The Friends of the Malden River – a new citizens group committed to drawing the Malden River back to vibrant, civic life – will meet on Tuesday, November 12, 6:30-8 p.m. in the basement conference room of the Immaculate Conception Church, 489 Broadway, Everett (across from City Hall) with Everett city planner James Errickson. Mr. Errickson will discuss Everett's planning initiatives that could have an impact on the Malden River. This meeting is free and open to the public.
A particular focus of the meeting will be to consider the effect that plans for protecting and preserving key riverfront parcels, accompanied by broad public access – on foot, by bicycle and by public transit, can have on people’s perception of the Malden River as one of the next great urban spaces for preservation and recreation. In addition, the Friends of the Malden River’s four committees – which focus on water quality, public access, outreach, and youth involvement – will continue to develop public engagement agendas for the coming months.
Friends of the Malden River have met five times this spring and summer in both Everett and Malden, which, along with Medford, are the three cities that ring the Malden River. In May, aided by a team of Tufts graduate students studying water policy, the group inaugurated a website dedicated to all things Malden River – including environmental remediation, public access, local history, resource improvement strategies, and citizen involvement. The site, at www.maldenriver.wordpress.com, includes videos about the river and interviews with community members. The Malden River group is working closely with the Tri-City Community Action Program (Tri-CAP) in Malden, the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA), environmental and urban justice advocates, and Tufts University’s interdisciplinary graduate program in Water: Systems, Science & Society (WSSS).
