Reading Wins 50K For New Snow Removal Equipment

READING, MA — Nearly $50,000 in state money will soon come to Reading through a Shared Streets and Spaces Program award.

The state Department of Transportation announced the awards last week as part of a larger package of $16.4 million distributed to 145 municipalities and regional transit authorities across Massachusetts.

Locally, Reading will get $47,535 to help pay for new snow removal equipment for pedestrian and bicycle facilities, according to the state’s announcement.

This, Town Manager Fidel Maltez told Patch, is “critical” to the Department of Public Works’ operations. New equipment, he said, will give Reading “a better chance” at maintaining accessibility on local streets during the winter months.

The Shared Streets initiative broadly aims to make streets and sidewalks safer and more welcoming to pedestrians, cyclists and public-transit riders, among other things.

It launched in 2020 and recently expanded to distribute more funding to communities across Massachusetts.

Reading was one of several area communities to receive funding this year, with neighboring Stoneham and Wakefield both also winning awards for various projects.