Medford City Hall will hold an open meeting tonight for the public to hear and discuss a new and "final" proposal for revitalizing Medford Square.
The aim of the proposed plan is to rejuvenate the Square to make it more pedestrian and car-friendly and to foster a better environment.
The plan includes improvements to traffic flow and to also incorporate a riverside park, new parking lots and possibly a parking garage. The plan also calls for a widening of one-way streets to accommodate two-way traffic, space for plazas and outdoor cafes, and improvement of green space and aesthetics of the Square.
According to Tufts' Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel, "Tufts used to be better connected to Medford Square." The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Association (MBTA) No. 94 Bus used to go from Tufts to both Davis and Medford Squares. But, according to Rubel, this bus route ended in the '90s when the College Avenue Bridge was under construction, and the bus route has yet to be re-routed since.
Sasaki, Inc., a consulting firm based in Watertown, Mass., deals with urban housing and planning and was assigned to the project in Sept. 2004. Kathryn Madden of Sasaki, Inc. said she is still calculating the budget for the final proposal.
Although progress is being made, Medford Community Development representative Clodagh Stoker-Long said that "the idea that the plans are soon to be implemented is a little premature."
In addition, some Tufts graduate schools have been involved with the revitalization proposal for the area. "There were students of the UEP [Urban Environmental Policy and Planning] School that assisted with the project last year when it was in its early stages," Rubel said.
Madden also said that some of these Tufts students had been present at Medford town meetings, but that neither the town or Sasaki, Inc. have met with Tufts in an official capacity.
"But we are thinking of the Tufts perspective," she said. Madden also said that she encourages more Tufts students to venture into the City of Medford, in hopes that Tufts students can pull the city out of a stagnated economic state, but that the city's non-alcohol policy could be an obstacle.
Local citizens, however, have begun to express interest in the revitalization plan.
Stoker-Long said that Sasaki, Inc. is currently completing its Research Final Project (RFP) for a meeting to be held tonight - a meeting which she said she hopes will be of interest to Medford
residents.
"About one and a half years ago now, due to numerous complaints filed in the past, people began coming up with ideas and visions for revitalization of Medford Square," Stoker-Long said. "That is, the people who came to the City Hall meetings."
As a result, the Community Development Department decided to do something about Medford Square's current inability to house a bustling market atmosphere. "From these visions the Department of Community Development decided to hire professionals, and we chose Sasaki, Inc.," Stoker-Long said.
Initially, Sasaki, Inc. drafted three possible plans "based on the requests of the town that took into account the budget restraints," Madden said. These proposals have now been narrowed down to one final proposal that draws from the best of the three.
This final plan places the City Hall parking lot behind the building itself, with a new lawn and trees in front. "By realigning Clipper Drive, of the east side of the Square, with a park along the river front, we plan to improve parks and public access," Madden said. Walking and bicycle trails that will connect the river to the town will also be incorporated into the park system.
David Matton, Director of Traffic Engineering at Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc. said that opening portions of Salem Street and Riverside Avenue to two-way traffic, as well as placing a traffic signal at the intersection of Governors Avenue and High Street, are possibilities to consider.
Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc. worked along with Sasaki, Inc. on the development plan.
In deciding whether Sasaki, Inc.'s final proposal will be put into effect, "We will be looking to the public's response at Wednesday's meeting," Stoker-Long said.
This most recent plan created by Sasaki, Inc., however, is not the final plan. "Once this plan is granted approval at Wednesday's meeting, the next step will be doing additional studies to see what is probable," Stoker-Long said.
With regard to what Sasaki, Inc.'s next steps will be, Madden said, "We already have set forth for the city ways to obtain a budget for the project ... We hope the City of Medford will get $50,000 more from the state to get additional work done for developers of the RFP."
"Everybody is very excited... wanting to see changes in the Square," Madden said.
