Tag Archives: bricks

DPW’s plan: Deforest the downtown

Go out and measure your sidewalk. Is it less than seven feet wide?

Measure the distance from your building to the tree pit. Is it less than 36 inches? Have the tree roots in front of your building heaved the sidewalk?

If your answer is yes to any of these questions, your tree will have to go.

That’s what the Department of Public Works has decreed without consulting neighborhoods that will be affected. The DPW proposed an unsuccessful, ugly plan for creating ramps that deface Beacon Hill’s brick sidewalks at a meeting in December. Eradicating the trees in downtown neighborhoods is the flip side of the ramp plan.

I’m predicting it’s never going to happen. Residents will climb into their trees just as they laid down on the bricks in 1947 on Beacon Hill. Continue reading →

How not to present a plan

The Beacon Hill neighborhood faces a situation in which two good goals — handicap accessibility and historic preservation — clash. Any steps taken to achieve those goals should be a win for both. But a presentation on Thursday night was a loss for both.

There are rules for success when city officials want to make changes in a neighborhood.

1. Understand the neighborhood’s history.

2. Understand what the real problem is.

3. Consult with neighbors.

4. Present two or three plans of high quality.

5. Make a good case for your change.

Public Works officials did none of those things on Thursday night when they tried to get the Beacon Hill Architectural Commission to approve removing bricks and installing concrete at dozens of intersections in that historic neighborhood to make it more handicap accessible. The commission denied the request, but this won’t go away. Continue reading →