Election 2017: Questions for City Council Candidates: Expanding the Northern Strand Bike Trail

The 2017 Malden City Council elections are approaching. The Municipal Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. A preliminary election on Sept. 19 determined the final candidates.

To help Malden voters decide on which candidates to support, a group of citizens organized by Prisco Tammaro, a Malden resident, in partnership with local media,  developed a series of “Quality of Life” questions for City Council candidates.

The questions were sent to the candidates in August with instructions on how to respond. The questions ranged from issues of affordable housing to development, grant writing and bike trails. Neighborhood View will run the answers to these questions every Friday for the next three weeks.

This week’s question is about the  Northern Strand Community Trail, also known as the Bike to the Sea Trail. The Northern Strand Community Trail is a 9-mile  bike path  and walking trail that connects Malden, Everett, Revere, Saugus and Lynn along the former Boston & Maine Railroad’s Saugus Branch Railroad. The trail is part of the East Coast Greenway, a project planning to connect almost 3,000 miles of trail. The path has been planned by Bike to the Sea, a non-profit cycling advocacy group, with help from the surrounding cities. Source: Wikipedia. Here’s a YouTube video of what it’s like to bike on the path.

Question 1: Would you support an initiative to create a network of separated bike lanes and pedestrian friendly ways that would connect every neighborhood to the Northern Strand Community Trail? YES or NO?

Question 2: Would you support a zone update to attract businesses to open on the Northern Strand Community Trail? YES or NO and up to 25-word explanation.

Note: NR indicates No Response.

Dave D’Arcangelo, Councilor At-Large, Incumbent

1. Yes
2. Yes, where appropriate. No, most of the paths should remain passive recreational space.

Debbie A. DeMaria, Councilor At-Large, Incumbent

1. Yes

2. I would support some zoning updates. However, businesses along the bike path would have to be consistent with the neighborhoods and ward Councilor recommended.

Craig Spadafora , Councilor At-Large, Incumbent

1. Yes

2. Yes, However, zoning should not result in higher density. It should encourage older commercial properties to be reinvented for the city needs. Restaurants, small shops, etc.

    

Stephen P. Winslow, Councilor At-Large, Challenger

1. Yes

2. Yes, I previously submitted a draft zoning update calling for trail-orientated businesses and neighborhood-scale housing that the Council did not act on

Peg Crowe, Ward 1, Incumbent

1. NR
2. NR

Paul A, Condon, Ward 2, Incumbent

1. NR
2. NR

John P. Matheson, Ward 3, Incumbent

1. Yes

2. I voted to create the Bike Trail, but residents deserve the right to decide zoning in their own neighborhoods, not have it forced on them.

Candace L. Julyan, Ward 3, Challenger 

1. Yes

2. Yes. I strongly support finding ways to increase revenue to Malden that reduces property taxes.

Ryan J. O’Malley, Ward 4, Incumbent

1. Yes

2. Yes. The property adjacent to the NSCT
   should be rezoned to encourage more commercial development which includes a setback from the trail with landscaping/lighting standards.

    

Barbara M. Murphy, Ward 5, Incumbent

1. NR
2. NR

David Camell, Ward 6, Non-Incumbent

1. Yes

2. Yes. I support both commercial development and the usability of the trail.

    

Jerry Leone, Ward 6, Non-incumbent

1. No
2. No

Neal Anderson, Ward 7, Incumbent

1. Yes

2. Yes. I was enthusiastic about a similar proposal in 2015 and would be interested in reviving discussion of zoning incentives adjacent to the bike path.

Scott Ciccone, Ward 7, Challenger 

1.  No

2. Yes. Malden certainly needs to attract more businesses that will generate good-paying jobs for our residents.

Jadeane M. Sica, Ward 8, Incumbent 

1. Yes

2. Yes. I am in support of small local businesses. We already have some wonderful businesses abutting this trail that could also benefit from this.

Richard J. Correale Sr., Ward 8, Challenger

1. NR
2. NR

Note: Candidates Peter Anastasia, Ward 8 Challenger, Joseph S. Gray, Ward 6, Non-incumbent, and Jennifer Lynn McClain, Ward 3, Challenger, did not receive enough votes in the Sept. 19 preliminary election to advance.

Previous Quality-of-Life Questions 

Sept. 15: Candidates’ answers to questions about future development at the former Malden Hospital site

The deadline to register to vote in the Municipal Election is Oct. 18, 2017. For general information, please see: http://www.cityofmalden.org/vote

To check your registration status, click here https://www.sec.state.ma.us/VoterRegistrationSearch/MyVoterRegStatus.aspx

To find out where you vote, please see http://www.sec.state.ma.us/WhereDoIVoteMA/bal/MyElectionInfo.aspx

Photos for this feature were taken from the City of Malden website and candidates’  social media sites, where available.