Melrose Ped-Bike Committee Wins State Award
By Ellen Putnam
The Melrose Ped-Bike Committee at the State House last month
Photo From Ped-Bike
Last month, the Melrose Pedestrian and Bicyclist Committee (Ped-Bike) was recognized by Massachusetts Safe Routes to School (SRTS) with the Community Collaboration award at SRTS’ annual awards ceremony at the Massachusetts State House. The award recognizes the Ped-Bike Committee’s work with schools, city government, and other stakeholders to promote safe travel to school.
The Melrose Ped-Bike Committee was formed in 2012, and has seen several iterations since then, including as a city commission; on Zoom during the pandemic; and now, as an all-volunteer advisory committee that meets monthly at Leading Edge on Main Street. Their goal is “to improve conditions for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders in the city,” which they promote by advocating for pedestrian- and bike-friendly improvements to city streets and promoting safe walking and biking in the city.
“The people on this committee are trying to show everyone - the city government and other people in Melrose - that there are other ways of living your life than being dependent on a car,” said longtime group member Ellen Katz. “It’s about exposing people to new ideas: things that will really help the community and the planet.”
The Ped-Bike Committee is open to anyone who wants to work on improving the experience of walking and biking in Melrose; new members are welcome to just show up at a Thursday evening meeting. “People can really participate as little or as much as they want,” Katz added, “and the group is very accepting of that.”
“We moved here in 2018, and it’s given me an incredible sense of community,” added member Brian Gregory, “Most of the friends I have in town are on Ped-Bike.”
Some members joined the group as part of a larger effort to make Melrose more sustainable, with the goal of helping make low-carbon transportation feasible for more residents. Others joined to make running, biking, hiking, and other recreational activities safer and more enjoyable.
And others joined the committee to advocate for children, many of whom rely on bikes and walking to get around without parents driving them. “Our most vulnerable road users don’t have the same voice in government that we do,” said Gregory. “There are gaggles of kids biking around all the streets, and it’s important for me, as someone with a young family, to feel that someone has their interests at heart.”
The Melrose Ped-Bike Committee at the State House last month
Photo From Ped-Bike
Many of Ped-Bike’s goals are focused not on changing what people love about Melrose, but enhancing the things that drew or kept people here in the first place.
“A lot of people move to or stay in Melrose because it’s this beautifully well planned town,” said member Kara Oberg. “It’s close to the Fells, the Orange Line, the commuter rail, and it's a walkable grid. The bones are so good. The Ped-Bike Committee draws people who moved here for the “suburb-lite” lifestyle, who don’t want to drive everywhere. It’s an avenue to actually do things and make positive change in the city.”
“Melrose was laid out before cars existed,” added Gregory. “The streets used to be more shared and equitable. It wasn’t a car-built community. Melrose’s population peaked in 1970,” he went on, “but the traffic is getting worse and worse, because people are driving more. What used to be a casual relationship on the roads now needs more intervention because it’s getting less safe.”
The Ped-Bike Committee advocates for legislation that benefits pedestrians and bicyclists through the City Council, such as the recent snow clearing ordinance; for changes to traffic regulations through the Traffic Commission; and for road design changes and traffic calming measures such as speed bumps through the Department of Public Works.
Last year, Ped-Bike member Colleen Conway started a new initiative to promote the safety of kids biking to school: the Horace Mann Bike Bus, which has become a popular biweekly event in the Horace Mann neighborhood. Kids bike to school together, and help raise awareness of the issue of keeping kids safe as they walk or bike to school.
Plans are now in the works to form bike buses at other elementary schools in town. Parents or other community members who are interested in starting or helping with one can reach out to Conway at colleenconway88@gmail.com.
The Ped-Bike Committee’s work in pushing for improved street safety and encouraging people of all ages in Melrose to take advantage of walking or biking to get around led to its recognition by the Safe Routes to School program in the Community Collaboration award.
Ped-Bike members recognize that Melrose’s current financial challenges make it difficult for the city to engage in major new initiatives, but there is a lot the city can do that is either low-cost or that fits into the road repaving and repair work the city already does.
“Everyone here loves this place and wants to make it better,” reflected member Walker Robins. “It’s great to be around motivated people who do good work.”