Issues

Greening the Gateway Cities Program

Mayor Christenson, in collaboration with the Department of Conservation and Recreation's Urban and Community Forestry Program is working to increase the number of trees planted in Malden, which will reduce household heating and cooling by improving the tree canopy in urban and residential areas. The goal is to plant 2,400 trees over a three-year period. Over 150 new trees have been planted so far since the project's inception.

Malden's Climate Action Plan Timeline

Climate Action Plan

Malden is working on its first Climate Action Plan following an initial grant award of technical assistance from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The Climate Action Plan will drive the City’s response to climate change and improve sustainability by identifying important steps the City should take to address climate concerns.

Lead Pipe Replacement

Mayor Christenson is aggressively working to remove all lead lines in the community. When the Mayor began the removal project, there were over 6,000 lead pipes in the city's infrastucture. That number today is less than 3,000. On average, Malden is replacing over 200 lead lines per year, with the goal to eradicate all lead lines by 2028.

Malden is also one of ten cities nationwide recognized with a Government Experience Award by the Center for Digital Government for its initiative for prioritizing lead service line replacement by childhood exposure.

Malden River Works

Malden received a $200,550 municipal climate resilience grant, awarded by the Governor’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, to continue design work on the Malden River Works project. The City previously won two MVP Action Grants in 2020 and 2021 for a total of $504,614 to bring the project up to 75% design. The new MVP Action Grant will be used to continue design work and permitting over the next year, with construction documents ready to go out to bid by the fall of 2023. Malden River Works was identified in the City’s MVP Plan as one of the top priority actions in climate change adaptation. The project seeks to transform the Malden Department of Public Works (DPW) yard, located on Commercial Street along the Malden River, in order to incorporate climate resiliency measures into the DPW yard and create a new waterfront park for the Malden community. The DPW plays a crucial role in disaster response, managing street repairs, waste removal, and drainage repairs in the wake of climate events.

Cycling

The Christenson administration worked with bikeshare company Bluebikes to install three locations in the downtown area. Mayor Christenson directed federal ARPA funds to offer a limited number of free one-month memberships to Malden residents. To further support biking in Malden’s downtown, he added 39 new bike racks.

Mass Save

Malden now participates in Mass Save, a public program that provides residents and businesses with the opportunity to get a no-cost home energy assessment to help them find ways to save energy and money. Mass Save offers significant rebates on energy-saving improvements like weatherization, energy efficient appliances as well as heating and cooling systems. They can also provide some energy and water-saving devices for free. Residents can sign up for the assessment by calling the Malden Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development.