Malden Plans Community Forums To Discuss Future Of Maplewood Square

MALDEN, MA — Malden’s Maplewood Square area will be the subject of a series of upcoming community forums beginning next month, city officials announced last week.

Kicking off on Saturday, Feb. 4, the forums are the product of Malden’s Committee on the Future of Maplewood Square. Planned forums aim to “build a consensus vision for Maplewood Square,” as noted in last week’s city announcement.

The Future of Maplewood Square Committee convened in 2021. The committee includes City Councilor and Committee Chair Stephen Winslow, City Council President Barbara Murphy and City Councilor Carey McDonald serving alongside local residents and business community members.

Area residents already flagged a series of “action areas” for improvements at Maplewood Square through a community forum in July of 2021, officials said last week.

Planned forums this year will aim to gather community feedback on opportunities to take action, including ways to support small businesses, attract more customers, address parking needs and enhance public space amenities in and around Maplewood Square. Forums will additionally seek community suggestions on ways to ease traffic congestion through transportation improvements and ways to keep and/or provide new area affordable housing options.

Officials previously shared a survey in September of last year also seeking community feedback.

Roughly 18 months after it began its work, the Future of Maplewood Square Committee is working with Boston University’s MetroBridge program in its current discussions.

Boston University students and faculty will run upcoming forums through the MetroBridge program. Students and faculty will separately gather additional information and research before presenting the results of a study to the community, officials said last week.

The Feb. 4 Maplewood Square forum is set to begin at 10 a.m. with a site walk from the Salemwood School to Maplewood Square. The event will continue at 11 a.m. with a community discussion in the cafeteria back at the Salemwood School

Additional forums are set for Monday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Salemwood School cafeteria and Monday, May 1 at 7 p.m. in the Salemwood School auditorium.