Mayor Carlo DeMaria Jr. moderated a community meeting at Congregation Tifereth Israel to discuss with residents the reconstruction and improvement project for four Everett streets: Reynolds Avenue, Evelyn Road, County Road, and Malden Street.
Residents in the neighborhood were able to address any questions about the project to a panel that included Martie Galazka, director of community development, Larry Berger, assistant director of community development, Brian Zaniboni, director of city services, and Sonny Solviletti and Michael Marchese of J. Marchese and Sons Construction, the company that is doing the construction work.
Berger, who is overseeing the $639,000 federally funded Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) project, said the city will be replacing the sidewalks and streets, resetting the curbing, installing new handicapped ramps, providing new striping on the crosswalks, doing some landscaping (new trees) in the area, and placing new stop signs and streets signs in the area.
Berger said preliminary work on the project has started and construction will begin next week.
Michael Marchese said he expects the project to take three months to complete, with construction taking place from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Both DeMaria and Galazka addressed a resident’s concern about being kept updated on the project and parking restrictions.
“If we need your cars removed from the street [during the construction project], we’ll make sure to keep you abreast of it,” said Galazka, adding that her office would be available to answer questions if they arise during construction.
“Or you can go on the city Website and enter your information and we’ll notify you in advance of any changes,” said DeMaria.
One resident asked whether a one-way sign could be placed on the corner of Malden and Nichols Streets. DeMaria replied that he would begin the process to install a “do not enter” sign at the busy intersection.
A resident from County Road asked about prohibiting trucks from entering County Road from Revere Beach Parkway.
“A lot of people use that road as an exit ramp off of the parkway,” said the resident. “There is a lot of heavy traffic all hours of the day. That road gets a lot of brutality in terms of the amount of traffic coming through. Is there any kind of thought about not having heavy trucking allowed on the street or changing the traffic flow?”
DeMaria responded, “We can prevent trucks from coming down that street. We can pass an ordinance here to not allow heavy trucking on the street. This is a city street and we can restrict heavy trucking. It has to go through the city council for a vote.”
Former alderman Frank Nuzzo Jr. asked whether the reconstruction and improvements on the side streets would extend past the Everett-Chelsea border and continue in to Chelsea and out to the parkway.
“We’re just going to go up to the Everett line,” responded DeMaria. “But we may reach out to the city manager of Chelsea and see if they may want to [get their portions of the streets] done as well.”
After the meeting, DeMaria said that the community development officials and Marchese did an effective job in answering the concerns of residents. He’s confident that the residents will enjoy the brand new look of the streets and sidewalks when the project is completed.
“It’s always a good thing when you get new streets and sidewalks,” said DeMaria. “Of course you have to deal with three months or so of construction – moving your cars and not being able to use the driveway. But when it’s all over, it’s going to a great upgrade for the area.”
Ward 2 Common Councilor Jason Marcus said the reconstruction and improvement project is “a great thing” for the area.
“It’s going to be a great thing for the neighborhood,” said Marcus. “I’m just so happy for the residents.”