Medford Conservation Commission Flags Snow Storage Threat to Wrights Pond Swimming Beach

MEDFORD — February 3, 2021 — Medford Conservation Commission flags snow storage threat to Wrights Pond bathing beach. Meeting without formal hearings or votes on February 3, the commission raised urgent concerns after the city began trucking road snow — which can carry road salt, oil, and grease — into the Wrights Pond parking lot, which drains directly to an active swimming beach via a paved channel. Co-chair Lindsay Colburn said the practice began with December's first storm and continued the day of the meeting; the commission's conservation agent said there is no operations-and-maintenance plan governing the site and called it "astounding" that no better alternative had been found. The city agreed the same day to relocate stockpiled snow to the lot's far side, away from the beach drainage. In other discussion, the commission gave pre-application feedback to Mark Jacobson of Paddle Boston on a seasonal floating dock at the Conichelli boat area on the Mystic River, flagging a Chapter 91 10(a) permit requirement and requesting a full-river-width site plan, and received an overview from staff of a forthcoming Notice of Intent filing for a MassDOT-funded bike lane connection on the Route 28 bridge between Medford and Somerville.