Mary Delai

Nonpartisan

Ward 6 has a significant inventory of starter homes that can offer affordable options for folks looking to move here or age in place. Over the past several years, many starter homes have been torn down and replaced with homes that are not compatible with the character of our neighborhood.

As we continue to add more high density properties, we must ensure that the impacts on public services, roads, and traffic are properly and comprehensively addressed.

With the financial and social challenges we face, families are becoming increasingly reliant on city-funded supports - from after school and summer youth programs to elder services. We must ensure these programs continue to be available and accessible particularly as public dollars become constrained.

Our city is rich in river and coastal resources. Those same assets make us uniquely susceptible to climate change.

As we explore additional ways of raising revenue and advocate for more funding from state and federal agencies, we'll need sustainable financial policies that allocate taxes equitably and spend those dollars most effectively.

By siting high density housing adjacent to our MBTA station, we are providing sensible housing options for our commuting residents. The proposed development at the former K-Mart site supports these initiatives and is consistent with our master plan.

We need well maintained streets with sidewalks and bike lanes that allow for safe access, particularly on our busiest roads. We should prioritize meaningful connections between West End neighborhoods, our community parks and resources, and the downtown area.

Many of us are concerned about inflation, taxes, and our economy. To address these challenges, we'll need to have the difficult conversations about how we spend our dollars, prioritizing needs over wants.

Enhancing community resilience is critical. This includes protecting our water supply and our water treatment facility and updating our stormwater infrastructure to better manage heavy rainfall. We must continue to work with our state and regional partners to address combined sewer overflows contaminating the Merrimack.

His includes infrastructure like connections to our public sewer system for all Ward 6 residents. We need stronger traffic and speed enforcement, and improvements to challenging intersections like the infamous three roads area which must be addressed as part of any large planned developments in the West End.

We need to find ways to encourage homeowners and developers to explore these innovative alternatives like duplex housing and accessory dwelling units. The West End offers (and can benefit from) some of these low density opportunities for innovative housing that prioritizes affordable full-time occupancy.

Educating children today is a more resource-intensive endeavor as we prioritize differentiation and inclusion. We must find a way to provide the resources necessary to support our educators while ensuring that are schools operate efficiently, effectively, and transparently.

There are tools and resources we can use to help owners and developers get the returns they seek while preserving the character of our neighborhoods and increasing our inventory of affordable homes.

In addition to high density development near our public transit system, there are additional low density options that could provide affordable home ownership opportunities in our Ward.