At its April 21 meeting, the Malden City Council recognized Gina Hayes, who was recently named the 2025 Safe Routes to School Crossing Guard of the Year by MassDOT. Hayes, who serves at Ferryway, teamed up with Allie Durak of the advocacy group Malden Safe Streets to address hazardous winter conditions at city intersections.
“For several years I’ve been trying to shine light on getting our cross guards’ corners safer, because when the snow and ice come, no one seems to come out and clear the corners,” said Hayes, noting that plowed snow was often piled high against crosswalk buttons, making them unreachable.
Through collaboration with Traffic Department Supervisor Kathy Hannan, Department of Public Works Director Paul Myers and Facilities Director Eric Rubin, and with mentorship from Councilor at Large Michelle Luong, Durak, Hayes and the Malden Safe Streets team mapped the locations of all 48 crossing guards in the city to help get the spaces cleared after storms. Malden Safe Streets volunteers delivered buckets of salt to each location…