Cambridge Council Hears Calls to Narrow Memorial Drive, Back MCAS Ballot Question

CAMBRIDGE — October 7, 2024 — Cambridge City Council fields 28 public comments on Memorial Drive safety and MCAS ballot question. Vice Mayor Paul McGovern presided over the October 7 regular meeting, where speakers overwhelmingly urged the council to pass Charter Right No. 1, which would formally push the state Department of Conservation and Recreation to physically narrow the four-lane Memorial Drive roadway rather than simply lower its posted speed limit. Chris Warren of Somerville compared the situation to Fresh Pond Parkway, where a 2018 speed-limit cut "from 30 to 25 miles per hour" produced no measurable change in actual travel speeds because "the roadway is still designed like a state highway." A parallel wave of speakers backed Policy Order No. 139, asking the council to endorse Ballot Question 2 on the November statewide ballot, which would end the MCAS high school graduation requirement; supporters cited an Annenberg Institute finding that 85 percent of students who never pass the MCAS are English language learners or students with disabilities, and named endorsers including U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Representative Ayanna Pressley. No formal votes were recorded in the public session.