Photos & Story by Marianne Salza
Revere residents offered their input on the City of Revere and Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s (MAPC) drafting designs on infrastructure improvements that will make traversing through the city safer and more accessible during the May 21 Walk, Bike, and Roll Event at Revere High School (RHS).
“I think it’s a big concern,” explained Tom Skwierawski, Chief of Planning and Community Development, City of Revere. “One of the main concerns people tell us is traffic. “The ultimate goal would be to have safe places where people can get from one end of the city to the other and don’t need a car.”
Skwierawski revealed that there is a general agreement among residents that streets and rotaries are too congested and unsafe for pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists. Once opinions are gathered, the City of Revere and MAPC will release a plan to the community.
“The plan is building out a network of on and off-street connections that can make it easier for people to walk, bike, and roll in Revere, and building strategies and goals to figure out how we can get this funded, and make sure these accommodations get plowed and maintained.”
Skwierawski noted that a separated bike lane will be installed this spring along Bennington Street, connecting Revere to East Boston. He also mentioned that a pedestrian signal is anticipated to be installed on American Legion Highway near RHS this upcoming fall or next spring.
Revere High School freshman, Farah Meghraoua, a Shirley Avenue neighborhood resident, shared that having alternate, safe paths to meet up with friends in Hill Park would be more convenient, and help her feel more independent.
“It’s hard. I have to use a car and bother my parents,” said Farah. “I’d like to see safer routes for kids near Bell Circle. It’s bad. Cars are coming everywhere.”
Former Revere resident, Stuart Garfield, proposed a bike path along the existing Narrow Gauge Rail Trail to improve the connection that runs parallel to Revere Beach, leading to Lynn.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation will be partnering with Bike to the Sea, taking a few of their designs to full construction. Bike to the Sea is an organization that supports and advocates for the Northern Strand Rail Trail that travels from Everett to Lynn.
Remy Fung, Civil Designer, Howard Stein Hudson, explained that the transportation engineering firm based in Boston is in the high-level planning stages of its Revere Beach Connector project, linking families throughout the City of Revere.
“The three routes are paths we’ve identified as beneficial to different parts of the community connecting schools, or maybe connecting commercial areas to residential areas,” described Fung. “All of them will eventually get to Revere Beach.”
Fung was soliciting feedback regarding route preferences and safety concerns during the Walk, Bike, and Roll event. She feels that public safety on the road is worrisome for many residents; especially for children, and individuals who mainly walk or use another mode of transportation besides driving a vehicle.
“It’s an important problem,” Fung emphasized. “We don’t know which segment will be done first; but we hope it gets done soon.”
The Walk, Bike, Roll Event featured pizza, free bike repairs, local vendors, a smoothie-churning bike, raffles, and giveaways. Skwierawski hopes that the gathering raised interest and excitement about the plan; and that people will continue offering recommendations about the routes they most often take or would like to take.
Learn more about proposed improvements by visiting mapc.ma/revere-walk-bike-roll.
