My Priorities
Increasing Pedestrian & Road Safety
Every few weeks I see a new post on social media about a biker or pedestrian getting hit by a car on the way to work or school. We need to create bike lanes on streets that experience high biker traffic and invest in other traffic calming infrastucture to make getting around Maplewood safer.
Expanding Alternative Modes of Transportation
Maplewood is obligated to build 216 new housing units by 2035 and we need the transportation infrastructure in place to account for these future residents. We need to increase transportation services offered by the township and make local travel more accessible to families, non-drivers, and students. I want all Maplewood residents to have easier access to the pool, after school activities, and jobs regardless of wether they own a car or not.
Strengthening the Arts in Maplewood
Maplewood currently has no official long-term plan for supporting the arts. Decisions are made one at a time, with no clear priorities. We need to create an arts & culture master plan that sets goals for what kind of arts programming we want, how often we want events, and how we want to use our public spaces. That would help the town make better choices and give local artists and nonprofits something reliable to plan around.
Creating 21st-Century Digital Infrastucture
One issue often overlooked in discussions about our community is the prevalance of social media discussion groups in our civic discourse. Many residents are reliant on these social media groups to stay up to date with what is happening in Maplewood. The township has no central platform to get information out about municipal ordinance updates, recreation and cultural programming, and local news. I believe that the township should fill this gap and provide a service to our community as an alternative to private social media platforms.