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Resolve: That the Malden City Council Objects to Orange Line Closure Process
The Malden City Council strongly objects the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority's approach to closing the Orange Line for one month starting August 19, 2022. In Malden, home to two Orange Line stations, 40% of our residents do not own a car and depend on transit service. While we recognize and endorse the need to invest in the safety and performance of our transit system, the manner in which the MBTA made this decision has created great hardship for our community. Countless residents, especially those with the fewest financial resources, are struggling to get to work, make medical and court appointments, attend school, get childcare, or visit loved ones in need. Most concerning was the lack of advance information available in multiple languages, the timing of this closure at the start of the school year, and the fact that that our elected leaders, including our Mayor and state legislators, had to fight to get adequate shuttle bus and commuter rail coverage.
In the future, as it makes decisions about maintenance closures, we call on the MBTA to do the following:
1. Work directly with local community leaders to decide when closures will take place in a way that minimizes impact;
2. Provide information well in advance, in multiple languages, on how residents can navigate the closures; and
3. Establish funding to reimburse local governments and agencies as well as individual residents for hardships and additional expenses created by these closures.