THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, September 8, 2023 Page 15 ROUNDUP | FROM PAGE 1 cil Order read: 307-23 Order: That the following non-binding question be included on the November 7, 2023 Municipal Election ballot, subject to review, edit and approval of the City Clerk and City Solicitor. Should the City of Malden remove all bus and bike lanes from Route 60, return any funds required, and prohibit any future bus lanes or bike lanes from being approved that would cause an elimination of motor vehicle traffi c lanes or inhibit parking in the city?" The second, related, proposed Order read: 308-23 Order: That the following non-binding question be included on the November 7, 2023 Municipal Election ballot, subject to review, edit and approval of the City Clerk and City Solicitor. Should the City of Malden remove and prohibit any future bike lanes, which create traffi c lanes that are bumped out at any point after the beginning or end of any street?" The impetus for the ballot question request came from a new activist group recently formed in Malden called "Keep Malden Moving". In a statement on the website Change.org, which sponsors petition drives, which Keep Malden is pursuing, they made the following statement: We (Keep Malden Moving) respectfully request that you take immediate action: - Remove all existing bus and bike lanes from Route 60. - Return any funds allocated towards these lanes to their original source. - Prohibit any future approval of bus or bike lanes that would result in the elimination of motor vehicle traffic lanes or hinder parking availability. "By doing so, you will alleviate traffi c congestion, improve safety conditions, and ensure that the needs of all commuters are considered when planning transportation projects in our city." Before taking a vote on the matter, all of the Councillors agreed that the promised re-signalization of the traffic lights at all of the intersections where the painted bus and bicycle lanes exist — which never happened— was the main reason for the massive traffi c congestion. "The lights are the key— that has not been addressed and now we have a disaster," Ward 1 Councillor Peg Crowe. Ward 8 Councillor Jadeane Sica, who was listed as a sponsor of the two ballot question resolutions — which she stressed as a courtesy to Malden residents who asked for her assistance in placing it on the Council agenda — noted that it would be possible to come with alternative solutions to the overall issue. "Why do we have to have these lanes open 24-7? Is it not possible to have a limit on the hours to relieve traffi c congestion? We have to look at everything. We have to address this," Councillor Sica added. In a memorandum to the Council, Mayor Gary Christenson specifi cally referred to progress being made in the re-signalization on the Route 60/Centre Street corridor and plans for a formal traffi c study to be undertaken both before and after the traffi c signal changes. The vote on adding the ballot question failed by an 8-3 vote, with Councillors Sica, Craig Spadafora (at large) and Barbara Murphy (Ward 5) voting in favor and Councillors Peg Crowe (Ward 1), Paul Condon (Ward 2), Amanda Linehan (Ward 3), Ryan O'Malley (Ward 4), Stephen Winslow (Ward 6), Chris Simonelli (Ward 7), Karen Colon Hayes (at large) and Carey McDonald (at large) voting against. Middlesex Sheriff’s Office staff distributes backpacks to children of incarcerated individuals B ILLERICA, Mass. — With school starting across the county, members of the Middlesex Sheriff ’s Offi ce staff recently distributed nearly 40 backpacks to children and younger siblings of individuals incarcerated at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction. On Saturday, August 18, leaders of the MSO Family Support Services Unit and Education Department spent the day meeting with families as they picked up backpacks fi lled with supplies and chose from a wide array of age-appropriate books. The backpacks, supplies and books were generously donated by Concord Prison Outreach, which works with the offi ce on a number of initiatives. In addition, The Discovery Museum in Acton donated family passes. Pictured from left to right: M iddlese x C oun ty Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian, Family Resource and Outreach Coordinator Lili Bonilla and Dir e c t or of Education Lisa Aubin hold three of the backpacks that were distributed on Saturday, August 18. (Photo courtesy of the Middlesex Sheriff ’s Offi ce.)
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