Concord Climate Action Committee Votes to Urge Select Board to Adopt Vision Zero Policy

CARLISLE — May 20, 2026 — Concord's Climate Action Committee voted unanimously to write a letter urging the Select Board to adopt a Vision Zero traffic safety policy and fund the staff needed to carry it out. The 5-0 vote followed a presentation by Mothers Out Front coordinator Linda Neiman, a Mallard Drive resident, who cited Concord's newly published transportation strategy draft showing 45 percent of town trips are internal and 75 percent of those average two miles or less — conditions she called ideal for walking and biking. Chair Brad Hubbard-Nelson disclosed that the previous Monday he narrowly avoided being struck with his child in a West Concord Pharmacy crosswalk, saying "we were missed by a foot." Multiple members tied the endorsement directly to Concord's emission reduction goals, noting that vehicle miles traveled cannot decline meaningfully unless residents feel safe enough to walk or bike. The committee also reached consensus — without a formal vote — to incorporate ground-source heat pump and thermal energy district network priorities into its forthcoming climate action and resilience plan update, after member Fran Cummings presented load-shape analysis suggesting continued air-source heat pump expansion could roughly double Concord Municipal Light Plant's future infrastructure costs. Hubbard-Nelson was re-elected chair for the coming year and Bob Shatton was elected clerk.