Hey, there! Log in / Register
Must be some gophers
By adamg on Tue, 06/23/2015 - 8:58am
Renee Graham wonders what happened to the marker commemorating Pope John Paul II's visit to the Common.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
That has inattentive truck driver written all over it.....
You can even see a few chips out of the stone on the right side there.
IIRC, that tablet does not
IIRC, that tablet does not abut the road (Charles St.) and is on the walking path, so I don't think a drunk driver could get to it, especially with the wrought-iron fence in between. I would bet a truck doing work in the Common hit it, maybe landscaping or a contractor.
Yea that's what I meant.
Like a bobcat or some other vehicle doing work in the park.
DCR & Boston Parks Dept. have
DCR & Boston Parks Dept. have their trucks on the common pretty often, although I think DCR really only tends to the graveyard along Boylston.
If not one of those trucks, my guess was Sinead O'Connor.
Trucks are coming through constantly
I'm surprised no one has blamed bikes ignoring the "no bikes" paint at the entrances.
When I'm biking through the Common, I see Parks Department trucks all the time. It has to be tough to drive trucks on the walkways, avoiding kids, bikes, people napping, gawkers stopping suddenly. Still,there must have been a significant impact to damage the marker that badly.
Bikes are allowed in the
Bikes are allowed in the Common. It's the Public Garden with the "no bikes" signs.
Bikes
Bikes are not allowed in the common. You are wrong.
No Bikes on the Common
It has been the rule for years, widely unknown until they put up the "no bikes" symbols. Not that there is any enforcement today.
http://www.universalhub.com/2013/hey-bicyclists-youre-supposed-stay-out-...
See section 3 in link below.
http://www.cityofboston.gov/Parks/rules.asp
They didn't repaint them
It had more to do with a certain privately funded festival than any actual political will.
If they want to push it, great - it will force Boston to commit some of that unused multiple lanes of pavement around the park to a two-way cycletrack that the area needs.
I stand corrected! Good to
I stand corrected! Good to know.
I wasn't sure of this, but on
I wasn't sure of this, but on my trek back from work I took notice of a sign on the edge of the Common on Tremont St. that says "No skateboards, roller skates, or bicycles." So I guess there is other signage around, it's just not very apparent. I'm not sure if that applies to the sidewalk area where the benches are, though. I've seen plenty of bikers on it, although the sidewalk's so beat up after this winter I'd question why anyone would opt to ride on it otherwise.
But, are Bostonians still
But, are Bostonians still allowed to bring their cows and sheep to graze on the common?
Yes, but getting them there is tricky
We (ie my college living group) looked into this back in the mid 80s. Turns out there are laws prohibiting driving livestock along state or Boston roadways, and there's a specific city ordinance which prohibited the practice of driving them up the Comm Ave mall (which is what we had been planning on doing).
So to get a cow or some sheep there, you'd have to truck them in.
I ride through the Common.
I ride through the Common because there's no other sane way to get from the intersection of Charles and Beacon to South Station. So I ride down the wide path along Charles down to Boylston; that section is very wide, definitely wide enough for pedestrians and cyclists to share space...
You can go around the Public Garden
End up in the same spot. Yes, it adds 2 blocks to your commute - you are on a bicycle - obey the rules and we'll all be happier and safer - or get off the bike and walk it through the Common.
Glad to see I'm not the only one
that's annoyed by the Parks and Recreation
road behemothstrucks that often hog the Common pathways, especially during morning and afternoon peak.Sorry, but there is no legitimate reason for Parks and Recreation to have to drive these large pickup and garbage trucks on the Common.
Damn straight. If there is
Damn straight. If there is one place someone shouldn't have to worry about being hit by a vehicle or inhaling exhaust it is the Boston Common.
Not just Park Dept trucks
trucks from porta-john, tent rentals, vendors, exhibitors, etc. for events are regularly, plus contracted landscape service companies.
Don't forget
the man-lifts from the contractors who insist on stringing the Christmas lights in the trees the last week in September.
BAA
They had the BAA half marathon this weekend and there were about 25 trucks and other vehicles haphazardly driving around the common. How about a little reimbursement. plus its been 2 days do they plan to fix it. It is the Pope's visit commemorative after all.
It was the BAA 10K. But in
It was the BAA 10K. But in the rain, it felt like running a half marathon.
Gophers
Sandy: I want you to kill every gopher on the course!
Carl Spackler: Check me if I'm wrong Sandy, but if I kill all the golfers, they're gonna lock me up and throw away the key...
Sandy: Gophers, ya great git! The gophers! The little brown furry rodents!
Carl Spackler: We can do that; we don't even have to have a reason.
L.M.A.O!!
I needed this laugh!
It's not my fault...
...if I can't understand you, you fuzzy little foreigner. I'll fill your bagpipes with Wheateena...
Not an impact, a sinkhole
Sorry to rain on the truck-hatin' parade, but that stone has clearly not been pushed over, but rather has fallen in.
It may be a sink hole.
But I do masonry work on the side, and I have fixed dozens of posts/blocks like this that have been knocked over by vehicles. They all have looked the exact same as the one shown in this photo. There also appears to be a small chip on the right side of the stone which would be consistent with the direction of the fall.
But it may be a sinkhole as well, I've never seen a sinkhole do masonry damage in my limited experience doing sidework.
We have a winner!
From twitter:
City of Boston
@NotifyBoston
It was struck by a private company’s trailer while working on the Common. It will be restored soon. @universalhub @reneeygraham
9:34 AM - 23 Jun 2015
https://mobile.twitter.com/NotifyBoston/status/613339346297593856?p=v
Guess again...
It wasn't a sinkhole, it was struck by a truck per City of Boston twitter.
"It was struck by a private company’s trailer while working on the Common. It will be restored soon. @universalhub @reneeygraham"
Prior to this confession
I might have suggested that it could have been another of the miracles of Pope Paul II.
There's a lot of lightning in the forecast today
If you did this, I'd advise you to spend the afternoon inside standing on a rubber mat.
Looks like a lack of
Looks like a lack of investment is really hurting the common. Perhaps Walsh should sell it to a local university (Emerson is nearby) like they did with the formerly public park near northeastern. The school would rehab the park and then have priority access.
While other cities are expanding parks and investing in their current ones, we are selling ours off.
Emerson "rehab"
is an interesting choice of words, since all I've ever seen their students doing on the Common is smoking pot and drinking.
Looks like separation of
Looks like separation of church and state just happened.