-meeting rules and would meet monthly to identify projects, review safety data and prioritize short- and long-term solutions.
Ladov described a three-tiered approach: an initial project-identification phase (one to six months), a data-review phase and a prioritization phase aimed at improving the city’s competitiveness for grants. She said potential grant projects could range from about $500,000 to $1 million.
The mayor signaled support in a letter read into the record and indicated the mayor’s office will help appoint departmental representatives. William Pitz, director of the Department of Public Services, said DPS looks forward to advising on pedestrian safety and described recent local roadway work, including Main Street lane reductions and MassDOT-led projects that aim to improve pedestrian accommodations.
Council members broadly supported the idea and proposed additions. Councilor Roseno asked that a school committee representative be added because certain safe-pathway grants have required school-committee review; the committee voted to request that the school committee appoint a representative. Councilor Hawkman suggested adding a fire-department representative because the fire department controls some traffic signaling; the committee moved to add the fire department as a representative and the motion was placed on the floor and voted.
Councilor Turo cautioned against inflating the committee’s size, saying repeatedly adding members could make the group unwieldy; members agreed the group’s participation could be flexible and that communications and minutes would keep interested stakeholders informed.
Dagmar Whitaker, HR director and chair of the Disability Commission, said she would convene potential disability-commission representatives and report back. Jeff Bud, chair of the Historical Commission, said his commission would act in an advisory role on projects that touch historic sidewalks and sites.
Next steps: Councilor Ladov said she will contact ward councilors and asked for about a month for each ward to name a resident representative so the committee can be constituted and begin meeting.
The municipal safety committee adjourned after approving motions to receive late communications, to request a school-committee representative and to add a fire-department representative.
