Peter Piazza

Q1: How do you get around and what has your experience been?

I live with my two young kids, ages 5 and 8, and my wife in the Maplewood Square area of Malden. Our travel - like much of our lives! - is often structured around our kids’ schedules (e.g., school, camp, friends’ birthday parties) and family priorities (going to the library, going grocery shopping, finding new playgrounds). We can do some of those things without a car, but not all. School is easily our most frequent destination, and school travel is a big priority for my school committee campaign.

My children both go to Salemwood school, which we can reach on foot, though not without some challenges. When my daughter started at Salemwood, my son was 2 years old; so, we used a stroller for him. Especially during the winter, the walk was not always passable. When my son was 4, he enrolled in the Early Learning Center. I started that year using public transit to get them both to school. We’d get the 106 bus from Lebanon Street and ride it to the closest stop to the ELC (Wolcott and Salem), walk my son to his classroom, then my daughter and I would have to turn back on Salem to get her to Salemwood in 20 minutes or less! It was fun to take my kids on the bus, but ultimately we were not able to rely on public transit for the entire school year. Because of the bus schedule (which wasn’t timed for the school schedule), the location of bus stops (not always close to the schools), and lack of bus shelter for rainy days, I had to switch to using our car to make sure that each kid got to their respective schools on time. I’d love to work with parents, school leaders and city personnel to address some of these challenges so that public transit can be a viable option for as many families as possible.

Beyond school-based travel, we go to the library regularly as a family. When the weather cooperates, we get on the Northern Strand Trail near the intersection of Maplewood and Eastern Ave. Our kids ride their bikes, and we try to keep up with them on foot. It’s a wonderful community resource, and it can also be improved. We exit the trail near the high school in order to make our way up to the library and, at that point, the parking lots and roads can present challenges to kids who only moments earlier felt the freedom of car-less transit. As with our routes to school, I’d love to work with others in the city to find simple improvements to increase safety while also connecting the trail to vital public resources, like the public library.

Q2: What street or intersection would you most like to see improved for safety?

I’d love to see more traffic calming around our parks and playgrounds. My family lives across the street from Trafton park. There are no speed humps or even caution signs on any of the streets that form the border of the park! I often see cars traveling too fast down Jacob Street, for example. The combination of foot traffic (from children as well as dog-walkers) with car traffic is not a good mix, and it should be a high priority for the city.

I know that it is controversial in some circles, but I do believe we should find space for bike lanes on major streets like Lebanon, Salem, and Maplewood. When I walk my kids to school, it feels like we encounter someone on a bike or e-scooter every day. To be clear, I don’t blame anyone for using the sidewalk- after all, they don’t have another good option. However, I think the use of sidewalks for this kind of travel presents a risk to others who - on foot, stroller, or wheel chair - cannot adjust to the speed of someone on a bike/scooter. Especially with young kids - who have a reputation for being erratic and easily distracted - I worry often that they will not see an oncoming bike in time to avoid collision. This feels like a fixable issue.

Q3: How would you support safe routes to school programs?

As described in more detail below, I have already started to work with Malden Safe Streets to pilot a Safe Routes To School program, and I would continue this effort from my role on the school committee.

I also think that there is a ripe opportunity for collaboration between Malden Public Schools and The Great Malden Outdoors. For anyone reading this who isn’t familiar, this organization is dedicated to increasing outdoor recreation among Malden residents and families. Malden is unique in that the city is densely populated, yet punctuated by hiking, climbing, and biking trails that can feel as if they are hidden in plain sight (e.g., High Rock Memorial Park, Waitt’s Mountain). On its website, the Great Malden Outdoors has maps for bike riding, bird watching, fishing, hiking, paddlesports, and rock climbing. All in Malden! And, everything is translated into the top 8 most common languages spoken in our city. Parents are always looking for fun activities for their kids, and this feels like a resource that, in my experience at least, has been underutilized. I’d love to think about how we could form partnerships with schools for recreational field trips, for example, or at least use schools as a way of getting the word out.

Q4: How would you reduce drop-off and pick-up traffic at schools?

Safe and reliable transportation to school would be a high priority for me as a school committee member. When I knock on doors in my Ward, these issues come up regularly. As described in my earlier responses, I think we can make improvements to public transit by, for example, making sure bus schedules align with school schedules, locating bus stops closer to schools, and adding more protected bus shelters at key pickup locations. I think we can improve the experience for pedestrians as well as bikers/scooters by adding protected bike lanes to major streets.

In addition to the challenges noted above, I often see students arriving to school via taxi or rideshare, and I wonder if this is a widespread practice. I’ve talked with other elected officials in Malden who have the same question. I’d love to do a community-wide survey to learn more about how children get to school and, specifically, to get a sense of how many students rely on rideshares. As a school committee member, I’d work with the mayor and superintendent to distribute this kind of survey, and I’d work with the city and school district to develop an action plan based on the survey results.

Q5: Would you support walk/bike to school programs?

This is a big yes for me! I have already volunteered to be a walk bus captain for the Salemwood School, and I’ve been in touch with Malden Safe Streets on planning walk-to-school events like the Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day on November 14th. I’ve mentioned this to my fellow parents at Salemwood, and they are excited to hear more about it. This topic also comes up frequently when I am canvassing, with unanimous positive interest from parents with children at Forestdale, Salemwood, and Linden (the three most common K-8’s for Ward 6 families). I’ve also talked about it with my own kids, and they are excited to walk to school with their friends!