Many Voices, One Future: The Everett Vision Plan

Transcription

Many Voices,
One Future:
The Everett
Vision Plan
Funding provided by the Metro Boston Consortium for
Sustainable Communities
Prepared for
City of Everett
Department of Planning and Development
484 Broadway
Everett, MA 02149
September 2013
Prepared by
Metropolitan Area
Planning Council
60 Temple Place, 6th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02111
www.mapc.org
Acknowledgements
This document was produced with input from the Department of Planning and Development staff
and other city departments as well as residents of the City of Everett. Professional technical
assistance provided by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council: Joan Blaustein, Land Resources
Planner, Alison Felix, AICP, Transportation Planner, Emily Torres-Cullinane, Community
Liaison, and Bill Wang, GIS Analyst.
The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported by funding under an award
with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of
the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the
accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations
do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government.
We also thank the Metro Boston Consortium for Sustainable Communities for making this work
possible.
Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Officers
President:
Michelle Ciccolo
Vice President:
Lynn Duncan
Secretary:
Marilyn Contreas
Treasurer:
Taber Keally
City of Everett
Department of Planning and Development
James Errickson, Executive Director
Marzie Galazka, Deputy Director
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Page
Executive Summary
v.
I. Introduction and Background
1
Introduction
1
About this project
1
Other planning projects in Everett
2
Everett is a diverse community
4
Community engagement: First, we listened
6
This is what we heard
10
II. The Everett Community Vision Statement
17
III. Goals and Recommendations
18
Vision Element #1: Everett is a welcoming, multi-cultural
community.
18
Vision Element #2: Everett is a city of well-kept, friendly
neighborhoods.
22
Vision Element #3: Everett is a city that is both urban and
green.
25
Vision Element #4: Everett is a city where the riverfront areas
enhance multi-use developments and provides access to
recreation.
28
Vision Element #5: Everett is a city that cares about residents
of all ages and abilities.
33
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Page
Vision Element #6: Everett is a city that creates jobs through
careful development and redevelopment practices.
37
Vision Element #7: Everett is a city with many safe and
convenient ways to get around.
40
IV. Implementing the Vision
50
V. Resources
57
List of Figures and Tables
Table 1. Ancestry of Everett Residents
5
Table 2. Potential Walking Routes to the Mystic River
27
Table 3. Ridership for MBTA Bus Routes Providing Service
within and through Everett.
44
Table 4. Newburyport/Rockport Line: Boston- Bound
Weekday Boardings
45
Table 5. Action Recommendations.
50
Appendices
A. Meetings and Events
B. Priority Polling for Action Recommendations
59
62
Figure 1: The Everett Vision Plan: Points of Interest and Key
Parcels
65
Figure 2: Lower Mystic River Potential Walking Routes –
Everett
66
Figure 3: The Everett, MA Open Space Plan Update: Action
Plan
67
Figure 4: Bicycle and Pedestrian Network Plan 2013
68
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Executive Summary
The Everett Visioning Project was a collaborative effort between the City of Everett Department of
Planning and Development, MAPC, various community organizations, and Everett residents. The
purpose of the project was to create an inclusive and comprehensive “Community Vision” for
Everett’s future. The Community Vision takes into account the needs and desires of Everett
residents, and lays the groundwork for a future Everett Master Plan. The project was funded by a
Sustainable Communities Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Following a review of past planning documents and an extensive community engagement process
aimed at the immigrant populations of Everett and other groups traditionally not well-included in
public policy making, MAPC drafted seven vision elements, each of which had a number of Action
Recommendations. MAPC also prepared a Community Vision Statement. The community
engagement process included several meetings related to the ongoing Lower Broadway project.
The Community Vision Statement, seven vision elements and action recommendations were
presented to the public at a city-wide meeting on June 4, 2013. Residents expressed their
preferences for specific action recommendations that supported the Community Vision. The
Community Vision Statement was modified slightly to reflect a concern for displacement, the
importance of the schools and clean rivers.
The following action recommendations were identified by the attendees as the highest priority.
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Maintain a list of City staff and the languages they speak to facilitate interpretation when
needed.
Create a staff position for diversity or multi-cultural relations to help immigrants.
Fix unsafe conditions in the parks.
Maintain and enhance street lighting city-wide to improve safety.
Improve sidewalks, crosswalks and plant street trees.
Continue with construction and improvements to the Northern Strand Community Trail.
Establish a youth commission that includes young members.
Strengthen the Boys and Girls Club and other youth and cultural organizations.
Ensure residents and local businesses are included in neighborhood planning and can
benefit from new development opportunities.
Investigate the feasibility of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service along Route 99 (Broadway).
Connect the Northern Strand Community Trail with the neighborhoods with on-street
bicycle facilities.
In addition to the action recommendations reviewed and prioritized by residents at the June 4,
2013 public forum, the city is undertaking a number of other plans, studies and projects which
will also play an important role in the future of Everett. These include:
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Current planning for the proposed Wynn Everett casino. The site proposed for a casino
has been identified by the city as a major redevelopment parcel and the city will be
pursuing clean-up and redevelopment of the site regardless of whether the casino license is
granted.
Redevelopment of the old high school on Broadway.
Development of a municipal harbor plan.
Planning for land use and zoning changes along the Route 16 corridor and Route 99
(Lower Broadway).
Implementation of the city’s Open Space and Recreation Plan.
Improve access to the Malden and Mystic Rivers and make improvements to provide
recreational opportunities.
Establish a Redevelopment Authority and create a targeted urban renewal plan.
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Chapter One: Introduction and Background
Introduction
A note about web links in this report: If you are reading this report on-line we have provided live
links to relevant web sites. Each of these web addresses can also be found in full in Chapter Five:
Resources.
Figure 2: The Everett Vision Plan: Points of Interest and Key Parcels is provided to give readers an
overview of the key areas mentioned in this report.
During the course of this project, the proposal for developing a casino on the property formerly
known as the Monsanto site surfaced. This property is referred to in this report as the Lower
Broadway Redevelopment Site. The process for being awarded a license to develop a casino is long
and complicated and at this point in time, the process is underway but there is no guarantee that
such a license will be granted for this site. While there are many recommendations in this report
that could be funded by the Everett Community Foundation that would be created as part of the
Host Community Agreement, this report makes no assumptions about the outcome of the casino
license.
About this project
In October of 2010, MAPC was awarded a $4 million Sustainable Communities Grant
from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The grant
supports the implementation of MetroFuture, the region’s 30-year plan. MetroFuture is a
smart growth plan that promotes efficient transportation systems; conserving land and
natural resources; improving the health and education of residents; increasing economic
development and equitable opportunities for prosperity.
To administer this grant, MAPC created the Metro Boston Consortium for Sustainable
Communities, a coalition whose purpose is to implement the grant’s planning work.
Membership in the consortium was open to all municipalities as well as non-profit
organizations. Everett became a member of the consortium which enabled the city to
submit a proposal to receive a place-based grant under the program. The City submitted a
successful proposal for the Everett Visioning Project.
This report documents the Everett Visioning Project. This project was a collaboration between the
City of Everett Department of Planning and Development, MAPC, various community
organizations, and Everett residents. The purpose of the project was to create an inclusive and
comprehensive “Community Vision” for Everett’s future. The Community Vision takes into
account the needs and desires of Everett residents, and lays the groundwork for a future Everett
Master Plan.
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Other Planning Projects in Everett
There are a number of other planning projects that occurred before the visioning project began or
were concurrent with the visioning project. These are briefly summarized below.
Lower Broadway
For the Lower Broadway planning project, the City has engaged the services of Sasaki Associates to
prepare a detailed plan for the future of the Lower Broadway area of Everett. Public meetings on
this project were held in June, September and November 2012. The final Master Plan was
completed and submitted to the City in early February, 2013. The City is utilizing this plan to
start next steps within the neighborhood, including the creation of a Municipal Harbor Plan
(Request of Notice to Proceed was submitted to the Office of Coastal Zone Management in early
March 2013) and a complete rewrite of the zoning for the neighborhood.
Route 16 Overlay - In January of 2011 the City of Everett instituted a temporary moratorium on
new construction along a section of Revere Beach Parkway, Chelsea Street and Spring Street in
order to allow the city time to complete a zoning and re-use study of the area. One of the goals of
the study was to make Revere Beach Parkway a better gateway to the city. The draft zoning was
presented to the City Council but was never approved.
Open Space and Recreation Plan - In 2009 the City received a Gateway Cities Grant to update its
open space and recreation plan. The plan update was prepared by MAPC and was approved by
the state in 2010.
The Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan - This plan, which is still in draft form, was prepared
for the Mayor’s Office by Parsons Brinckerhoff in 2012. The purpose of the plan is to promote
the future development of the Malden River area as a vibrant, mixed-use district of businesses,
residences, open space and recreation with access to the Malden River and the Mystic River as a
critical component. The plan identifies eight opportunity areas and makes recommendations.
Walking Routes to the Mystic River - MAPC has been working with Boston, Chelsea, Everett,
Malden, Medford and Somerville to identify potential walking routes that would connect
neighborhoods with the lower Mystic River and its tributaries (Chelsea Creek, Mill Creek, Island
End River and the Malden River). This project is called "Walking Routes to the River". To date,
the work has resulted in a map entitled "Locally Identified Potential Walking Routes to the Lower
Mystic and Tributaries" and a report summarizing the locally identified routes. Everett is moving
forward with implementation of the “Old High School to Village Landing Park” route.
High school re-use studies - The old high school on Broadway was closed in 2007 and declared
surplus property by the City in 2010. A portion of the building is currently used by the Boys and
Girls Club. The Mayor appointed a Reuse Committee. Two rounds of requests for proposals
(RFPs) have been issued that resulted only in proposals for housing. The city and the surrounding
neighborhood did not want to develop housing and therefore, no proposal was accepted by the
City. In the spring of 2012 the Tufts University Department of Urban & Environmental Policy
and Planning, released a report entitled “The Old Everett High School: A Catalyst to Revitalize the
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City”. The objective of this student project was to help the City analyze potential re-use options
for the Old High School on Broadway. To date, no decisions have been made on the re-use of the
property and the city will be using the work done by Tufts to help develop a more targeted RFP.
The curre
nt economic climate is not favorable because there are many vacant properties available for rent
that do not require expensive upgrades. The City has a new RFP available with responses due in
early April 2013. The RFP was redrafted with the help of World Tech Engineering to reflect,
more consistently, the desired redevelopment scenario for the site. As of August 2013, the city has
interviewed two respondents to that RFP.
Master Plan for the Commercial Triangle – In 2013 a team of four students from Tufts
University completed a report entitled “Re-imagining the Everett Commercial Triangle: A
Preliminary Master Plan. The commercial triangle is located between Revere Beach Parkway, the
MBTA commuter rail tracks and the Chelsea city line. This plan focused on the 110 acres of
industrial and commercial land and the Tufts team developed a redevelopment vision that
includes expanded housing options and new job opportunities for residents.
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Everett is a Diverse Community
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Over the last ten years, Everett’s racial composition has changed significantly. Between 2000 and
2010, Everett’s white population dropped from 75% of the population to 54%, while the
Hispanic/Latino population grew from 9.5% to 21%, the African American population grew from
7.5% to 14%, and the Asian population grew from 3.7% to 5%. Looking closer at the makeup of
Everett’s minority populations further highlights its diversity. Within the Hispanic/Latino
community, 42.9% are Salvadoran and 14.3% are Puerto Rican, with the remaining
Hispanic/Latino community originating from a number of different Spanish-speaking countries.
With the Asian community, 40% are Vietnamese, 20% are Asian Indian, and 20% are Chinese
(excluding Taiwanese). A portion of Everett’s minority population can also be attributed to
immigration from Brazil (8.7% of Everett’s total population) and Haiti (4.1%).
Another source of information about who lives in Everett comes from the American Community
Survey which is done in years that the Census is not taken. These numbers are based on samples
with a margin of error of approximately 3%. This table shows ancestry rather than racial data.
The Italians and the Irish are the two groups most heavily represented in Everett.
Table 1
Ancestry of Everett Residents
Ancestry
Estimate
%
Italian
10,105
21
Irish
7,106
15
Brazilian
3,406
7
West Indian (except Hispanic groups)
3,103
6
Portuguese
2,434
5
French (except Basque)
1,604
3
English
1,449
3
German
1,197
2
French Canadian
1,096
2
767
2
Other groups
10,895
22
Total
48,823
Polish
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Community Engagement: First, we listened.
During the course of the Everett Visioning Project we met with residents in a wide variety of
settings.
The purpose was to give residents a chance to share their thoughts about the present and
future of Everett in an informal, comfortable setting. We worked in partnership with
community organizations in order to attract participants that represent the diversity of the
population which includes a sizeable Hispanic, Haitian, Brazilian and Arabic population as
well as youth, the elderly, residents with disabilities and long-term residents. For a complete
list of all meetings and outreach events, please see Appendix A. In addition to these events
and meetings, the following measures were taken to solicit feedback from the community.
A feedback form was created that asked one simple question, “I think Everett would be a better
place to live if? “
This form was distributed in the following ways:
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Parents University
The Parlin Library
City Hall
Posted on the MAPC project web page
Posted on the Everett web page on 6/25 along with a notice about the June 26 open house
Everett Farmers Market
We met with the Haitian community over dinner from a local restaurant.
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Some meetings included breakout sessions.
The oldest residents of Everett shared their unique perspective.
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We enjoyed meeting residents at the Everett Farmers Market.
In November we met with members of the Brazilian community.
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In addition, a focus group with the Moroccan/Arabic community was held on February 16, 2013.
Eight individuals from the community met to discuss how to make Everett a better place to live,
work and raise a family.
A final public meeting was held at the Connolly Center on June 4, 2013. At that meeting,
residents were asked to comment on the draft Community Vision Statement as well as to identify
priorities for action recommendations for each of five vision elements. The results of the
“preference polling” exercise can be found in Appendix B.
The Everett Visioning Project also took into account information on community issues that was
gathered by other groups for a variety of purposes. One of these initiatives was the Everett
Community Safety Audit and Photovoice Project which was funded under a Community
Transformation Grant from the Department of Health. This project entailed 13 Everett youth
working for three months with the Everett Police Department, the Everett Community Health
Partnership Substance Abuse Coalition and Energize Everett. The project was designed to
empower the youth to become involved in the community and was focused on how perceptions of
safety and the physical environment affect personal wellbeing and health.
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This is what we heard
In this section of the report we attempt to summarize what we heard from residents, city staff and
representatives of community organizations. We do not purport to “speak for” the residents. But
as we talked with people and read written comments, we heard certain recurring themes.
1) Everett residents have strong feelings about their community.
When asked to describe Everett in one word, we found both positive and negative opinions.
Many residents mentioned its great location, said it was welcoming and affordable and safe. They
also liked the close-knit sense of community that they feel here. Others described it as boring,
crowded and mentioned the high taxes. Some residents expressed that living in the city was
primarily a matter of convenience to Boston and other neighboring communities. And still others
expressed the belief that Everett had a great deal of untapped potential and seemed to be excited
about its future. This potential is essentially what this vision plan is about.
2) Everett residents care about their environment.
Everett is a densely populated urban area and as such, the built environment seems to overshadow
the natural environment. While residents understand that there are trade-offs in living in an
urban area, they feel it is equally important to preserve, restore and enhance Everett’s natural
environment. Residents’ comments fell into four general categories:
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Visual/Landscape/Streetscape
Residents expressed a desire to see more green throughout the city to offset the harder elements of
the urban environment. They also wanted to see more use of green infrastructure such as rain
gardens. This was particularly important in the Lower Broadway (“the Line”) neighborhood where
residents expressed a desire for the creation of a “green edge” between the Exxon facility and the
neighborhood. Residents also had strong feelings about preserving every bit of green space that
currently exists.
Parks and Recreation
The residents want more and better parks that can accommodate a wider variety of sports. There
was interest in turning the old high school into a new recreation center and there was also interest
in a central park serving the whole city as well as having a fenced off dog park. Residents wanted
more places to walk and space for outdoor grilling. Fields for soccer, lacrosse and cricket were also
desired.
River Access
Three rivers border Everett; the Malden River, the Mystic River and the Island End River.
Residents would like to have better access to these rivers and to the unique recreational
opportunities that rivers provide such as boating and fishing.
Tri-Cap polled residents about their views on the rivers at Parents University.
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Air and Water Quality
Residents were concerned about air pollution, particularly in Ward 1 and would like to see more
resources put into enforcing existing regulations at all levels of government. Flooding was also a
concern.
3) Community is important to the residents.
The sense of belonging to a community is important and some residents said that Everett used to
be a city of neighborhoods but that is no longer as prevalent as it used to be. Part of the problem
may be the changing demographics of the city as more immigrants move into the city. Residents
felt that it would still be possible to have that neighborhood feeling if there were more places for
people of all backgrounds to come together. There was interest in a community center that would
serve all ages and in more after-school programs for kids where the kids and parents could meet
others.
4) Everett is still learning how to be a multi-cultural community.
The fact that Everett has a highly diverse population brings with it both challenges and
opportunities. Some long-term residents may not be comfortable with the changes they see in
Everett and because of language barriers, old-timers and newcomers may find it hard to get to
know each other. Newcomers struggle to learn English and learn the customs of their new home
but still want to preserve their culture.
Newcomers told us that there aren’t enough English classes for those who want to learn. There are
long waiting lists and there are few advanced classes. Because of the barriers to learning English,
some newcomers have a difficult time communicating with local authorities such as the police or
city services.
Some residents mentioned that there isn’t much mixing between different nationalities today but
also noted that this is not much different from the original Irish and Italian residents who also
tended to keep to themselves. Different cultural norms about housing and business practices can
cause misunderstandings as well.
5) Information about regulations and community resources can be hard to find particularly if
English is not your first language.
Many residents, both old and new, expressed an interest in better access to information about city
services, regulations and resources. This became even more of a concern if English was not the
residents’ primary language. This inability to learn about and understand what the regulations are
makes it more likely that newcomers will have difficulty complying and therefore will have more
misunderstandings with neighbors, City Hall and the police. Parking regulations, building codes
and trash pick-up were some of the areas where residents would like more information in their
native languages.
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Residents indicated that different ethnic groups tend to get information in different ways and
offered this information to help the city identify culturally appropriate ways to reach people. They
felt that ECTV should be available to all residents with dish antennas and that Reverse 911 could
be used more effectively.
6) Residents want a better balance between taxes and services.
Everett residents feel that their property taxes are high and they therefore expect a higher level of
services. They also felt that the city is relying too much on fees to raise revenues because a tax
override would never pass.
7. Everett has a great location but getting around the city and into surrounding communities is
a problem for all ages.
Transportation in all its forms is a big issue for residents. They described Everett as “public transit
challenged”and dangerous for bicyclists and pedestrians. They noted problems with parking,
heavy truck traffic, traffic congestion and streets that are in need of rehabilitation. Seniors and
teens also faced challenges in getting around and out of the city.
Public Transit
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Bus service is inadequate. There is inadequate coverage and service is infrequent. There is
also some duplication of service.
Getting to the Orange Line is a problem.
The increase in bus fares is a problem for all but especially for teens and seniors.
A commuter rail stop (Purple Line) would be very useful and could help spur high quality
development.
Parking
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There isn’t enough land in Everett to accommodate parking needs.
There are too many handicapped parking spaces being created. The city needs to tighten
up on the process by which they are approved, monitored and removed when no longer
needed.
Parking regulations are confusing.
Congestion
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Traffic congestion in the Lower Broadway area is a particular problem with heavy truck
traffic trying to use narrow streets.
Some traffic congestion is due to the reconstruction of the Alford Street Bridge and the
work being done on Lower Broadway.
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Condition of the streets
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Heavy truck traffic is impacting roads in the Lower Broadway neighborhood.
Beacham Street needs to be reconstructed.
Potholes are a problem throughout the city.
Streets and sidewalks need to be made more pedestrian friendly
There needs to be a safe walking route to Sullivan Station.
Transportation for seniors
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Transportation to the Senior Center is only one day a week on Thursday. Cataldo
Ambulance donates the senior van on Thursday. Seniors would like more frequent service.
The cost increase for the Ride is hard for seniors.
There is some abuse of the parking permits that allow seniors to park in the Spring Street
lot to visit the Senior Center.
MGH has a shuttle from Everett to their facilities but there is no parking at the shuttle. In
Chelsea you can leave your car in a lot and take the shuttle. Some Everett residents drive
to Chelsea, park and take the shuttle.
8) Redevelopment is the key to Everett’s future economic growth.
Because it is an older, industrialized city which is densely developed, additional economic growth
is most likely to occur through the redevelopment process. Residents felt that the redevelopment
of the old high school was important and had the following suggestions:
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Movie theater, smoothie/juice bar;
Housing (apartments) for seniors and people with disabilities; and
Senior housing and a new school.
There was some concern about the possibility of new development along Route 99 by the river that
might end up pricing residents out of the housing market. Teens expressed a frustration with not
being able to get jobs and wanted to see the city’s summer jobs program expanded. The quality of
jobs was also thought to be important and residents wanted to see new clean businesses instead of
more of the same industrial type of developments.
9) Everett’s neighborhoods need some attention.
Residents take pride in their neighborhoods but feel that they need more attention from the
residents themselves and from the city. As with other urban areas, littering, vandalism and
potholes were frequently mentioned concerns. Housing quality is very important; residents felt the
city needed more resources for code enforcement. Residents expressed concern about increased
density due to conversions of two-family houses. Lower Broadway has particular issues related to
congestion, industrial uses and narrow streets. It needs to be improved because it is a “gateway” to
the city and the city’s oldest neighborhood.
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10) Everett needs a range of housing opportunities
Residents are interested in a range of housing choices and choices that serve specific populations,
such as seniors and people with disabilities. Homeownership was seen as highly desirable and
residents welcome any programs that the city or partners can develop that would increase access to
homeownership opportunities.
11) People with disabilities need more of a voice
The Everett Disability Commission is composed of five members. Their mandate is to consider
applications for on-street handicapped accessible parking spaces and to make recommendations on
these applications to the Everett Traffic Commission. The Commission is also responsible for
disbursing funds from the collection of fines for violations of handicapped parking regulations for
the purposes of improving accessibility in public buildings. They have no staff and they have a
limited mandate. The Disability Commission identified the following issues of concern:
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Too many handicapped parking spaces are being created. The city needs to tighten up on
the process by which they are approved, monitored and removed when no longer needed.
Many of the smaller businesses in Everett are inaccessible. Business owners do not have
enough incentive to invest in accessibility upgrades.
Most of the larger businesses have adequate handicapped accessible parking in their lots as
do the municipal parking lots.
The DPW is always making improvements to curb cuts.
The status of the ADA Coordinator is unknown.
12) Teens need jobs and more activities
It is not uncommon for teenagers to complain that “there is nothing to do” but it is also true that
having a variety of activities to engage in and part-time jobs would give teens more opportunity to
be a productive part of the community. The teens we met with at the Boys and Girls Club had the
following observations.
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We need a mall.
There is nothing to do in Everett except go to the Boys and Girls Club and the Recreation
Center.
The Boys and Girls Club needs to be renovated and to be open longer hours.
Bowling and movies would be good activities to have.
Playing basketball is a typical way for teens to “hang out”.
The high school is very restrictive; we can’t go outside for lunch and we only get 18 minutes.
Since there is no recess we are cooped up inside all day long.
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Bus fares and lack of cars hamper teens from getting out of Everett to go to the beach or to
shop.
Other issues identified by staff at the Boys and Girls Club include:
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Although Everett does not have a major problem with gangs, when one teen has a problem
with another it tends to become a family affair with teens fearful about retaliation.
Bullying in the schools and in the Boys and Girls Club is an issue.
Marijuana is the major drug problem.
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Chapter Two: The Everett Community Vision Statement
The following Everett Community Vision Statement was reviewed and slightly modified by
residents who attended the June 4 public forum. It is meant to express a vision for the future,
reflecting residents’ aspirations for what Everett can become.
Everett is a vibrant community which has moved forward by making the most of its diverse
population and its proximity to Boston. It has looked at its strengths and weaknesses and
has asked its residents what they want to see in Everett’s future.
Everett has fully embraced its multi-cultural nature with a welcoming attitude and ways for
residents of different cultures to meet and share their traditions. The City is fully
committed to improving communications with all residents in their languages and
connecting residents with ESL classes. Everett is a city where residents of all ages and
physical abilities can live comfortably and safely.
Redevelopment of key parcels has resulted in a stronger economic base and more jobs
available to residents while minimizing displacement of residents and businesses. While
maintaining the industrial areas that contribute so much to the local and regional
economy, redevelopment has occurred with a focus on cleaner industries and businesses
and with sensitivity to adjacent neighborhoods and key features like the river.
The Mystic, Malden and Island End Rivers have been cleaned up, access has increased and
all residents are now able to enjoy recreational activities along the river as well as
enjoyment of the natural environment. The park system is well-maintained and offers a
wide range of recreational opportunities. Air and water quality has improved considerably
due to better enforcement of regulations and redevelopment that favors clean industries.
Everett invests in green infrastructure to ensure that the natural environment is improved.
Investments in neighborhoods has increased property values and decreased crime and
vandalism and restored residents’ pride in their neighborhoods. Residents feel that they
get value for their taxes. The Lower Broadway area serves as a welcoming gateway to the
city. New residential development includes housing affordable to a range of incomes,
including existing Everett residents, and encourages new development at appropriate
densities. The city has a high-quality school system that meets the needs of its diverse
population. The city has made significant investments in technological infrastructure
including high-speed internet access.
Everett has created a transportation system that offers many options including improved
public transportation, safer streets and more bicycle and pedestrian accommodations. This
system allows all residents options that do not involve driving and strengthens Everett’s
strategic location as a neighbor of Boston.
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Chapter Three: Goals and Recommendations
The Everett Vision Statement in Chapter Two was developed based on all of the comments
received during the community engagement process. In this chapter, the vision statement is
broken down into seven vision elements. These seven vision elements are intended to express the
future, reflecting residents’ aspirations for what Everett can become. For each vision element there
is first a discussion of current initiatives related to that element. The city has been addressing
these various issues for many years and it is important to acknowledge the many efforts that are ongoing. Each vision element is broken down into goals and each goal has one or more specific
action recommendations associated with it. This chapter includes hyperlinks to web resources for
those who are reading this report on-line. The links for these resources are included in their
entirety in Chapter Five: Resources.
The vision elements, goals and action recommendations are not presented in priority order. The
numbering is provided as a way to reference goals and objectives. Priorities will be developed over
time as the city moves forward with implementation.
community.
Everett has fully embraced its multi-cultural nature with a welcoming attitude and ways for
residents of different cultures to meet and share their traditions. The City is fully committed to
improving communications with all residents in their languages and connecting residents with
ESL classes. The City has learned from other communities and has adopted a number of best
practices to ensure that newcomers are made to feel welcome, to overcome language barriers and
to provide opportunities for different people to socialize.
A. Current initiatives related to this vision element
Meetings with the police - The Everett Police Department has held a series of meetings with local
residents that have been sponsored by La Comunidad, Inc. La Comunidad Inc. is a non-profit
organization whose goal is to provide a better future to the Latino American Community in the
city of Everett and surrounding areas.
Mystic River Festival - The City has also supported La Comunidad’s Mystic River Festival, an
event that is now in its fourth year.
Multicultural affairs commission – The City has created an Everett Multicultural Affairs
Commission. Their mission statement is as follows:
“Understanding that a diverse and collaborative community is vital to the health of the
City of Everett, the Multicultural Affairs Commission (MAC) will provide a bridge between
the city and its immigrant community in order to serve the greater good of all its residents.
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The Commission will do this by identifying and prioritizing important issues facing the
immigrant community; making recommendations and/or providing solutions to satisfy
these needs; and conducting outreach and education on the activities of the Commission
to empower all members of the community”.
One of the more recent events sponsored by MAC was a community forum with the two mayoral
candidates in October 2011.
English classes - The City offers English as a Second Language courses through the Department of
Human Services. The Everett Adult Learning Center started as a volunteer program at the Parlin
Memorial Library over 26 years ago. Since then it has grown as a community-based program
offering English Language courses for a fee to residents of Everett. The program currently has
about 125 students enrolled. Due to funding constraints and varying funding sources, there are
five classes that are fee-based and three classes that are offered free of charge. There is a waiting list
for the free classes and there is a great need. The classes are advertised on Spanish radio.
The City also is a member of the English Works Campaign. The Campaign is a statewide
coalition of immigrant community leaders, labor unions, and businesses working together to
increase the availability of English classes for immigrants in the workforce. Mayor DeMaria is part
of the English Works Mayors Circle, a group of elected officials who encourage local businesses to
invest in ESOL, including the Mayors of Boston, Lynn, Malden, Somerville, Salem, Melrose and
New Bedford.
B. Goals and Actions
Goal #1: Improve communications with residents – The City will work with members of the
immigrant community to improve communications with residents for whom English is not their
native language. While many languages are spoken in Everett, the city’s focus will be on those
other languages that are most commonly spoken in Everett such as Spanish, Portuguese and
Haitian Creole.
Actions:
1. Maintain a list of City staff and the languages they speak and make it available throughout
City Hall to make it easier to find someone to interpret– It may be possible to meet some of
the city’s need for interpretation through use of staff. However, this can pose problems such as
requiring staff to leave their departments to assist as interpreters during the course of a regular
business day. It is also generally accepted practice that it is preferable to use trained
interpreters, particularly for sensitive issues.
2. The City will enroll in a telephone based language service to provide interpretation for
residents and city hall staff during regular business hours–Some local municipalities such as
Medford utilize an on-demand, over the phone interpretation service that gives businesses and
government agencies access to interpreters. The pool of interpreters speaks 175 different
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languages. There are services available that do not require a contract but charge a flat fee and
you pay only for the time you use. This type of service can help meet interpretation needs for
commonly spoken languages in Everett as well as access to interpreters in a wide range of other
languages.
3. Upgrade the city’s web site and include translation capability– Many municipal web sites
include a translation function that allows readers to view any page translated into the language
of their choice. This is usually accomplished using Google Translate which does have its
limitations. The City of Cambridge uses Google Translate but includes a disclaimer (which
unfortunately does not get translated itself). Because a city’s web site is a major means of
communicating with residents, the city should include it when the web site is redesigned.
Some municipal web pages using Google Translate work better than others. When the web
site is redesigned, careful attention should be paid on how best to integrate it so that it
functions well. At the very least, the “translate” button should be easy to see on the home
page. Since the website is a key opportunity for the city to inform and educate its residents, it
would be advisable to have a committee assist the city with updating both the content and the
structure of the web site, including residents for whom English is not their native language.
4. Allow residents to choose from several commonly spoken languages for emergency
telephone notifications and expand the use of this system to notify residents about
community meetings– Investigate whether it is possible to maintain a list of households who
would prefer to receive messages in their native language. If the technology permits, the City
would need to determine how to have the messages interpreted and recorded in multiple
languages. Residents would also like to see use of this important communication tool for
notification about community meetings.
5. Publish a guide to city services and regulations in the most commonly spoken languages –
The City of Medford has a 19 page Welcome booklet available at City Hall which has been
published in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole. The booklet covers the full
range of city services including but not limited to police and fire, voting, public works, schools,
ESOL programs and recreation.
Everett may want to consider publishing a similar guide in the languages most commonly
spoken in the city. However, since this information changes frequently, it may be preferable to
put resources towards improving translation capability on the city’s web site.
6. Create a staff position for diversity or multi-cultural relations to help immigrants – While
many municipalities have human rights commissions or multi-cultural commissions, several
communities have a staff person or office whose responsibility is to deal with human rights in a
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variety of areas. Medford has an Office of Human Diversity and Compliance. According to
the web site, the mission of the Office of Human Diversity & Compliance is to address a
myriad of issues through outreach, education and compliance oversight. These issues include,
but are not limited to affirmative action, contract compliance, fair housing, disability, human
rights, discrimination, as well as hate incidents and hate crimes. The Diversity Director works
in collaboration with other City Departments, other Cities, and local, State and Federal
organizations and agencies to ensure fair and equitable opportunity and access for all persons.
The City of Boston has an Office of New Bostonians which has a very extensive number of
programs and services.
This position would be an opportunity to consolidate responsibility for the many action items
listed for this vision element into one place and would send a clear signal to the community
that Everett embraces its multi-cultural nature.
Goal #2: Create opportunities for residents from different cultures to meet – The City will work
with cultural organizations and city departments to create opportunities for residents from
different cultures to meet in social settings.
Actions:
1. Encourage multi-cultural programming at the Boys and Girls Club and other youth and
cultural organizations. – According to the Director of the Boys and Girls Club, the club is
utilized primarily by African-American teens rather than by a cross-section of the city’s
population. While building tolerance and respect for other cultures needs to start at a very
young age, the teen years are a time period where differences and lack of tolerance may be
manifested as bullying or gang violence. It may be worthwhile to have teens involved in
developing multi-cultural programs that are of interest to them.
2. Encourage multi-cultural programs in the schools – Learning how to respect other cultures
needs to begin at a very early age and therefore, the schools can play an important role. Many
resources are available such as those provided by the Teaching Tolerance initiative.
3. Support an active Multicultural Affairs Commission – The city has a Multicultural Affairs
Commission (MAC). The Commission has been meeting recently to determine its focus for
the future. One of the members of MAC, La Communidad Inc. has been focused on assisting
students who want to remain in the United States under the recent Presidential Executive
Order. MAC has also been discussing how to work on code enforcement and
immigrant/police relations such as traffic stops, domestic violence and the possibility of the
city issuing city ID cards. The Multicultural Affairs Commission should expand its mission to
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include engaging new residents in the civic functions of government such as serving on boards
and commissions and initiatives within the city.
Goal #3: Improve access to ESL classes – The City will work with the business community and
local providers to improve access to ESL classes for all Everett residents.
Actions:
1. Seek additional funding for the Everett Adult Learning Center for English as a Second
Language classes– In order to increase the number of people who can be served by the free
classes offered by the city, the Human Services Department will be seeking additional grants
and corporate donations.
neighborhoods.
Investment in neighborhoods has increased property values and decreased crime and vandalism
and restored residents’ pride in their neighborhoods. Residents feel that they get value for their
taxes. Residents and the city are equal partners in neighborhood improvement. The Lower
Broadway area serves as a welcoming gateway to the city. New residential development includes
affordable housing and encourages new development at appropriate densities. The city has a highquality school system that meets the needs of its diverse population. The city has made significant
investments in technological infrastructure including high-speed internet access.
Citizen Support Center – The City’s web site has a Citizen Support Center where residents can
report problems and issues relating to building code violations, criminal activity, unsafe housing
conditions, potholes, code violations, illegal apartments, dumping, sidewalk repairs and other
neighborhood concerns.
Clean Neighborhoods booklet – The City’s web site has a two page document entitled “City of
Everett’s Guidelines to a Clean, Safe and Healthy Neighborhood.
Mayor’s Clean-Up Days – The Mayor sponsors an annual Spring Cleanup day and has a fall cleanup day planned as well. Volunteers gather at a variety of locations throughout the City to help
clean up tot-lots, fields, walkways and other areas.
Ward level meetings – The Mayor, along with his department heads, has been holding a series of
ward level meetings so that residents have an opportunity to share their concerns in a
neighborhood based setting.
Lower Broadway initiative – The Lower Broadway initiative is specifically addressing issues in this
gateway neighborhood.
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Goal #1: Improve communications between residents and City Hall about neighborhood issues.
Actions:
1. Provide residents with easy ways to report unsafe conditions in the parks- The teens who
participated in the Community Safety Audit were concerned about unsafe conditions in many
of the local parks. They recommended that the city place signs in parks and recreation areas
that include a number to call if there is something broken in a park. This would make it easier
for residents to quickly report these conditions when they encounter them.
2. Develop a Smart phone application for reporting unsafe conditions and requesting services
from the City - Many municipalities have set up 311 telephone systems for easy
communications with city hall and some have gone one step further to develop phone apps to
make it easier to report problems city-wide. Cambridge has a series of phone apps to report
public works issues like potholes and graffiti as well as to report crime tips. A phone app can
make it easy for residents to photograph conditions and send a request to City Hall without
having to go to City Hall. It might also help to involve more young people in community
affairs since they are more likely to be active smartphone users.
3. Use social media such as Facebook and Twitter to improve communications between
residents and City Hall – Social media such as Twitter and Facebook can be a powerful way to
communicate with residents, particularly younger residents. This approach will require
designating someone in City Hall to coordinate and approve all social media communications
as well as training department staff on how social media can be integrated into their particular
functions.
Goal #2: Prioritize neighborhood improvements that address issues of health, safety and
appearance of the city.
There are two levels of neighborhood improvements that have the potential to make a big impact
on the neighborhoods. Some improvements will eliminate or reduce conditions that impact the
health and safety of residents. Other improvements will improve the appearance of the
neighborhoods and hopefully encourage residents to take better care of their streets and their
properties.
The work of the Everett Community Safety Audit and Photovoice Project (described on page 8)
identified many positive features of the city but also uncovered many neighborhood level issues
that need to be addressed. These recommendations are noted with the designation “CSA/PV”.
Actions:
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1. Maintain and enhance lighting city-wide to improve safety– The CSA/PV study
recommended that the city address lighting at two levels. The first recommendation is to fix
lighting throughout the city to ensure pedestrian safety at all times and the second
recommendation was to install more lighting on streets and around parks and playgrounds to
improve safety for kids using the parks.
2. Fix unsafe conditions in the parks such as broken fences and playground equipment– The
CSA/PV also noted many unsafe conditions in the parks including broken fences and
playground equipment, trash and lack of lighting.
3. Place more trash barrels throughout the city– The CSA/PV recommended that the city
install more open trash barrels to ensure that people will dispose of their trash correctly
throughout the city and in parks.
4. Create a formal process for implementation of high-priority improvement projects in each
neighborhood – The city currently uses the Mayor’s ward level meetings to develop a list of
projects in each ward that will contribute to improving conditions in the ward. This includes
plantings, street trees, replacing broken sidewalks, etc. The city should develop a formal
process of ensuring that these projects are handled in a timely manner and that up-to-date
information on the process and projects is available on the city’s website.
Goal #3 Encourage neighborhood initiatives to promote community
Actions:
1. Promote neighborhood block parties, clean-up days and more frequent hazardous waste
collection days– Block parties are a good way to build community and it may be possible to
find foundation support for this effort. The Watertown Community Foundation provides
funds (up to $200.00) and advice to neighbors who want to organize a block party in
Watertown. The Watertown initiative could serve as a model for a similar effort in Everett if
local funding could be found. Click here for more information on this program. Residents
would also like to see more hazardous waste collection days.
2. Build more community gardens – This recommendation can also be found under Vision
Element 3 but is repeated here because one of the benefits of community gardens is that they
offer a neutral, safe space for neighbors from different cultures to work alongside each other
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and to get to know each other better. They are a community building asset as well as providing
fresh food for residents.
green.
The park system is well-maintained and offers a wide range of recreational opportunities. Air and
water quality has improved considerably due to better enforcement of regulations and
redevelopment that favors clean industries. Everett invests in green infrastructure to ensure that
the natural environment is improved.
Rain gardens – Rain gardens are one method of handling stormwater runoff that is becoming
increasingly common in urban areas. A rain garden has been created on the Northern Strand
Community Trail at West Street and Wellington Street.
The Everett Farmers Market – The Everett Farmers Market is sponsored by Energize Everett and
runs from July through October. It is held in Everett Square near the library.
Other initiatives – The City is currently in the process of renovating Glendale Park, activating the
7 Acre Park and Maddie English Field, working with MAPC on the Walking Routes to the Mystic
River program and working to establish a Complete Streets resolution to be presented to the City
Council.
Goal #1: Implement high-priority recommendations of the Everett Open Space and Recreation
Plan 2010-2017
MAPC prepared an open space and recreation plan for the City of Everett in 2010. This plan
contains numerous recommendations which are complementary to the goals of this vision plan.
The full list of recommendations can be found in Appendix F. The recommendations that are
included below represent those that are most consistent with the vision for Everett.
Actions:
1. Remove graffiti at parks- City Services should aggressively work to remove graffiti at parks,
setting a goal of removing graffiti within 24 hours of receiving a report.
2. Develop a youth advisory group within the Recreation Department- Develop a youth
advisory group to the Recreation Department. This group could serve as a sounding board for
communication strategies and program proposals that are aimed at Everett’s youth. This
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would be consistent with the interest in the parks shown by the youth who participated in the
Community Safety Audit project.
3. Improve sidewalks, crosswalks and plant street trees– Everett should continue its efforts to
improve the City’s sidewalks and maintain street trees throughout the City.
4. Continue efforts to develop a river path at River Green Technology Park – The City should
continue to work with the developer of River Green Technology Park to ensure that there is a
continuous public greenway along the waterfront which connects to neighboring open spaces
and the Northern Strand Trail. Region 1 of the EPA convened a coalition of organizations
and state agencies know as the Mystic River Watershed Initiative. This group has been
working to understand the legal and permitting issues surrounding the redevelopment of this
former brownfield site and to communicate with the developer the importance of the river
front greenway. River Green Technology Park, also known as the Berkeley Development Site,
is one of the eight opportunity areas identified in the Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan.
5. Make improvements to the recreation center- The Everett Recreation Building is a heavily
used asset in the community, with a number of after school activities, classes, and other
programs. The building itself is in need of a range of physical improvements to bring it up to
date, including handicapped accessibility upgrades.
6. Continue with construction and enhancements to the Northern Strand Community Trail –
The Northern Strand Community trail is a proposed multi-use trail that will ultimately
connect Everett with the Lynn waterfront. The 10 mile trail follows the old Saugus Railroad
Branch and is largely completed in Everett, Malden and Saugus. Revere has recently taken
steps to begin work on their section. The first mile of the trail in Everett has been cleared and
graded and the goal is to pave it in the future. The Northern Strand Community Trail is one
of the eight opportunity areas identified in the Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan.
7. Mark the five walking routes to the Mystic with signs - The Energize Everett program has
already developed and mapped eight walking routes in the City and participated in a regional
effort to develop additional routes to the Mystic and the Malden Rivers. The City has funding
through the Community Transformation Grant (CTG) to work with MAPC to develop these
walking routes. These potential routes are shown on Figure 1. Click here for more
information about the regional system of walking routes.
Everett’s routes would provide access to the Malden River at Village Landing Park by using a
section of the Northern Strand Community Trail as well as routes on local streets. One route
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would start as far north as the old High School. Another series of routes could be connected
to form an east-west route that would go west to the Malden River or east to the paths along
Mill Creek in Chelsea. One additional route would serve the heavily industrialized
neighborhood along Broadway and provide access to the Gateway Park behind Target.
Everett has decided to focus on development of the “Old High School to Village Landing
Park” route as the first route in this system. Village Landing Park is one of the eight
opportunity areas identified in the Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan.
Table 2
Potential Walking Routes to the Mystic River
Route Name
Charleston Lofts to Gateway Park
Distance in
miles
1
Everett High School to Mill Creek, Chelsea
1.3
Northern Strand to Village Landing Park
1.6
Old High School to Village Landing Park
1.3
Stadium to Village Landing Park
1.4
Whidden Hospital to Chelsea
0.8
Whidden Hospital to Stadium
1.2
Total Distance
8.6
8. Plant more trees in the parks -Trees offer many benefits to a park and a community, both
aesthetically and in their ability to improve the local environment. The Parks Division should
look for opportunities to plant more trees in parks where they can provide a benefit without
compromising park use or safety. In particular, more trees should be planted along the south
and east edges of Lynde Park where the athletic fields are in order to help screen the industrial
land uses and heavy truck traffic along the adjacent roads. Care should be taken to maintain
adequate visibility into the park from these streets for safety purposes. It is important to note
that the Lower Broadway study recommends relocation of Lynde Park to a location farther
north deemed more suitable for residential development. If this recommendation moves
forward than tree planting at Lynde Park should be put on hold.
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Goal #2: Invest in green infrastructure
Actions:
1. Continue the tree replacement program – Street trees significantly improve the aesthetics of a
city and provide many benefits. According to a fact sheet published by DCR the benefits of
street trees include the following:

Economic development: Shoppers prefer tree lined village streets and downtown.

Residential: People prefer to buy homes in a community with many trees.

Storm water management: Trees reduce storm water runoff and flooding.

Air quality: Trees help clean the air.

Quality of life: Trees provide beauty, serenity and raise the quality of life.
At present, Everett’s street tree program is focused on replacement. The city evaluates whether
or not a tree needs to come down based on resident concerns or observations from city staff. If
a tree has to be removed it is replaced. New trees are not added unless there is a new sidewalk
being installed although trees are sometimes added to the parks. The city employs a part-time
arborist on a contract basis to assist with tree evaluations. The majority of the trees are maples
with some flowering pear trees that were added recently.
2. Expand the Everett Farmers Market - Some communities such as Somerville, Medford and
Dorchester have continued their farmers markets indoors during the winter months. Everett
should consider doing this for two reasons: to make healthy food choices available year-round
as well as to create another opportunity for residents to gather as a community.
enhance multi-use developments and provide access to
recreation.
The Mystic, Malden and Island End Rivers have been cleaned up, access has increased and all
residents are now able to enjoy recreational activities along the river as well as enjoyment of the
natural environment.
Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan – The city contracted with the planning firm of Parsons
Brinckerhoff to prepare a plan for southwestern Everett. The purpose of the plan is to promote
the future development of the Malden River area as a vibrant, mixed-use district of businesses,
residences, open space and recreation areas.
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Walking Routes to the Mystic River - The city is participating in a regional effort to develop
walking routes to the Mystic and Malden Rivers. The City has funding through the Community
Transformation Grant (CTG) to work with MAPC to develop these walking routes. These
potential routes are shown on Figure 2. Click here for more information about the regional
system of walking routes.
River Front Overlay District – The City has adopted a River Front Overlay Zoning District. The
Riverfront Overlay District permits mixed use, but with specific dimensional requirements that the
city has determined may hinder redevelopment along the water and should be reconsidered.
Goal #1: Use the development process and state regulations to ensure access to the rivers. The
Office of Planning and Development will use the development process to ensure that new
development proposals provide access to the riverfront where appropriate and feasible. The City
will also use the Chapter 91 regulatory process to ensure that required public access is appropriate
to the site and to the needs of the public.
Actions:
1. Use Chapter 91 to ensure public access to the rivers - Chapter 91 is the legislation known as
the Public Waterfront Act. The purpose of Chapter 91 is to regulate tidelands and previously
filled tidelands for the following purposes:




To ensure tidelands are utilized for water-dependent uses or otherwise serve a proper
public purpose.
To protect public health, safety and general welfare.
To revitalize urban waterfront properties.
To promote public use and enjoyment of the water.
The following activities require a Chapter 91 license:





Construction, maintenance, reconstruction of unauthorized fill or structures.
Existing or proposed use.
Existing or proposed structure or fill.
Change in use or structural alteration.
Permit for dredge, beach nourishment and lowering of Great Pond water levels.
Chapter 91 licenses are a good way to ensure public access to tidal areas and to obtain public open
space amenities. However, there is little guidance within Chapter 91 regarding the quality of the
public access and amenities required for a license. There are examples within the region of areas
subject to Chapter 91 licenses where the public access is not well thought out and is poorly
maintained. The city needs to be involved in commenting on the provisions of the Chapter 91
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license as well as monitoring upkeep of the facilities. For more information please go to the
Chapter 91 website.
2. Develop a Municipal Harbor Plan – The City has filed a Notice to Proceed with the Office of
Coastal Zone Management (CZM) to allow the creation of a Municipal Harbor Plan for the
area between Route 99 (Broadway) and Route 16.
Goal #2: Implement a system of walking routes to the river
Actions:
1. Sign the five walking routes to the Mystic that are within Everett – Five walking routes have
been identified that are entirely within the City of Everett. City staff have begun to explore
implementation issues for the first route; the Old High School to Village Landing Park route.
Some of these routes will link together to form longer routes. For more information on how to
implement a walking route, MAPC maintains a web page that contains maps of these routes as
well as an implementation tool kit.
2. Work with the City of Chelsea to sign the two walking routes that go from Everett into
Chelsea – The City identified two potential routes from points in Everett to paths and parks in
Chelsea. Everett and Chelsea should work together to explore the implementation of these routes.
3. Participate in regional efforts to implement the regional system of walking routes to the
Mystic – MAPC has been spearheading the effort to develop a regional system of walking routes to
the Mystic River and its tributaries. Everett should continue to participate in this regional effort.
Goal #3: Implement the recommendations of the Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan
The Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan includes an extensive list of recommendations broken
down into short-term (0-3 years), medium-term (3-6 years) and long-term (6+ years). These
recommendations are generally consistent with or complement other recommendations in this
Vision Plan.
Actions:
1. Review and approve the Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan – The Planning Board,
City Council and Board of Aldermen should review and approve the Malden River
Opportunity Areas Plan.
2. Implement the short-term recommendations of the Malden River Opportunity Areas
Plan – The City should focus on implementing the short-term recommendations of the
plan and set aside time yearly to review progress and to determine whether or not current
conditions still support those recommendations. This plan includes the Lower Broadway
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Redevelopment site. The possibility of casino development certainly calls for continual
evaluation of these recommendations.
The recommendations are listed below:
Short-Term













Planning Board approval of the Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan.
City Council approval of Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan. Use Design Guidelines
recommended in this plan to shape desired future development. Include in the City
Zoning Code, as appropriate.
Begin programming activities for the Village Landing Park and the Seven-Acre Park.
Coordinate with abutters beforehand. Coordinate with MA DCR to allow large activities
such as the Brazilian Festival so that they can be properly monitored and controlled to
avoid issues from past events.
Add walkway/bikeway connection between Gateway Park and Village Landing Park in
coordination with the design/construction program by MA DCR/Mass DOT for the
replacement of the Woods Memorial Bridge carrying State Route 16 over the Malden
River.
Work with DCR to add picnic tables, benches, dog park and tot lot to Gateway park to
make it a destination.
Work with DCR to perform selective clearance of brush to improve views of the Mystic
and Malden Rivers from Gateway Park.
Implement active recreation facilities at the Seven-Acre Park, such as a soccer field, running
track and tennis courts as recommended in this plan. A $5 million line item was added to
the City’s Capital Improvement Program in summer 2012 to fund this redevelopment.
Initiate design of facility by potential users.
Work with Energize Everett to develop community gardens and/or schoolyard gardens in
appropriate areas that are otherwise not suitable for active recreation due to location, space
constraints or other reasons.
Urge/support completion of Northern Strand Community Trail between West Street and
Wellington Avenue and Everett City Limit north.
Initiate discussions with MBTA regarding extending Northern Strand Community Trail
southerly on MBTA ROW (now used for shunting and storing rail cars) so that a
continuous path can be provided into the parking lot of the Gateway Center or along the
southerly edge of the State Route 16 open space.
Conclude Everett/Medford Land Swap. Begin planning re-use of the property as open
space and a continuation of the waterfront bicycle and pedestrian path to eventually
connect Village Landing Park and the future River Green Business Park.
Begin discussions with MassDOT/MA DCR to conduct a Route 16 (Revere Beach
Parkway) study between the traffic circles to reduce the barrier effect between southwest
Everett and west Everett and to improve safety for multi-modal operations, improve traffic
flow, and provide better signage.
Make certain that paths shown on the master plan layout for the River Green Business
Park allow public access through the site to the Malden River and provide connections to
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

the Northern Strand Community Trail and to a future path, as proposed in this Plan,
through the Everett Land Swap and Riverside Industrial Parcels sites.
Evaluate reduced density at proposed Waters Avenue Development to ease off-street
parking problems in a congested neighborhood. Planned density is much higher than the
surrounding neighborhood.
Conduct a feasibility study of BRT (bus rapid transit) service along Broadway/Route 99.
Medium-Term







Plan and construct a new bicycle and pedestrian path from Norman Street to the Malden
River at the edge of Mellon Bank property to access both the Village Landing Park (without
going through the Mellon Bank parking lot) and a future riverside trail.
Construct open space and path on new Everett property (as a result of the land swap with
Medford). This will provide for continuation of the riverside trail to eventually connect
Village landing Park and the future RiverGreen Business Park.
Construct desired active recreation facilities at Seven-Acre park, such as a soccer field,
running track and/or tennis court.
Improve vehicular and pedestrian access to current industrial parcels alongside Malden
River. Add at least $1.7 million in the Capital Improvement Program to fund a new road
connection between Santilli Highway and the Berkley development site and determine
plan for ROW acquisition. The new zoning district along the river promotes a re-use of
the industrial site to mixed-use and open space, which would be more appropriate in this
location for future development. The new road is essential to achieve redevelopment.
Begin discussions with MBTA regarding the possibility of constructing a flag stop along the
commuter rail line to the North Shore if Sasaki study shows it is feasible and beneficial for
the City.
Begin planning for redevelopment of the Tremont Street Parcels for mixed uses.
Begin negotiations with the Gateway Center owner for introduction of cycle tracks within
the vast parking lot for safe connections to the Malden River Path, the Northern Strand
Community Trail, and future mixed-use waterside development in the Lower Broadway
District as planned in the Sasaki redevelopment strategy.
Long-Term



Plan for a high density, mixed-use development on the Lower Broadway Waterside Parcel.
Include extension of bicycle/pedestrian paths from the Gateway Park under the Commuter
Rail bridge and along the edge of the Mystic River. Conduct feasibility study for a Ferry
from this parcel along the Mystic River to downtown Boston and possibly to Logan
Airport.
Continue coordination with the MBTA for a flag stop along the commuter rail line to the
North Shore. If this proves feasible, then begin planning for a high density transit-oriented
development between the MBTA ROW and Route 99, per the Sasaki Plan.
Begin construction of the Tremont Street Parcel redevelopment.
Page 32

Begin construction at the Gateway Center of cycle tracks within the vast parking lot to
connect to the Malden River Path, the Northern Strand Community Trail, and future
waterside development along Lower Broadway.
Goal # 4: Redevelop the Lower Broadway Redevelopment Site as a mixed-use development
The major redevelopment parcel in the city is the former Monsanto site on Route 99 (Broadway).
This property is being considered as the site for a casino. Although it is too early to know what
will be the ultimate outcome of any casino proposal, this property is a key redevelopment site and
the city is interested in seeing it redeveloped as a multi-use development. This site has been
identified in the Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan as the Lower Broadway Waterside Parcel.
The redevelopment of this parcel may be subject to Chapter 91 requirements for public access.
The property is also a contaminated brownfield and in need of remediation. This property is also
identified in the Sasaki Lower Broadway study as prime for mixed-use development.
The property is currently zoned for Industrial and is located within the Riverfront Overlay District,
which permits mixed use, but with specific dimensional requirements, many of which are not
necessarily ideal for the site. It is likely that re-zoning will need to occur to match the Lower
Broadway Master Plan completed by Sasaki and to maximize the development potential of the
site. The city is also reviewing a number of other programs that would contribute to the
redevelopment of this site including a Municipal Harbor Plan, designating the area as a Priority
Development Site under 43D, and potentially tapping the Housing Development Incentive
Program (HDIP) through DHCD.
Actions:
1. Re-zone the Lower Broadway Redevelopment Site to allow the type of desired mixed-use
development – This action cannot occur until after a decision has been made on the
casino license. Ultimately, this site will need to be rezoned to allow and encourage the type
of mixed-use development that will contribute to the revitalization of the Lower Broadway
area. The re-zoning of this site would need to occur to permit the casino development but
if the casino proposal does not come to pass, re-zoning of the site will still be necessary but
may not mirror re-zoning neither for the scale of development nor for the uses that a
casino would entail.
Vision Element #5: Everett is a city that cares about residents
of all ages and abilities.
Everett is a city where residents of all ages and physical abilities can live comfortably and safely.
Page 33
Everett Community Safety Audit and Photovoice Project - The Everett Community Safety Audit
and Photovoice Project was funded under a Community Transformation Grant from the
Department of Health. This project entailed 13 Everett youth working for three months with the
Everett Police Department, the Everett Community Health Partnership Substance Abuse
Coalition and Energize Everett. The project was designed to empower the youth to become
involved in the community and was focused on how perceptions of safety and the physical
environment affect personal wellbeing and health.
Summer jobs program – The City has a Youth Summer Job Program which employs
approximately 40 Everett teenagers every summer. The program is funded by the City as well as by
donations from local businesses.
Shannon Grant – The City of Everett participates in the Metro Mayors Community Safety
Initiative which receives Shannon Grant funds from the Commonwealth to implement regional
strategies to combat youth violence, gang violence, and substance abuse through regional law
enforcement efforts, street outreach workers, job training programs, and after-school programs. In
Everett these funds are used to partially pay the Director’s salary at the Boys and Girls Club. The
Everett Public Schools also receives funds to hire at-risk youth over the summer for maintenance
jobs. Funding also goes to the Police Department for their involvement in the Metro Gang Task
Force during the summer.
Senior Center/Council on Aging – The Council on Aging is responsible for running the Senior
Center and organizing a wide variety of programs for seniors including travel, exercise and health.
Commission on Disability - The Everett Disability Commission is composed of five members.
Their mandate is to consider applications for on-street handicapped accessible parking spaces and
to make recommendations on these applications to the Everett Traffic Commission. The
Commission is also responsible for disbursing funds from the collection of fines for violations of
handicapped parking regulations for the purposes of improving accessibility in public buildings.
They have no staff and they have a limited mandate.
Everett Housing Authority – The Everett Housing Authority is responsible for maintaining and
managing public housing developments in the city.
Everett Department of Planning and Development - This department is responsible for a wide
range of planning and development programs.
Goal #1 – Improve transportation for seniors
Page 34
Actions:
1. Increase the number of days that the senior van provides service to the Senior Center–
Currently, Cataldo Ambulance donates the senior van service to the Senior Center but this
service is only once a week on Thursdays. The Council on Aging should seek additional
corporate support to increase the frequency of service.
2. Develop a parking area for seniors wishing to take the MGH shuttle to Boston - MGH
has a shuttle from their Everett Health Center at 19-23 Norwood Street to their facilities in
Boston but there is no dedicated parking area; only on-street metered parking and two
municipal lots. Use of these lots and meters is not feasible for the length of time it takes
to travel to Boston for a medical appointment. In Chelsea you can leave your car in a lot
and take the shuttle. Some Everett residents drive to Chelsea, park and take the shuttle.
The city should investigate whether there is any land available for a lot or any way to waive
fees for seniors parking to take the shuttle.
Goal #2 – Make Everett a more accessible city for residents with disabilities
Actions:
1. Expand the role of the Commission on Disability and provide additional funding – The
Commission on Disability plays an important but narrow role in the area of handicapped
accessibility. The City should review the role of Commissions on Disability in other
communities and seek to enlarge the scope and the resources of the Commission. In
Revere for instance, the Commission on Disabilities undertakes a yearly needs assessment
and maintains a disability equipment loan program so that Revere residents can borrow
canes, wheelchairs, commodes, crutches and walkers. The City of Malden has a Human
Rights, Fair Housing and Disability Issues Commission. The City of Somerville has a
Commission for Persons with Disabilities. Other communities publish booklets about
accessible restaurants.
Goal #3 –Engage Everett’s youth as equal partners in the future of the city.
The youth of Everett expressed the need for more activities and jobs. Jobs are an economic
necessity for many youth whereas more activities and places to congregate are important ways to
ensure that youth have constructive ways to fill their time. The cost of transportation to places of
interest such as the mall or the beaches was cited as a problem.
Actions:
Page 35
1. Establish a youth commission with young members and representatives of departments and
agencies that serve youth to advise the city on policy and programs- The youth involved in
the Community Safety Audit/PhotoVoice project identified the need to increase youth
leadership and youth representation in city decisions and meetings. Area communities have
taken different approaches to involving youth and younger adults. The City of Chelsea has a
youth commission. The commission is composed of 15 members and includes high school
students and members from youth organizations. The commission advises and assists the City
Council, School Committee and the City Manager regarding policies, programs and services
for youth and their families. The City of Somerville has a Young Somerville Advisory Group
composed of 21-35 year old Somerville residents. The group’s goals are to increase the number
of young residents engaged in the civic community, improve the quality of City services offered
and increase communication between City government and people in this age group. The
Group will accomplish set goals by advising the Mayor and City staff, initiating and organizing
activities targeted to this demographic, and advocating on behalf of fellow Young Somerville
residents.
Goal #4: Provide more programs and services for youth
Actions:
1. Expand the summer jobs program to serve more youth and broaden the type of jobs
provided – The program currently is only able to serve 40 Everett youth. It is funded by
the city and by corporate donations. The City should seek additional funding to enable
the program to expand.
2. Provide more organized activities at night - The youth involved in the Community Safety
Audit/PhotoVoice project felt that there needed to be more organized activities at night so
kids are not just wandering the streets. These activities could be sponsored by the Boys
and Girls Club and other non-profit organizations as well as possibly the schools.
3. Strengthen the Boys and Girls Club and other youth and cultural organizations and
advertise these programs to attract more youth – This is another recommendation made
by the youth involved in the Community Safety Audit/Photo Voice project. The Boys and
Girls Club already has a site and programmed activities but these need to be expanded and
more heavily advertised.
Goal #5: Provide a range of quality housing choices that people can afford.
1. Connect residents with affordable homeownership opportunities across all income
levels. There are many local and regional opportunities for residents to access
homeownership opportunities, specifically for first-time buyers. NOAH provides
ownership programs and the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance provide firstMany Voices, One Future: The Everett Vision Plan
Page 36
time buyer counseling. Massachusetts Housing Partnership provides information about
the Soft Second Homeownership Program. A healthy residential market needs to include
both market rate housing as well as a variety of types of subsidized housing.
2. Ensure residents and local businesses are included in neighborhood planning and can
benefit from new development opportunities . Residents and local businesses should be
included in local planning activities, particularly when there might be a concern that they
will be displaced as a result of rising rents or leases from new development.
3. Create more housing for seniors and people with disabilities. Many programs are
available to help offset housing costs and ensure quality housing for seniors and people
with disabilities. The Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership, the Home Modification
Loan Program, TriCAP, and the Everett Housing Authority all have programs.
Additionally, the city already uses CDBG and HOME funds for energy conservation and
housing rehabilitation, home repair and modification programs for income-eligible elderly
owners and owner-occupied rehabilitation of one to four-family homes.
4. Develop a plan for creating more housing. To ensure that housing is affordable to many
people and there are many housing options, the city should write a housing production
plan and have it approved by the MA Department of Housing and Community
Development. The plan can include identification of sites for new housing and suggest
zoning changes to accommodate new housing and also identify barriers to and solutions
to address any fair housing issues to ensure affirmative marketing of new housing units.
Redevelopment of key parcels has resulted in a stronger economic base and more jobs available to
residents while minimizing displacement of residents and businesses. While maintaining the
industrial areas that contribute so much to the local and regional economy, redevelopment has
occurred with a focus on cleaner industries and businesses and with sensitivity to adjacent
neighborhoods and key features like the river.
A number of the planning projects described on Page 1 are relevant to this vision element. These
include:



The Lower Broadway Plan prepared by Sasaki Associates
The Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan
High school re-use studies
Page 37

The Commercial Triangle Plan
In addition the City also has a group of students from Tufts University who are studying the
commercial triangle bounded by 2nd and Vine Streets between the Revere Beach Parkway and the
MBTA tracks.
Goal #1: Determine the highest and best use for vacant and under-utilized parcels.
A first step in economic development planning is to look at the city’s stock of vacant or underutilized parcels and evaluate what is the highest and best use for those sites. This needs to take
into account both market conditions and resident concerns and needs. There needs to be a
balance between density, traffic, residential development and economic growth.
Actions:
1. Review the parcel analysis portion of the Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan for
selected sites– This plan includes land use data sheets for the Riverside Industrial Parcel,
the Berkeley Development site, the Tremont Street parcels and the Waters Avenue
Development site. These data sheets contain very useful information about zoning, assets
and liabilities, contamination, adjacent land uses and potential future uses. This
information should be reviewed by the Planning Board, Planning and Development
Department and shared in a public forum to assess resident concerns about development.
This will help to evaluate current zoning, assess neighborhood concerns and market the
sites.
2. Redevelop the Lower Broadway Redevelopment Site as a mixed-use development - The
major redevelopment parcel in the city is the former Monsanto site on Route 99
(Broadway). This property is being considered as the site for a casino. Although it is too
early to know what will be the ultimate outcome of any casino proposal, this property is a
key redevelopment site and the city is interested in seeing it redeveloped as a multi-use
development. Whether or not a residential component is included will depend on the
level of clean-up of this brownfield site. This parcel is discussed in more detail under
Vision Element #4.
3. Re-examine goals for re-use of the old high school – The old high school property poses
unique challenges as a potential redevelopment site. The building needs extensive
upgrades to bring it up to code and make it handicapped accessible and although it has
frontage on Broadway, it is surrounded by residential development that would be impacted
by traffic. Although the goal of re-using an historic building is admirable, the site may be
more valuable as cleared land on which to redevelop. During the outreach done within the
Page 38
community there was a strong sentiment that the re-use of the property should be for a
community purpose with many potential suggestions being given. With other industrial
properties being available in the Lower Broadway area for economic development, the city
should look at funding sources for demolition and re-use of the site for a community
purpose.
4. Begin evaluation and implementation of the Commercial Triangle Plan – The
Commercial Triangle Plan includes recommendations and outlines an implementation
strategy. The City should evaluate the recommendations of the plan and determine which are
feasible for short and long term implementation.
Goal #2: Update the zoning where necessary to maximize the development potential of vacant
and under-utilized parcels.
Zoning is the primary tool for regulating development but if not reviewed periodically, can become
out-of-date as communities change over time. Many industrial areas are zoned for types of uses
that are no longer predominant and zoning can need to be updated to account for residential
growth or changes in the transportation system.
Actions:
1. Review the zoning of vacant and under-utilized parcels- -This is necessary to determine if
the currently desired uses are allowed and if there are new zoning tools to encourage these
uses. All aspects of the zoning ordinance should be reviewed such as dimensional
requirements as well as procedural requirements.
2. Pass new zoning regulations where necessary – New zoning should only be passed after a
comprehensive review and analysis because zoning is not easily changed and developers
need to have certainty regarding what regulations will govern their future plans.
Goal #3: Ensure that the necessary public infrastructure is in place for future development
Zoning and the economy are probably the two most important elements in determining the
development potential of a parcel. Public infrastructure is a third factor and can help tip the
balance in favor of development. It is necessary to balance the type and level of infrastructure
investment that the city makes with the potential for developer investments.
Actions:
1. Assess the available infrastructure at key vacant and under-utilized parcels –
Transportation infrastructure includes the local street network, transit access, the regional
highway network and bicycle/pedestrian access. Other infrastructure includes gas, electric
and fiber optic/broadband capacity. Water and sewer availability is good but the age of the
Page 39
distribution system is a factor and may need to be replaced or upgraded. All city
departments should be involved in this analysis.
Goal #4: Create additional capacity for development initiatives.
In order to more effectively develop and redevelop underutilized properties the City needs to
assess whether it has sufficient capacity to do so.
Actions:
1. Explore the creation of a Redevelopment Authority – A Redevelopment Authority can be
a powerful tool for the type of redevelopment opportunities that exist in Everett. The City
should thoroughly explore the pros and cons of creating an authority. A proposal to create
a Redevelopment Authority was put before a joint meeting of the Common Council and
the Board of Aldermen on August 19, 2013 but was not adopted. The City will be holding
meetings in the future to discuss the proposal and hear from residents.
2. Establish an Urban Renewal Program – The City should also explore the establishment of
an Urban Renewal program. A proposal to develop an Urban Renewal Plan was also
considered but no action was taken until additional information could be provided to the
Common Council and Board of Aldermen.
Everett has a transportation system that offers many options including public transportation, safe
streets and more bicycle and pedestrian accommodations. This system allows residents of all ages
options that do not involve driving and strengthens Everett’s strategic location as a neighbor of
Boston. Safe streets, walkability and connectivity to community and regional destinations will
improve the quality of life in the neighborhoods as well as supporting the local business
community.
Regional Transportation Overview: Centrally located in the Boston metropolitan region, the City
of Everett has good vehicular access to the regional highway network (I- 93, Route 16, Route 99
and Route 1) and is close to the Wellington Orange Line station in Medford, the Sullivan Square
station in Charlestown and the Chelsea commuter rail stop on the Newburyport/Rockport Line.
Almost 70 percent of Everett residents use a car as a means of transportation to work. However,
18 percent of Everett residents do not have access to a vehicle and slightly over 20 percent of
Everett residents utilize public transportation to get to work1.
1
US Census Bureau, 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
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Membership on the MPO- -The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is
responsible for conducting the federally required metropolitan transportation-planning process
(often called the 3C—continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive—process) for the Boston
metropolitan area. The MPO uses this process to develop a vision for the region and then decides
how to allocate federal and state transportation funds to programs and projects—roadway, transit,
bicycle, and pedestrian—that support that vision. The MPO is a cooperative board of 22 voting
members and 2 non-voting members. The City of Everett is currently one of the voting members.
The Lower Broadway Study – This plan which was prepared by Sasaki Associates in 2012
contains a major transportation component.
Complete Streets - The city has drafted a complete streets policy aimed at providing safe,
convenient and comfortable routes for all that make use of the streets within the City of Everett
including: pedestrians, bicyclists, public transit riders, motorists, commercial vehicles, and
emergency vehicles.
Walking Routes to the Mystic River - The city is participating in a regional effort to develop
walking routes to the Mystic and Malden Rivers.
Goal #1: Ensure that the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians are given equal consideration in
transportation planning.
Existing recreational trails and parks in southwest Everett are currently scattered and have either
inadequate or no connectivity. In spite of this, there are several opportunities to improve and
expand upon on-street bicycle lanes and off-street shared-use paths. Specifically, southwest Everett
has limited connectivity and accessibility to the waterfront for vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
Emphasizing pedestrian and bicycle path development both along and to the waterfront and
building upon the existing network is critical. Encouraging these types of access can be
accomplished by prioritizing waterfront development projects that commit to implementing and
coordinating these types of connections as part of their developments. Developments include the
RiverGreen Business Park, Waters Avenue Development, Tremont Street future redevelopment,
and the Riverside Industrial Parcels.
Actions:
1. Adopt the Complete Streets Resolution - The City of Everett’s Energize Everett program
has been working to create a healthy community by promoting and supporting ways to
increase physical activity through policy change in the City. Energize Everett has drafted a
Complete Streets Resolution whose adoption would institute a Complete Streets Policy.
This will encourage increased access and safety for all modes of transportation, with
particular attention and support provided to pedestrians, bicyclists and public transit
riders, enable convenient travel as part of daily activities, improve the public welfare by
Page 41
addressing a wide array of health and environmental challenges, and meet the needs of all
users of streets, including users of all ages and abilities.
2. Establish the Complete Streets Advisory Committee – The resolution calls for the
creation of a Complete Streets Advisory Committee which would serve as the body to
support collaboration and information sharing between departments, residents, developers
and other organizations to address questions and concerns to ensure safety and accessibility
for all users with a context sensitive approach to possible issues in the development and
construction of projects throughout the City of Everett. This body will guide and advise the
process of incorporating the Complete Streets principles in the construction and
development of street and infrastructure projects throughout the City through policy and
design guidelines and recommendations, with final approval from the Director of
Planning.
3. Adopt a Complete Streets Ordinance and Guidelines- This would be the final step in the
process of fully adopting the Complete Streets Policy by codifying the policy into
regulations.
Goal #2: Improve the extent and connectivity of bicycle and pedestrian paths
Both the Sasaki and Parsons Brinckerhoff studies provide recommendations for improving
Everett’s bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The Sasaki study’s primary recommendations focus on:
-
Making Route 99 more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.
-
Improving bicycle and pedestrian access along the Mystic and Malden Rivers.
-
Providing a complete pedestrian trail along the Mystic River to connect to Gateway Plaza.
-
Re-establishing the existing at-grade rail crossing for pedestrian access to Gateway Plaza.
The first phase of the Northern Strand Community Trail in Everett, from Waters Avenue north to
Malden along the former B&M Saugus Branch railroad line, is currently operational. The Malden
River Opportunity Areas Plan emphasizes increasing bicycle and pedestrian connectivity, especially
along the Malden River and on an abandoned railroad ROW owned by the MBTA as part of the
Northern Strand Community Trail. The Northern Strand Community Trail is expected to attract
recreational tourists in addition to local users. Locally, access will provide connections to
employment, retail and school destinations along the ROW.
Page 42
Actions:
1. Connect the Northern Strand Community Trail with the neighborhoods with on-street
bicycle facilities - It is important that connections be designed to link up with neighboring
communities. There are opportunities in Everett to establish on-street bicycle lanes with
“sharrows” to improve connections between the Northern Strand Community Path and
local neighborhoods. Recommended streets include Floyd Street, Main Street, Prescott
Street, Tileston Street, Wellington Avenue and West Street.
2. Connect the Village Landing Park Path to Gateway Park - There are also opportunities to
provide shared off-street bicycle connections across Route 16, to Gateway Center/Park,
and along Route 99. The existing path at Village Landing Park dead ends adjacent to
Route 16. The Malden River Opportunities Plan recommends that this path be extended
to the south underneath the Woods Memorial Bridge to connect with the existing path in
Gateway Park.
3. Extend the Northern Strand Community Trail south - The Malden River Opportunity
Areas Plan emphasizes that Everett continue building on the momentum of this first phase
to continue the path. Currently, the trail is proposed to leave the railroad (ROW) and
continue along Santilli Highway and across Route 16 to connect with the existing rail in
Gateway Park. However, there is an opportunity to potentially extend the trail to the south
on railroad ROW, but this will require coordination with the MBTA.
Goal #3: Improve connections to the regional transit system
Actions:
1. Study current MBTA Bus Service - Eight MBTA bus routes service the City of Everett.
On a typical weekday, over 4,800 passengers board MBTA buses at stops in Everett.
MBTA bus routes 104 and 109 are the most frequently utilized with 3,360 and 2,988 daily
weekday boardings respectively and rank among the top 40 bus routes in the MBTA system
for daily ridership. There are 665 daily boardings along Ferry Street on routes 104 and
110. MBTA bus routes serving Everett provide access to Wellington and Sullivan Square
Orange Line Stations in Boston, the Malden Orange Line and commuter rail stop, and
stops on the Blue Line. The high level of ridership indicates a strong demand for public
transportation.
The last comprehensive look at MBTA bus service was a report by the Central
Transportation Staff (CTPS) 2008-2009 that surveyed riders on the bus routes operating
out of the Charlestown and Fellsway Garages. The report presents information on why
trips are made, where riders are coming from and going to, how riders get to and from the
service, and for rapid transit, the stations at which riders enter and exit the system. The
Page 43
report also provides information on the demographics of riders, their automobile
ownership, how they pay their fares, and how they perceive the quality of MBTA services.
Established bus routes can become inefficient as conditions change and therefore, it can be
valuable to re-evaluate whether the routes are serving current needs. The MBTA does this
through conducting origin and destination studies that provide information on time of day
of trips, the starting and ending point of the trip and the purpose of the trip (work,
shopping, school, etc.). This information can be used to determine if any changes need to
be made to better serve the community. Table 3 summarizes ridership for MBTA Bus
Routes that provide service within and through Everett.
Table 3
Ridership for MBTA Bus Routes Providing Service within and through Everett
MBTA
Bus
Route
Number
97
Weekday Boardings
Inbound Outbound Total
Saturday Boardings
Inbound
OutTotal
bound
Sunday Boardings
399
343
742
176
131
307
105
85
190
99
580
679
1,259
220
323
543
117
173
290
104
1,614
1,746
3,360
1,047
947
1,994
455
519
974
105
516
410
926
166
206
372
132
127
259
106
1,177
1,140
2,317
597
514
1,111
282
349
631
109
1,345
1,643
2,988
656
901
1,557
469
479
948
110
1,253
1,139
2,392
536
537
1,073
230
224
454
112
620
593
1,213
326
346
672
168
211
379
Source: MBTA, Ridership and Service Statistics, 13th Edition, 2010.
2. Study the feasibility of a commuter rail stop in Everett - While Everett has no direct
connection to MBTA rail transit, the City has expressed interest for potential future
service. As part of their implementation strategy for the Lower Broadway area, Sasaki
Associates has recommended exploring the possibility of an MBTA flag stop as a mid-term
action to be followed by the potential siting of a new MBTA commuter rail station as a
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long-term action. The station would be located south of the MBTA Maintenance Facility
off of Route 99 within walking and biking distance of southwest Everett. However, new
commuter rail stops are expensive, not easy to implement and must be considered in the
context of the overall functioning of the entire line.
The Newburyport/Rockport Line is frequently used with over 7,330 and 11,160 weekday
boardings respectively as shown in Table 4 below:
Table 4
Newburyport/Rockport Line Boston Bound Weekday Boardings
Weekday Boardings
Inbound Outbound
Total
Newburyport
3,694
3,643
7,337
Rockport
5,733
5,433
11,166
Saturday Boardings
2,009
1,938
3,947
1,681
1,779
3,460
Saturday Boardings
Inbound Outbound
Total
1,599
1,469
3,068
1,384
1,325
2,709
Source: MBTA, Ridership and Service Statistics, 13th Edition, 2010.
While commuter rail service can strengthen accessibility and economic development,
further study is needed to determine the feasibility of a potential commuter rail stop along
the Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line south of Route 16. The study must address
the impacts on the entire Newburyport/Rockport line, the effect on area MBTA bus
routes, and estimate potential ridership. Developing estimates for both capital and
operations costs and evaluating the ability to encourage area growth and economic
development need to be included in this study.
3. Investigate the feasibility of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service along Route 99 (Broadway)
- BRT service along Route 99 can provide a more efficient and convenient opportunity to
provide access to existing transit stations and downtown Boston than existing service or a
commuter rail stop. Bus rapid transit involves a dedicated right-of-way for buses to travel
on. The opportunity to provide this type of service should be evaluated further.
Approximately 2,900 passengers board MBTA buses at stops along Broadway, accounting
for about 61 percent of total bus boardings in Everett.
To allow for effective BRT service, alleviating or redistributing truck traffic should be
explored and the issue of many drivers using this road to avoid paying tolls on Route 1 and
the Tobin Bridge (Route 99 provides direct access to the regional highway network) should
be addressed.
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4. Improve access to the Orange Line
While there is no Orange Line service in Everett, Wellington Station in Medford is in close
proximity as is Sullivan Square Station in Boston. Four of the eight MBTA bus routes that
service Everett access Wellington Station. Wellington Station, a major bus transfer station
and park and ride facility, has daily boardings of over 7,460 riders. Sullivan Square
Station, in Charlestown, is served by three of the eight MBTA bus routes that service
Everett (104,105,109). Everett residents mentioned access to Sullivan Square frequently
and wanted improved pedestrian access.
Another potential connection to the Orange Line will be at Assembly Square. Assembly
Square is the site of an ongoing mixed-use, smart growth development project along the
Mystic River in Somerville. A new MBTA Orange Line station, Assembly Square, is
planned to service this new development site. Sited between Sullivan Square and
Wellington Stations, Assembly Square is currently under construction and is expected to
be complete in the fall of 2014. Projections are for 5,000 riders per day in 2030 at
Assembly Station.
While there is no direct roadway connection from Everett to Assembly Station, there
would be an opportunity for bicyclists and pedestrians to access this new station by
traversing Mystic View Road if there was a path across the Amelia Earhart Dam. From
Everett, bicyclists and pedestrians could also reach the Draw Seven Park in Somerville
which is adjacent to the Assembly Square site and the future Assembly Station. Previous
studies of a path across the dam have concluded that this project would be expensive and
would entail safety and security concerns.
1. Investigate the feasibility of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Service along Route 99
(Broadway) The most promising opportunity to improve access to the Orange Line
would be through Bus Rapid Transit established along Broadway.
2. Evaluate all options for a bicycle/pedestrian path across the Amelia Earhart Dam
The City should take advantage of any opportunities that may arise to participate in
advancing this idea at a regional level.
5. Monitor the Silver Line to Chelsea Study - The Commonwealth is currently studying the
feasibility of extending the Silver Line to Chelsea. This future Silver Line extension has the
potential to enhance Everett’s access to Logan Airport. The City should stay abreast of this
study and participate in any review opportunities.
Goal #4: Reduce the impact of truck traffic in Lower Broadway
Page 46
During the Sasaki study, many public meeting attendees voiced their concerns about truck traffic
in Everett, especially along Route 99. Options to reroute or redistribute truck traffic should be
explored. However the block of streets surrounded by Bow, Dexter, Robin and Beacham Streets
should be protected from truck traffic because they are primarily residential streets.
Goal #5: Provide appropriate parking for existing and new development - The Malden River
Opportunity Areas Plan mentions that since on-street parking is limited in neighborhoods, future
development projects need to be appropriately designed to adequately accommodate vehicular
access and parking on-site. In addition, sufficient parking needs to be provided for future transit
improvements such as boat launches and water taxi services. MAPC has developed a parking tool
kit that includes valuable information on how to manage parking in municipalities.
Actions:
1. Adopt a shared parking zoning ordinance - Where feasible, shared parking strategies
should be implemented between adjacent development parcels to allow for the efficient use
of parking spaces.
Goal #6: Invest in improvements to regionally significant roadways
Centrally located in the Boston metropolitan region, the City of Everett has good vehicular access
to the regional highway network (I- 93, Route 16, Route 99 and Route 1). There are areas of the
regional highway network that are in need of significant improvement.
Actions:
1. Complete current projects on the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) list There are nine projects in the City of Everett which are included in the Transportation
Improvement Program and Air Quality Conformity Determination for Federal Fiscal Years
2013–16 and are part of the Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) on-line
Interactive Database. The principal projects are described below.

Improvements to Route 99 (Broadway)
Improvements to Route 99 (Broadway) from Sweetser Circle to the Alford Street
Bridge are currently under construction and work is expected to be complete in the
spring of 2013. The major components of this $4.6 million project include upgrading
traffic signals at three intersections along Route 99 - Beacham, Bowdoin and Dexter
Streets - to improve traffic flow and safety. Full depth pavement reconstruction will
also be performed for the segment of Broadway between Bartlett Street and Beacham
Street.

Route 16 (Revere Beach Parkway) over the Malden River (Woods Memorial Bridge)
The Woods Memorial Bridge is a non-operating draw bridge which will be replaced
with a new fixed bridge. The project also includes reconstructing approximately 2,600
linear feet of roadway along Route 16 between Wellington Circle to Santilli Circle in
Everett, providing an opportunity to enhance transportation accommodations along
Page 47
Route 16 for pedestrians and bicyclists. A new at-grade shared use path underneath
the new bridge along the banks of the Malden River on the Everett side will connect
with existing pedestrian/bicycle paths in the area. This project is currently undergoing
design review and it is anticipated that it will be advertised for construction in fall
2013. The estimated cost for this project is $53 million and is part of MassDOT’s
Accelerated Bridge Program.

Ferry Street
Identified by the City of Everett as a Community Priority for TIP funding, this project
will upgrade the traffic signal infrastructure along Ferry Street from Elm Street to
Union Street. In addition, the existing signal at the intersection of Ferry Street/South
Ferry Street with Chelsea Street will be replaced with a modern roundabout. This
project is expected to improve travel times for vehicles, including MBTA bus routes
104 and 110, and provide better access and safer conditions for bicyclists and
pedestrians
2. Study the Route 16 Corridor - The primary east/west connection between the cities of
Medford, Everett, Revere, Chelsea and I-93, Route 16 serves as a critical component to
overall regional mobility. Route 16 is also the central connection to the MBTA’s
Wellington Station. An average of 73,000 vehicle trips traverse Route 16 daily and twenty
percent of these vehicles are medium to heavy trucks.
However, Route 16 separates the north and south sections of Everett and prevents
continuous and safe access across this state route for bicyclists and pedestrians. Safe and
convenient bicycle and pedestrian access across Route 16 is essential to connect the densely
populated residential area in the north with Gateway Center and Gateway Park in the
south. The entire Route 16 corridor should be studied by MassDOT and DCR with an
emphasis on lessening its barrier effect. In addition to focusing on the area between
Broadway and Santilli Highway/Mystic View Road, the corridor study should develop
recommendations for safety improvements, bicycle and pedestrian access, and landscaping
enhancements. To ensure its success, area businesses and residents need to be active
participants in this corridor study.
Goal #6: Explore possibilities for water transportation While there is currently no water transit service to or from Everett, there is great potential for
various types of water transportation services. The Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan also
recommended potential boat launches or water taxi docks at Village Landing Park and at the
Riverside Industrial Parcels north of Route 16 for recreational opportunities or even a community
boating/sailing facility similar to Community Boating on the Charles River in Boston.
Page 48
Actions:
1. Work with the future developers of the Lower Broadway Redevelopment Site to develop
a water taxi dock - The Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan has identified the Lower
Broadway Waterside Parcel, south of the Amelia Earhart Dam, as an ideal site for water
taxi service to Boston via the Mystic River. Specific destinations in Boston can include
North Station, Logan Airport, and the downtown waterfront.
2. Explore what other nearby communities have done regarding water transportation. For
example, the City of Salem has a Fast Ferry, which is owned by Salem and operated under
contract by Boston Harbor Cruises. With a passenger capacity of 150, the ferry provides
service to and from Boston primarily for tourists in under an hour. Boston Harbor Cruises
operates a seasonal ferry service between Winthrop and Boston. In addition to providing
transportation service for customers, the Town of Winthrop anticipates that the ferry
service will help encourage economic growth and tourism. The City of Lynn has an
underutilized 305-acre waterfront parcel which is in proximity to other transportation
opportunities and 10 miles from downtown Boston. The City of Lynn is working with the
Massachusetts’ Seaport Advisory Council and MassDOT to obtain funding for a commuter
ferry between Lynn and Boston. Ferry service is expected to commence within a year.
As part of a grant from the federal Ferry Boat Discretionary Program run by the US DOT,
the City of Medford recently filed a project outline with MassDOT for a water taxi dock
along Clippership Drive. A water taxi has the potential of advancing the local economy by
linking Medford with nearby communities, such as Everett and Somerville. The River’s
Edge mixed-use development in Medford, which includes a boat house for the Tufts
University crew team, is an excellent example of a recreational riverside use.
Page 49
Chapter Four: Implementing the Vision
There are many factors that go into the implementation of a plan such as this one. Table 5
attempts to classify recommendations with regards to their potential timing. Short-term actions are
those that could be accomplished within the next 3 years. Medium-term actions may require 3-6
years to implement and long-term actions are those likely to take more than 6 years. The timing
designation is provided only as a guide to implementation and there are many factors which go
into being able to move forward on these recommendations.
Table 5
Action Recommendations
Recommendation
Potential
Timing
community.
Maintain a list of City staff and the languages they speak and
make it available throughout City Hall to make it easier to find
someone to interpret.
Short- term
The City will enroll in a telephone based language service to
provide interpretation for residents and city hall staff during
regular business hours.
Short- term
Upgrade the city's web site and include translation capability.
Short- term
Allow residents to choose from several commonly spoken
languages for emergency telephone notifications and expand the
use of this system to notify residents about community
meetings.
Short- term
Publish a guide to city services and regulations in the most
commonly spoken languages.
Short- term
Create a staff position for diversity or multi-cultural relations to
help immigrants.
Medium- term
Page 50
Table 5
Recommendation
Potential
Timing
Encourage multi-cultural programming at the Boys and Girls
Club and other youth and cultural organizations.
Short-term
Encourage multi-cultural programs in the schools.
Short-term
Support an active Multicultural Affairs Commission.
Short-term
Seek additional funding for the Everett Adult Learning Center
for English as a second Language classes.
Short-term
neighborhoods.
Provide residents with easy ways to report unsafe conditions in
the parks.
Short-term
Develop a Smart phone application for reporting unsafe
conditions and requesting services from the City.
Short-term
Use social media such as Facebook and Twitter to improve
communications between residents and City Hall.
Short-term
Maintain and enhance lighting city-wide to improve safety.
Short-term
Fix unsafe conditions in the parks such as broken fences and
playground equipment.
Medium-term
Place more trash barrels throughout the city.
Short-term
Create a formal process for implementation of high-priority
improvement projects in each neighborhood.
Short-term
Promote neighborhood block parties, clean-up days and more
frequent hazardous waste collection days.
Short-term
Page 51
Table 5
Recommendation
Build more community gardens
Potential
Timing
Medium-term
green.
Remove graffiti at parks.
Short-term
Develop a youth advisory group within the Recreation
Department.
Short-term
Medium-term
Continue efforts to develop a greenway at River Green
Technology Park
Medium-term
Make improvements to the recreation center.
Medium- term
Continue with construction and enhancements to the Northern
Strand Community Trail.
Short-term
Mark the five walking routes to the Mystic with signs.
Short-term
Plant more trees in the parks.
Medium-term
Continue the tree replacement program.
Short-term
Expand the Everett Farmers Market.
Short-term
enhance multi-use developments and provide access to
recreation.
Use Chapter 91 to ensure public access to the rivers.
Short-term
Page 52
Table 5
Recommendation
Develop a Municipal Harbor Plan.
Potential
Timing
Short-term
Sign the five walking routes to the Mystic that are within
Everett.
Short-term
Work with the City of Chelsea to sign the two walking routes
that go from Everett into Chelsea.
Medium-term
Participate in regional efforts to implement the regional system
of walking routes to the Mystic.
Short-term
Review and approve the Malden River Opportunity Areas Plan.
Short-term
Implement the short-term recommendations of the Malden
River Opportunity Areas Plan.
Short-term
Re-zone the Lower Broadway Redevelopment Site to allow the
type of desired mixed-use development.
Short-term
Vision Element #5: Everett is city that cares about residents of
all ages and abilities.
Increase the number of days that the senior van provides service
to the Senior Center.
Short-term
Develop a parking area for seniors wishing to take the MGH
shuttle to Boston
Short-term
Expand the role of the Commission on Disability and provide
additional funding.
Long-term
Establish a youth commission with young members and
representatives of departments and agencies that serve youth to
advise the city on policy and programs.
Short-term
Page 53
Table 5
Recommendation
Potential
Timing
Expand the summer jobs program to serve more youth and
broaden the type of jobs provided.
Short-term
Provide more organized activities at night.
Short-term
Strengthen the Boys and Girls Club and other youth and
cultural organizations and advertise their programs to attract
more youth.
Short-term
Connect residents with affordable homeownership
opportunities.
Medium-term
Ensure residents and local businesses are included in
neighborhood planning and can benefit from new development
opportunities.
Short-term
Create more housing for seniors and people with disabilities.
Medium-term
Develop a plan for creating more housing.
Short-term
Review the parcel analysis portion of the Malden River
Opportunity Areas Plan for selected sites.
Short-term
Redevelop the Lower Broadway Redevelopment Site as a mixeduse development.
Medium-term
Re-examine goals for re-use of the old high school.
Short-term
Evaluate and implement the recommendations of the
Commercial Triangle Plan.
Short-term
Page 54
Table 5
Recommendation
Potential
Timing
Review the zoning of vacant and under-utilized parcels.
Short-term
Pass new zoning regulations where necessary.
Short-term
Assess the available infrastructure at key vacant and underutilized parcels.
Short-term
Explore the creation of a Redevelopment Authority
Short-term
Establish an Urban Renewal program.
Short-term
Adopt the Complete Streets Resolution.
Short-term
Establish the Complete Streets Advisory Committee.
Medium-term
Adopt a Complete Streets Ordinance and Guidelines.
Medium-term
Connect the Northern Strand Community Trail with the
neighborhoods with on-street bicycle facilities.
Short-term
Connect Village Landing Park to Gateway Park.
Medium-term
Extend the Northern Strand Community Trail south.
Medium-term
Study current MBTA bus service.
Medium-term
Study the feasibility of a commuter rail stop in Everett.
Short-term
Investigate the feasibility of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service
along Route 99 (Broadway).
Short-term
Page 55
Table 5
Recommendation
Potential
Timing
Improve access to the Orange Line.
Short-term
Evaluate all options for a bicycle/pedestrian path across the
Amelia Earhart Dam.
Long-term
Monitor the Silver Line to Chelsea Study.
Short-term
Adopt a shared parking zoning ordinance.
Long-term
Complete current projects on the Transportation Improvement
Program (TIP) list.
Short-term
Study the Route 16 corridor.
Short-term
Work with the future developers of the Lower Broadway
Redevelopment Site to develop a water taxi dock.
Medium-term
Explore what other nearby communities have done regarding
water transportation.
Long-term
Page 56
Chapter Five: Resources
Metropolitan Area Planning Council
http://www.mapc.org
MAPC Sustainable Communities
http://www.mapc.org/metrofuture/sustainable-communities
Medford Office of Human Diversity and Compliance
http://www.medford.org/Pages/MedfordMA_Diversity/index
Boston Office of New Bostonians
http://www.cityofboston.gov/newbostonians/
Teaching Tolerance
http://www.tolerance.org/activities
Everett Adult Learning Center
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Everett-Adult-LearningCenter/116735855062740?v=info
Watertown Community Foundation Block Parties
http://www.watertownfoundation.org/blockparties/
Northern Strand Community Trail
http://biketothesea.com/
https://sites.google.com/site/energizeeverett2010/growing-andsharing/everett-farmers-market
Energize Everett
https://sites.google.com/site/energizeeverett2010/home
Mystic River Watershed Initiative
http://www.epa.gov/region1/mysticriver/index.html
Walking Routes to the Lower Mystic River
http://www.mapc.org/river-routes
Medford Winter Farmers Market
http://www.medfordfarmersmarket.org/
Page 57
Chapter 91: The MA Public Waterfront Act
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/water/watersheds/chapter-91the-massachusetts-public-waterfront-act.html
Somerville Commission for Persons with Disabilities
http://www.somervillema.gov/departments/commission-for-persons-withdisabilities
Chelsea Youth Commission
http://www.ci.chelsea.ma.us/Public_Documents/ChelseaMA_bcomm/you
th
Young Somerville Advisory Group
http://www.somervillema.gov/departments/ysag
Page 58
Appendix A
Meetings and Events
Date
Meeting/Event
Purpose
Kick-off meeting
To explain the purpose and
scope of the project.
17
Emmanueal Exilhomme
To discuss the involvement of
the Haitian community in the
visioning project.
1
Lucy Pineda, LUMA
To discuss the involvement of
the Latino community in the
visioning project.
1
Joint Committee on Children's Health
Care in Everett (JCCHCE)
To explain the visioning project
and discuss possible ways for
JCCHCE members to become
involved. To make community
connections.
15
Parents University (sponsored by
JCCHCE)
Attended all-day event to
promote the Everett Visioning
Project and obtain input from
residents.
NA
Emmanuel Exilhomme
To plan the May 7 community
gathering with the Haitian
community.
1
4/26/2012
Lucy Pineda
To discuss the possibility of
LUMA co-sponsoring a
community gathering for the
Latino community.
1
5/7/2012
Haitian community gathering
Meeting with the Haitian
community for input.
15
2/15/2012
2/27/2012
2/27/2012
3/9/2012
3/31/2012
4/10/2012
# of People
Page 59
Date
Meeting/Event
Purpose
# of People
Allston-Brighton Health Collaborative
Attended a meeting of the
collaborative to observh how
the group dealt with multiple
languages.
Not
applicable.
Stakeholders meeting/dept. heads
Meeting held by Sasaki
Associates to learn more about
Lower Broadway and its needs
from department heads and
other stakeholders.
26
Mary Simonelli
Meeting to discuss the Brazilian
community in general and to
discuss holding a gathering at a
church.
1
Disability Commission
To introduce the project to the
Commission and hear their
concerns.
4
7/11/2012
Senior Center
To introduce the project to the
senior population and hear
their concerns.
22
7/11/2012
Boys and Girls Club
To hear the concerns of
Everett's youth.
10
7/18/2012
General Outreach
8
8/1/2012
General Outreach
9
9/18/2012
Public Forum
Lower Broadway meeting
sponsored by Sasaki Associates.
30
Outreach to the Brazilian
community.
9
5/16/2012
5/30/2012
5/30/2012
6/11/2012
11/19/2012 Brazilian community
Page 60
Date
Meeting/Event
11/28/2012 Public Forum
2/16/2013
Muslim community focus group
6/4/2013
Final public meeting on Vision Plan
Purpose
# of People
Lower Broadway meeting
sponsored by Sasaki Associates.
Outreach to the Muslim
community.
To review the Community
Vision Statement and obtain
resident input on preferred
action recommendations.
45
8
15
Page 61
Appendix B
Priority Polling for Action Recommendations
Action Recommendation
# Votes
Vision Element #1: Everett is a welcoming, multi-cultural community.
Maintain a list of City staff and the languages they speak and make it available
throughout City Hall to make it easier to find someone to interpret.
Create a staff position for diversity or multi-cultural relations to help immigrants.
Upgrade the city's web site and include translation capability.
Allow residents to choose from several commonly spoken languages for emergency
telephone notifications.
Publish a guide to city services and regulations in the most commonly spoken
languages.
Seek additional funding for the Everett Adult Learning Center for English as a
Second Language classes.
The city will enroll in a telephone based language service to provide interpretation for
residents and city hall staff during regular business hours
8
7
5
3
3
2
1
Vision Element #2: Everett is a city of well-kept, friendly neighborhoods.
Fix unsafe conditions in the parks such as broken fences and playground equipment.
Maintain and enhance street lighting city-wide to improve safety.
Hold neighborhood block parties and clean-up days.
Build more community gardens.
Develop a Smart phone application for reporting unsafe conditions and requesting
services from the City.
Place more trash barrels throughout the city.
Use social media such as Facebook and Twitter to improve communications between
residents and City Hall.
8
6
5
4
3
2
1
Vision Element #3: Everett is a city that is both urban and green.
Continue with construction and improvements to the Northern Strand Community
Trail.
Mark the five walking routes to the Mystic with signs.
Make improvements to the recreation center.
6
5
4
3
Page 62
Plant more trees in the parks.
Expand the Everett Farmers Market.
Continue efforts to develop a river path at River Green Technology Park.
# Votes
3
2
1
Vision Element #4: Everett is a city where the riverfront areas enhance multi-use
developments and provide access to recreation.2
Vision Element #5: Everett is city that cares about residents of all ages and abilities.
Establish a youth commission with young members and representatives of
departments and agencies that serve youth to advise the city on policy and programs.
Strengthen the Boys and Girls Club and advertise its programs to attract more youth.
Ensure residents and local businesses are included in neighborhood planning and can
benefit from new development opportunities.
Provide more organized activities at night for youth and teens.
Expand the summer jobs program to serve more youth.
Develop a parking area for seniors wishing to take the MGH shuttle to Boston.
Expand the role of the Commission on Disability and provide additional funding.
Create more housing for seniors and people with disabilities.
Connect residents with affordable homeownership opportunities.
Develop a plan for creating more housing.
8
Increase the number of days that the senior van provides service to the Senior Center.
0
6
6
5
4
4
2
2
1
1
Vision Element #6: Everett is a city that creates jobs through careful development
and redevelopment practices.3
Vision Element #7: Everett is a city with many safe and convenient ways to get
around.
Investigate the feasibility of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service along Route 99
(Broadway).
5
Connect the Northern Strand Community Trail with the neighborhoods with onstreet bicycle facilities.
Study current MBTA bus service.
Monitor the Silver Line to Chelsea Study.
5
4
3
2
This vision element consists of on-going activities or initiatives already underway by the city and these were
presented for information purposes only, not for input by residents.
3
This vision element also consists of on-going activities or initiatives and specific action recommendations were
not subject to preference polling.
Page 63
Adopt a shared parking zoning ordinance.
Study the Route 16 corridor.
Adopt the Complete Streets Resolution.
Study the feasibility of a commuter rail stop in Everett.
# Votes
3
3
2
2
Page 64
Page 65
Figure 2
Page 66
Figure 3
Page 67
Figure 4
Page 68
Page 69

Many Voices, One Future: The Everett Vision Plan

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