[Bruce Kulik]: Before we get started, I'd like to remind the audience to please mute their cell phones. Good evening and welcome to the Medford Democratic City Committee City Council Forum. The general election will be held November the 4th, with early voting beginning this Saturday, October the 25th. Tonight's program is being broadcast, streamed, and recorded for later playback by the Medford Community Media. My name is Bruce Kulik, and along with Phyllis Morrison, we are the co-chairs of the committee. All candidates, regardless of political affiliation, were invited to attend. Tonight we will hear from 10 of the 14 City Council candidates. Nate Merritt is unable to attend due to a previous family engagement. Paul Donato Jr. had a previous work commitment and is unable to attend. Rick Caraviello is recovering from knee replacement surgery and is unable to attend. His wife Cara will be arriving later this evening to deliver his closing statement. And George Scarpelli declined to participate. The moderators for tonight's forum will be myself and Phyllis. and we're joined by volunteers from Jumbo Vote, a nonpartisan student-run organization from the Titch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. The co-president of Jumbo Vote is Tegan Mastone. Tonight's volunteers also include our timekeepers, Julia Kiko, Macy D. Giuseppe, and stage managers Amy Zhao and Ella Hochman. We also have a volunteer from Medford High School, Jacob Yee, who will be operating the lights and providing technical assistance. The format of tonight's forum will consist of two rounds of questions and responses, with each candidate receiving one question in each round. We will then have each candidate deliver a closing statement. The order of speaking was determined by a random selection conducted earlier this week by members of the organizing committee, with candidates allowed to swap positions if they wanted to by mutual agreement. Each candidate will be allowed two minutes response time for each question and two minutes for the closing statement. The timekeeper will display a yellow card when 15 seconds remain and a red card when time has expired. The moderator will then tell the candidates that time is up. We will now introduce each candidate. When your name is called, please stand if able, greet the audience, and then please be seated. Justin Tseng. Liz Mullane, Matt Leming, Nick Guerrillo, Anna Callahan, Zach Bares, Melanie Tringali, Emily Lazzaro, Miranda Prezzino, and Patrick Clerkin. We will now conduct the Q&A portion of tonight's forum. The questions will be asked in two rounds, with each candidate responding in the order previously determined. We have developed several questions for tonight's forum. The questions will be drawn from a glass bowl by one of the student volunteers and provided to the moderator, who will then ask the question to the candidate. The candidate will then have two minutes to respond as they wish.
[Bruce Kulik]: That concludes the first round of questions. We will now proceed to round two. We have replaced the questions in the jar with a separate set for round two that will include different topics. The first question goes to Justin Tsang. The new charter would give the city ward representation on city council a four-year term for mayor with four-term limit and the ability of the school committee to elect its own chair, among other things. What is your position regarding passage of the new charter?
[Bruce Kulik]: Thank you, Justin. Next question is for Liz Mullane. How would you approach your role in oversight, funding, and collaboration with the Medford Comprehensive High School Building Committee to ensure a transparent and fiscally sound process?
[Bruce Kulik]: Thank you, Liz. The next question is for Matt Leming. What specific steps should the city take to support small businesses and local entrepreneurs while ensuring Medford's growth remains responsible, sustainable, and aligned with the needs of residents and the community?
[Bruce Kulik]: Thank you, Matt. The next question goes to Nick Girelio. Closer, Girelio. Girelio, thank you. I apologize.
[Bruce Kulik]: That's insulting. Please explain your position on whether using free cash to cover operating expenses is a fiscally sound policy and why.
[Bruce Kulik]: Thank you, Nick. The next question goes to Anna Callahan. Medford has many heat islands, a diminished tree canopy, and areas vulnerable to flooding. What is one specific action you would like to take to address climate change risk for Medford, and how would you pay for it?
[Bruce Kulik]: Thank you, Anna. The next question is for Zach Baird. What is your position on the current divestment policy recently vetoed by the mayor? How would you monitor and enforce it without undermining the city's fiscal flexibility or return on investments? Or, if you don't agree with it, what alternative ethical investment criteria, if any, would you propose?
[Bruce Kulik]: I'd like to note that at this time Carol Caraviello has joined us on stage. She will be delivering Rick Caraviello's closing statements shortly. The next question goes to Melanie Tringale. What city department do you feel is most in need of significant increase in its budget for the next fiscal year and why?
[Bruce Kulik]: Thank you. The next question goes to Emily Lazzaro. What specific tools, meetings, or outreach methods will you use to strengthen communication and engagement with the community?
[Bruce Kulik]: Thank you, Emily. I'd also like to remind the candidates at this time to refrain from invoking the names of other candidates in their responses. Thank you. The next question goes to Miranda Roseña. Did I say that right?
[Bruce Kulik]: Looking ahead five to ten years, what is your vision for Medford's future? What role do you see the city council playing in helping us get there?
[Bruce Kulik]: Thank you Miranda. And the final question tonight goes to Patrick Clurkin. If elected to Medford City Council, what is your top priority for the city? How do you plan to turn this into action? And what specific steps will you take to make measurable progress about that within your term?
[Bruce Kulik]: Thank you, Patrick.
[Bruce Kulik]: And welcome to the Medford Democratic City Committee School Committee Candidates Forum. Tonight's program is being broadcast, streamed and recorded for later playback by the Medford Community Media. My name is Bruce Kulik and along with Phyllis Morrison, who is absent tonight, we are the co-chairs of the committee. Tonight we will hear statements of responses to questions from all nine school committee candidates. The general election will be held November the 4th with early voting beginning October 25th. The moderators will be myself and Anita Tucker, who is a member of the committee. We are joined by volunteers from Jumbo Vote, a non-partisan student-run organization from the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. Tufts students' volunteers tonight include our timekeepers, Tegan Mastone, Dombian Kurt, Eleanor Shockney-Martello, Jules Zinn-Rothorn. We also have a volunteer from the Medford High, Jacob Yee, who is up in the booth operating the lights and providing technical assistance. Mayor Brianna Lungel has graciously declined to participate tonight to allow the focus to remain on the school committee candidates. The format of tonight's forum will consist of opening statements by each candidate, followed by questions and responses by each candidate, and concluded with a closing statement. The order of speaking was determined by random selection conducted earlier by members of the organizing committee, with candidates allowed to swap positions by mutual agreement. Candidate Intoppa has notified us he has additional personal engagement this evening and will need to leave early. He has designated Lacey Intoppa to deliver his closing statement. Each candidate will be allowed two minutes for the opening and closing statements as well as two minutes response time for each question. The timekeeper will display a yellow card when 15 seconds remain and a red card when time has expired. The moderator will then tell the candidate that time is up.
[Bruce Kulik]: Thank you to all the candidates for their opening statement. We will now conduct the Q&A portion of tonight's forum. The questions will be asked in three rounds with each candidate responding in the order previously determined. We have developed 27 questions for tonight's forum. Each candidate will draw a question from a glass bowl. The question will be provided to the moderator who will ask the questions to the candidate. The candidate will then have two minutes to respond as they wish. The first round begins with candidate Mastro Brioni. Please draw a question from the bowl and return to the volunteer.
[Bruce Kulik]: What motivates you to run for school committee and what particular skills or experience qualify you to serve? So to repeat the question. What motivates you to run for school committee and what particular skills or experience qualify you to serve?
[Bruce Kulik]: What do you believe the primary roles and responsibilities of a school committee are? Provide some examples of the differences between the school committee's role and the superintendent's role.
[Bruce Kulik]: Provide some examples of the difference between the school committee's role and the superintendent's role.
[Bruce Kulik]: John Intoppa. What are your views on school safety policies and disciplinary practices? What steps would you take to address behavioral and mental health challenges facing students and staff?
[Bruce Kulik]: Jenny Graham. Oh, excuse me, Jessica Parks. What ideas do you have to engage parents and taxpayers to ensure their voices are heard?
[Bruce Kulik]: Jenny Graham. What role do you think school committees should play in supporting the rights of gender-flexible students?
[Bruce Kulik]: Lisa Kingsley.
[Bruce Kulik]: What do you see is the district's greatest strengths and weaknesses regarding student achievement? What are you proud of? What would you like to see improved?
[Bruce Kulik]: Nicole Brandlue.
[Bruce Kulik]: Do you believe that students should have access in the classrooms to the personal devices like phones, tablets, laptops for research or learning tools? How should the school committee ensure equity for students who might be unable to afford such technology?
[Bruce Kulik]: Do you believe that students should have access in the classroom to their personal devices like phones, tablets, or laptops for research or to use learning tools? How should the school committee ensure equity for students who might be unable to afford such technology?
[Bruce Kulik]: Erika Reinfeld. Should we increase or reduce the resources applied to special needs or English language learners? Please explain.
[Bruce Kulik]: Paul Rousseau.
[Bruce Kulik]: Does Medford need a new high school building? Please provide examples supporting that choice.
[Bruce Kulik]: Does Medford need a new high school building? Please provide examples supporting that choice. That feels like a softball. Thank you. They were randomly assigned.
[Bruce Kulik]: That concludes the second round of questions. We will now proceed to the third and final round. Michael Mastrobianni. Massachusetts voters recently approved a measure to eliminate MCAS as a graduation requirement, but to retain it to assess student achievement and identify schools needing support. What is your perspective on the decline in MCAS scores post-COVID and the decision to eliminate it as a graduation requirement?
[Bruce Kulik]: What is your perspective on the possibility of federal budget allocation being subject to federal guidelines or curriculum and policy requirements, such as teaching the history of enslaved people, DEI policies, or the treatment of transgender students?
[Bruce Kulik]: As indicated earlier, John Antofa had to leave due to a previous personal commitment. We will then proceed now to Jessica Parks. Will you support a debt exclusion tax override to build or renovate a new Medford High School?
[Bruce Kulik]: OK. Next to Jenny Graham.
[Bruce Kulik]: We'll get out early this way.
[Bruce Kulik]: After-school programs have been an ongoing challenge for Medford. Do you think that after-school programs are important, and how would you help address this challenge?
[Bruce Kulik]: Lisa Kingsley. What are your views on the district's current literacy or math programs? Are there types of programs you would like to see put in place to provide more flexibility in instruction?
[Bruce Kulik]: Nicole Ranley. What can be done about improving the nutritional value of food provided to our students?
[Bruce Kulik]: What can be done about improving the nutritional value of food provided to our students?
[Bruce Kulik]: Erika Reinfeld. Around the nation, parents and groups have expressed concern about certain books being available to their children or used as optional teaching materials. Are there certain types of books or books with particular message or characters that we should restrict at any grade level?
[Bruce Kulik]: And finally, Paul Rousseau.
[Bruce Kulik]: I'll read it afterwards. All right. Medford currently has an interim superintendent What criteria and methods will you use to ensure that the best superintendent is selected from a broad range of internal and external candidates?
[Bruce Kulik]: At this time I would like to invite Lacey and Tapa to join us on stage. And while we're waiting, I will read the question, which is one I wish had been asked. How will you evaluate technology purchases to ensure they provide a strong return on investment? How should the school committee ensure equity for students who might be unable to afford internet at home? So you can all think about that and dream about it tonight.
[Bruce Kulik]: Thank you to all the candidates and thank you to the Medford Public Schools for allowing us the use of the auditorium. Also to the volunteers from Tufts and from Medford High and finally the staff here who helped us this evening to set up the stage, get everything ready. We truly appreciate your help. That concludes tonight's School Committee Candidate Forum. Please note that the Medford Democratic City Committee will hold a forum for City Council candidates next Thursday at 7 p.m. here in the Caron Theater. and it will be broadcast, streamed, and recorded by Medford Public Media. Thank you for attending and viewing this forum. Have a good night.
[Bruce Kulik]: All right, everybody, if you have a chair, please take a seat. There's still a couple here and a couple over here. Otherwise, I believe we're ready to get started. Welcome tonight's candidate, a forum put on by the Medford Democratic City Committee. Our intention was to invite all the candidates to share with the citizens of Medford who they are and why they are running for office. I'm happy to announce that all the candidates expressed interest in attending. Also, before we move on, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Bruce Kulik. I'm co-chair of the Medford Democratic City Committee, along with Phyllis Morrison, who will also be our timekeeper tonight. Unfortunately, George Scarpelli and Justin Tseng are unable to attend in person due to previous commitments. Mr. Scarpelli sends his regrets, and Mr. Tseng has asked Jessica Attadio to represent him in his absence. Additionally, Matt Leming has indicated that he unfortunately needs to leave early, so if you see him bolt out, that's the reason for it. This event is also being broadcast and recorded for later replay on the Medford Government Channel, which is 22 for Comcast and 43 for Verizon, and via YouTube live stream at YouTube at Medford Community Media and 391. We have also published a list of websites, Facebook and Instagram IDs supplied by the candidates. There are cards distributed around the room with this information and a QR code to access the recording and Medford Democrat webpage directly. Additionally, the Medford Democratic City Committee plans to hold additional forums in October before the general election. We'll let everybody know when that's going to occur. Before I continue, I'd like to acknowledge any non-municipal elected officials who are in attendance. I didn't see anybody come in. Oh, stand please. So I'm looking for non-municipal candidates and elected officials. Yes. Elections Commission. Okay, thank you. Anybody else? I think we're all set with that. We will first introduce all the candidates, followed by each candidate speaking for up to three minutes. Any remaining time will be used to allow the audience to interact directly with the candidates on a one-to-one basis. Due to the time limitations, there will be no questions asked to the candidates and no questions from the audience. Please hold your applause until each candidate has finished their talk. And with that, Phyllis will introduce the candidates and continue with the program.
[Bruce Kulik]: Number 13, Melanie.
[Bruce Kulik]: Good evening, everyone, and thank you all for coming and for those of you who are watching on TV. On behalf of Paul Donato, I would like to welcome you to tonight's City Council Candidates Night. And I'd also like to thank Henry Milleron, the Ward 6 Chair, for organizing this event this evening. Thank you, Henry.
[Bruce Kulik]: All right, thank you very much.
[Bruce Kulik]: Name and address for the record, please. I'm Bruce Kulik, 168 Grove Street in Medford, and also the vice chair of the Medford Bicycle Advisory Commission. And I just wanted to make two points. One is the Medford Bicycle Advisory Commission voted several meetings ago to actually endorse this project, and we are looking forward to it moving forward. I want to make sure that people were aware of that. The second, um, I was not actually at the committee, the whole meeting. So perhaps this information didn't come up there, but it was just misreported, but it was alleged that the path would be traversing private property. And from all the analysis we've done in looking at the city assessor records and so forth, what we have seen is that the path itself, in fact, will not be traversing any private property, but rather an amalgam of city, DCR, highway department, and land that's under the control of the, I believe the Medford Housing Department, as well as one private development for which the Commonwealth has an easement. So it's our belief that we have all the property in place as long as each of those government agencies is willing to be able to go forward with it. I wanted to clarify that.
[Bruce Kulik]: I do believe that there are some stretches that are fairly narrow, but nonetheless are wide enough for the path to be placed and to provide an adequate buffer to the property. But that's clearly something the design team will be looking at to make sure that that fits properly.
[Bruce Kulik]: Thank you. Thank you.
[Bruce Kulik]: Good evening, I'm Bruce Kulik, 168 Grove Street. And initially we were told that we would not be able to campaign here for or against, but that seems to have been violated by many. Obviously, I am for the CPA. I'm one of the people who have helped to gather the signatures to get it onto the ballot, and I feel very passionately about it. Additionally, there have been a number of innuendos that really are not accurate, the biggest being the one talking about money being transferred. Well, if you have a problem with the money being transferred from poorer communities to the richer communities, that should be taken up at the state level, because it was set up to provide a general fund in which cities and towns that passed the CPA would actually receive these funds. So those communities that aren't receiving any of these funds are communities that have not passed the CPA. So for us to receive money from this general fund in the state, and this is extra money that comes into Medford. This is not money that is on your tax bill. This is money that we have already paid, and we're just sending it away because we don't have the CPA here. That's very important. So the CPA is something that if we pass, we do get the matching funds. The previous speaker was correct. In 2014, I'm sorry. Yes.
[Bruce Kulik]: I'm speaking to that right now. Speaking to that concern right now. You're going to talk about the percentages? I'm speaking to that exactly right now.
[Bruce Kulik]: Exactly. What I was saying is that in 2014, the state match was 31%. In 2013, it was 52%. We don't know exactly what that amount is. That's absolutely true. In future years, the percentage could be less. I did recently read, however, in the Boston Globe that there is a move afoot to provide additional funding into the CPA at the state level. I think that's a great idea. I don't know whether that's going to happen. But nonetheless, what will happen is we will not get any of that money if we do not have the CPA.
[Bruce Kulik]: You may continue, sir. Certainly. So if I'm making an investment of some sort and my stockbroker tells me that I'm going to get 18 percent on that investment, I don't know about you, but I'm going to make that investment. Eighteen percent. You don't get that kind of return on anything now.
[Bruce Kulik]: You know, it doesn't matter whether it's taxpayers' money or whether it's your own investment. If you look at the arithmetic, you're putting a certain amount of money out there, and you're getting an 18% return on it. I mean, that seems to me like that's the kind of thing exactly that we ought to be doing and embracing to see how we can get more money here. You know, there's other factors here that need to be clarified, because in addition to claiming that this is against the communities that are not so wealthy, it's because these other communities have had the wherewithal to pass the Community Preservation Act. That's why they're reaping the benefits more quickly than we are. So a couple items that really need to be pointed out here, and let me just look at my notes to say. There was a mention about infrastructure and it was implied that the infrastructure would go to things like fixing potholes or streets or that sort of thing. But in fact, there's a strong limit to what the CPA funds will permit. We have historic preservation and kind of ironic how one of the concerns was the bathrooms at the library. It's my recollection that that building is a historic building. Now, you might not think of it as historic because it doesn't have fantastic architecture, but, you know, it's an artifact of the 60s or whenever it was built. That is a historic building. That could be restored. That could include making those bathrooms fully accessible. It could include many things in that regard. So it's kind of ironic that people are saying, well, maybe we should put the money towards that. Well, here is an avenue that will put the money towards that. Similarly, the police station, maybe that's not quite so historic. And probably, in order to get that built, it would need to be raised and rebuilt. I think that ought to be done. I think that our police station currently is a disgrace. But if we put money towards that, then we're not going to have any money to go to the items that are earmarked by the CPA. So other people were saying we have alternatives, a tax cut. Well, that'll sure give us the money that we need. And jobs? Yeah, I think it'd be great if we can encourage people to have jobs. the earmark on the money has to go to the items that are on the CPA. Additionally, there was a comment made that If your property is worth a lot of money, you're going to end up paying a lot more. Well, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. That's generally how property taxes work. If you're making a lot more money, if your property is worth a lot more money, then people are going to have to pay more money on the commercial end. But the biggest impact people are concerned about is residences. And there's a couple things that I do want to point out here. We have, for example, In addition to the $100,000 initial exemption from your property, there are exemptions for low income and for low and moderate income seniors. Now, I took a look at the numbers that are low income and low and moderate income for seniors, and I was kind of shocked by that. You know, these are not numbers that if you were in the middle of Kansas, people would say are low or low and moderate income. We're looking here. For example, if you've got a household size of one, and you're a senior, which incidentally is 60 plus. I'm not gonna figure out who is 60 plus behind the rail here. I will be shortly, but not yet. In any event, 68,950, that's almost $69,000 a year. And that's income. That does not include net worth. That does not include your investments. $69,000 for a household size of one for a senior. If you happen to have a household size of two, that's $78,800, nearly $79,000. So you can apply then to have an abatement, significant abatement, on the CPA for that matter. So I think we can say pretty easily that If you're a senior and you have low or moderate income, you're not going to be paying, and it's not going to be costing you anything with regard to the CPA. Similarly, the low income maximum, well, those numbers are lower, of course, but there's still $55,000 for a household of one, $55,000. So that's considered to be the low income maximum if you're making underneath that. So we do these numbers, and we came up with some averages of what people will be paying. And I'll recite them again, because I think these are accurate. For the first year, and you're right, as your property taxes go up, the amount's going to go up. You're going to be paying that. Costs are going up. I think most people think that's only reasonable, that as costs go up, you should expect to be paying more taxes as a result. So if your assessed value is $300,000 on your property, you're going to have an approximate income of $35. So I don't know, what is that? Three cases of beer, a couple bottles of decent wine, go out to dinner at McDonald's. $400,000, $53 a year. And of course, it is going to go up. The more your property is worth, the more you're going to end up having to pay. I did have just a few other points here regarding it. We had a talk about the excise tax, the other taxes, the so-called tax excuse that's not being used for any of these facilities. And that's partly because they've not been earmarked to it. You know, we have, I think the one area that we probably do a decent job of here in the city, we do have open space with recreation. City council has earmarked money for that. But there's other areas that we could really use the money. And I know you guys have trouble coming up with the money, figuring out where it is, approving the budgets, et cetera, to do that. Things like- Mr. Citizen, you have one more moment. Okay, thank you. I appreciate that. Things like paths along the Mystic River. That's something which is developing a lot of momentum right now and could be funded through this. Things like the Royal House. Some of the churches around here, I've been told, need new roofs. Those are probably historic buildings, and those are the kinds of things they could apply. And then to bring it back again, once the committees, which consist of five people that are not directly appointed by the mayor, they are mandated to be with particular commissions that the city already has, and then the other four, optionally, can be selected by ordinance. that you folks will be presenting. You'll be coming up with the ordinance that has who is on that committee. That committee only makes recommendations that then need to come back to the city council, just like any other appropriation does. So the mechanism is really the same. It's a way of funding specific things. And it's something which I think the city of Medford should really consider and vote yes on. Thank you.
[Bruce Kulik]: Bruce Kulik, 168 Grove Street. And to the gentleman who just spoke, I did say that the appointments were not directly by the mayor. The commissions themselves vote amongst their members. And I do believe that the members would have been appointed by the mayor, but it is not a direct appointment to the CPA commission. Additionally, I need to reiterate here. Please do. I pointed out that there are exemptions for the CPA to precisely address the gentleman who was concerned about our seniors and veterans and so forth being thrown out on the street. Well, that's not what's going to happen as a result of passing the CPA. Once again, if the household size is one, a senior who is 60 or older who is making under 68, 950 can file for an exemption. So they do have to take a little bit of action, they need to file for the exemption. But that's not a low income person who is living on Social Security alone who is then going to have to pay this additional 1.5 surtax. And the number goes up, as I said, with a household size of four, you're up to almost $100,000. That's 98,500. And frankly, I don't consider 98,500 to be really much of a low income. I don't know about you folks, but maybe I'm living in a different world. So I just wanted to clarify those and reiterate those numbers so that people knew that this was not going to throw seniors out into the street as a result. Thank you.
[Bruce Kulik]: Bruce Kulik, Grove Street. I would like to say thank you to the council for considering this matter. I think it is very important and that I'm here primarily tonight to listen to hear what any objections there might be or what other ideas people might have. I believe, as has been pointed out by Councilor Knight, you have the information about where the proposals were. And from that, that should be, I believe, sufficient for most people to understand whether or not their area is affected. And you had a primary question, actually, that you would ask.
[Bruce Kulik]: I can't be responsible for that. I don't know when the mayor dispatched them.
[Bruce Kulik]: I recommend that you might visit Arlington or Somerville, maybe Cambridge, and you can see how it's applied at those places, which are done basically to DOT and AASHTO standards, which are both adopted by the state.
[Bruce Kulik]: Good start. I expect full vetting of the Traffic Commission as well.
[Bruce Kulik]: For that information.
[Bruce Kulik]: Cyclists are basically just like any other traffic. They have the exact same rights as all motor vehicles, except for being on interstate highways. That means that you're responsible for merging with bicycle traffic just as you would any other slower traffic that might be there. to address Councilor Penta's point. Any two lanes come together, whoever is in front at that point in time has the right of way and the person behind has to yield or overtake safely. Thank you.
[Bruce Kulik]: and all of that, so. There's no regulation about clothing at this point, other than your possibility of adding something to the state, which you brought up a couple of weeks ago. However, there is no currently anything that requires clothing. There are reflection standards that need to be met, lighting standards, and of course, you're right, part of the responsibility of being on the road is to follow the same rules of the road that all other traffic does as well.
[Bruce Kulik]: That's correct.
[Bruce Kulik]: We've reviewed them through Google images and other photographs that we have. Um, there are some places where we'd be interested in finding actual road widths, um, before we would make any recommendation to the traffic commission or to the city about.
[Bruce Kulik]: Certainly.
[Bruce Kulik]: I will say this is one of the strangest city council meetings I've been to. Nice and festive.
[Bruce Kulik]: No, in fact, that's another area that we are considering a recommendation to the city, which would be at some point the purchase of additional bicycle parking facilities. Many of the recent private developments that have gone in have put in very good modern racks, and we really appreciate that. But within the squares, for example, that does become a question because nothing is discouraging like going to find a place to park your bike and not really having a place when you want to go to a merchant that you want to buy something. So I think it is important that there be sufficient bicycle parking in the squares as well as automobile parking.
[Bruce Kulik]: At some point once we've, you know, there's a lot of work to do. And, uh, as it's been pointed out, we're all volunteers and you know, we get, get done what we can get done. But that is one of the ideas we have for future recommendations.
[Bruce Kulik]: That would be if it passes muster with all the people that have financial control. I mean, obviously it's an extra, an extra item, but it certainly would be useful. Right.
[Bruce Kulik]: I'm going to bring my bike in here and sit on it more quickly.
[Bruce Kulik]: Well, as part of the educational piece that we're putting forward, as you pointed out, honoring the rules of the road, both by bicyclists and by motorists, is a very important facet. And to encourage the police department to watch for and enforce both for bicyclists and for motor vehicles, I think would be an important item. As well as any sort of detailed reporting of any incidents that might occur that involve a bicycle. That's something which across the state, a lot of times it's varied and there's not as much information as you'd like to see. as far as what might have happened that caused the collision, whether it's something that bicyclists did, something motorists did, that's always, I know it's not always easy to figure out what happened after an incident, but that would be useful. Okay, great.
[Bruce Kulik]: I think that was Ben Everbrook at the time. And Saving Lives, I think, was the group. And there were several, I think about a half dozen, put throughout the city in some areas.
[Bruce Kulik]: The bike lanes would be put in with whatever paint presumably is used for the rest of the street markings and would have the same maintenance schedule.
[Bruce Kulik]: I couldn't tell you what that is.
[Bruce Kulik]: Well, can you tell me how often the lines are redone? Not often. I couldn't tell you that. I just know that you become part of the street and um, unless they're being removed, they would be repainted on whatever schedule the streets are being refreshed.
[Bruce Kulik]: Thermoplastic would certainly be longer wearing, as we've seen on all markings. There are some paints that are less slippery than others. And generally, that's not an issue, except where the lane is painted with green paint that you may have seen. If that's done with thermoplastic, that's not a good idea. Other than that, it's more expensive and longer lasting. Thank you. Thank you.
[Bruce Kulik]: Bruce Kulik, Grove Street. I am the chairman of the Medford Bicycle Advisory Commission. One of the additional areas that I believe was on the docket was the stretch from Magoon Square into Medford, which has just been recently repaved and either recently re-striped or about to be re-striped.
[Bruce Kulik]: Yes, we're developing a master plan that involves basically a staged approach starting very conservatively to begin with until people become accustomed to them and working our way towards additional streets. Also in conjunction with the mayor as far as, you know, what he believes to be the best applications.
[Bruce Kulik]: Right now, we've worked with the DPW, gotten some estimates from them, and we have a sense of how much per mile, per bike lane things cost, but I don't recall what those numbers are.
[Bruce Kulik]: Yeah, for sure.
[Bruce Kulik]: There are basically two types of pavement markings that can be applied depending upon the width of the street, traffic considerations, and so forth. The first and one of the most common is referred to as a SHARO, which is basically just a reminder regarding state law which permits bicycle operation within a full lane at any time at the discretion of the bicycle operator. So those chero is basically look like a bicycle symbol with a couple hats on top of the large chevrons is what they're actually called. And you can see them in some of the neighboring communities, particularly on College Avenue is one of the closest ones within Somerville near Tufts. The other pavement markings are actual bike lanes, which are generally five feet wide, and depending upon whether parking is permitted on the street and how wide the street itself is, might be outside the parking lane, or rather, it might be between the parking lane and the traffic lane, or might be all the way against the curb, again, depending upon whether parking is permitted. In the case of Winthrop Street, we will be looking at exactly where those go. I don't recall whether parking is permitted on that stretch of Winthrop Street or not, or whether parking is generally used in that area. On Playstead Road, certainly parking is permitted, so likely the bicycle lanes will be between the parking lane and the general traffic lane.
[Bruce Kulik]: No, we're referring to the stretch between the Winchester town line and approximately Wildwood Street, which is near the high school.
[Bruce Kulik]: The absolute minimum is four feet wide, and that is only to be used in places where it's permissible, depending upon the width of the lane. We've recently gotten some standards that are being used by the town of Arlington regarding decisions as to where bicycle lanes, how wide, whether share or should go in or whether there should be no markings at all, depending upon traffic volumes and width of the street. And that was really well put together for them. And we hope to adopt that at our next general meeting, which will be December the 3rd, so that we can have some guidance as to what other towns have done, where lanes have been put in. But generally, five feet, to answer your question, five feet is the preferred minimum.
[Bruce Kulik]: Bicycle signs. I believe that's part of the $25,000, and I don't know whether they're manufactured locally or purchased.