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You do it! No, you do it!
By adamg on Fri, 03/09/2018 - 2:37pm
For years, the city of Boston and the MBTA have disagreed on who's responsible for the stretch of sidewalk and bus stop along Belgrade Avenue below the Roslindale Village commuter-rail parking lot. So, of course, nobody ever shovels it, at least until Roslindale residents call up and annoy City Hall enough that a councilor or somebody gets Public Works to send somebody down with a shovel (calls to the MBTA are, of course, useless, since nothing annoys the T). Looks like City Hall hasn't gotten enough phone calls over the past couple of days.
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Comments
That has to be the City.
If not, then the MBTA should tell the city they are putting up parking meters there and taking the spots too.
Parking meters in Roslindale?
Over our dead bodies! :-).
Wrong not on the city,
Wrong not on the city, abutters are supposed to clear the sidewalks, if you own the peroperty you should be clearing the sidewalks.
Yeah, but...
What if nobody owns the property, or there is no property there? There is a stop I use regularly on my bus in Malden that's across the street from my street. There is literally no property at that bus stop. And before you play the "but that's not Boston" card, the very topic appears to be another example of this IN BOSTON. The MBTA stie says only key routes, and the city says abbutters should do it when there is no key route, but what if there is no abutter either (i.e. no property?) Should we actually have to wait for a person in the neighborhood to volunteer?
What does "no property there"
What does "no property there" mean? I can't think of anywhere on earth that would satisfy this, short of potentially the open ocean or Antarctica. *Someone* owns the property, whether a person, a corporation, a trust, or some sort of government, unless it is the common heritage of mankind, ie Antarctica or the moon.
I mean...
That the stop I mention is on Salem Street below the Granada Highlands, but the only building there is Granada Highlands (Won't ever call it its new name) and is fenced off on the top of the hill. Literally no one lives right at that bus stop in question. Eventually someone in the neighborhood clears the stop, but it's not clear whether the neighborhood does it or the city in this case. Not the T because the 108 is not a "key route". I have a funny feeling I may be feeding a troll here...
Nope
Someone owns the land between the street and the fence at the top of the hill. Whoever that is has the responsibility.
Well, they don't.
Because it's a large group of condominiums, and apparently the city told them they don't own that area of the hill between. Fortunately, the city has actually done the stop in question lately. To be able to get to the stop, they'd have to go a long way around. The nearest street (Central Ave) down the hill is extremely steep. The other option goes down and around and back to the stop. I've lived in this area since 1978 (year just happens to be coincidental). However, it would be nice if they actually DID go around and do that, but they don't. As I said, fortunately, the city did get to that stop last night. They figured that the condo owner would put up a fuss, as they are "luxury" condos, although their Yelp reports tend to say differently nowadays...
tl, dr; There has been a history of arguments over who does the stop, but the stop got done, so it's good now.
As for the stop in the original topic, I've seen the other photos and yes, it IS the T that needs to do it as they own the property.
Also, thank you.
Yes, Elmer, that little green area in the middle is the area I was talking about. While someone does indeed own it, it is not clear who does. Also, I can just barely see my house in this LOL.
Just curious.
Who plows the street that this sidewalk parallels? Wouldn't the same agency also be responsible for the sidewalk?
I don't know...
But if I had to guess, the City is plowing that street. I've never seen the T plow or shovel a street next to a station like Belgrade Ave there.
I'm guessing some 77 year old Boston Public Works supervisor has a map from 1952 which has a sketch/agreement of the MBTA owning that sidewalk and maintaining it.
Not 77
A City worker still on the job after full retirement age? Not a chance... unless there's a provision that allows police officers to continue working and then bequeath $1M of unused sick time to their grandchildren.
That answer is simple(ish)
Boston's Public Works Department is responsible for the street. Whoever owns the property that abuts the sidewalk is responsible for the sidewalk.
This, they should just start
This, they should just start fining the MBTA for not doing it.
I lived in a small town in
I lived in a small town in Vermont that barely had any services at all; I had to take my own garbage to the dump. But they STILL had a little lawn tractor type machine that plowed the sidewalks in the center of town and near schools, senior centers, etc.
No answer until someone gets run over
Just like the VFW Parkway sidewalk, which never used to plowed, until some West Roxbury High kids got hit walking in the street. Now, as soon as a flake falls, some agency (DCR?) plows that sidewalk from end to end.
I came here to say that
I was going to say it's going to take someone slipping and falling and suing someone for them to determine who is actually responsible for shoveling that spot. You beat me to it.
Sidewalk Running Adjacent To Ⓣ Parking Lot—Their Responsibility!
This sidewalk running along in front of the parking lot at the Wonderland Blue Line station was narrowed a few years ago when North Shore Road (Route 1A) was "improved". What's particularly infuriating about it, is there's a chain-link fence keeping pedestrians from walking through the parking lot (which is always thoroughly cleared of snow).
There's absolutely no good reason why an opening at the northern end of the parking lot fence can't be made, providing a much safer path to the station, instead of having to walk in the travel lanes of a busy highway (which I, myself, had to do yesterday, here and a few other places along NSR where sidewalks were obstructed).
Note this was just a small snowstorm. You can just imagine how much worse it is for bigger storms. When the snow melts, deep puddles mean pedestrians have no choice but to walk way out into the middle of the vehicular travel lane. It's ridiculous, and very dangerous!
When Brian Arrigo came knocking on my door a couple of years ago when he was running for mayor, this was something I specifically discussed with him, He knows the neighborhood well and knew what I was talking about. He didn't disagree opening the fence was a good idea, so I reminded him of the situation again.
I realize Mayor Arrigo doesn't run the Ⓣ, but city governments should advocate to get easily corrected situations like this fixed. It's a serious public safety issue when people are very often forced to walk in the travel lane of such a busy road.
What about stretches of state
What about stretches of state highway where there's no parking lot -- just woods?
I think MassHighway should clear sidewalks on state highways.
Yes, Between Jackson And York Streets — Reported It To Revere311
Trains bring people to Wonderland every few minutes, but outside of rush hour, busses run once every hour or two — if you're lucky! Especially after dark, many people walk along Route 1A, which has a speed limit of 50 miles-per-hour!
Maybe a concerned citizen can take matters (clippers)
into their own hands. I used to live near a crotchety older fella who used to cut holes in public chain link fences that were obstructing him from taking his walks (in the warm weather, but still). He can't be the only one willing to do such a thing, if the Powers That Be fail to address the issue.
Umm..shovel???
Would it kill you to put the phones down and grab a shovel and shovel the walk out,or is it so much more pleasurable to whine about a natural outcome of global/cooling/warming/climate change/whatever...
Not their job
You're yelling at the wrong person about not picking up a shovel.
Shovel won't cut it
It needs more than that.
You need to read what is being talked about here before commenting.
Unless you want to give it a shot, sure. Go stand in the middle of the highway and do it.
Illustrates a Bigger Phenomenon
This is a visible example of a much bigger issue.
When a government agency decides it does not have to do something they'd prefer not to -- well then, they don't.
It's not a universal phenomenon: government does plenty of good things.
But, when they can find a reason not to do something ... don't expect much.
Guerrilla Warfare
Guerrilla Warfare is called for. The solution is before us.
Assemble quietly and without fanfare or advance notice a modest group of moms with strollers, seniors, disabled in wheel chairs or walkers, and set a date and time when that group will walk through that mess helping each other struggle through.
Notify the press to be on site to document the problem.
Watch the snow blowers come out later that day.
Submit a list of the other places where you plan to do this unless it is addressed.
Problem solved.
You need to understand how the real 311 system works. Not that ass-hat app on your phones.
The other thing to do
is shovel the walk, claim possession due to abandonment, and set up a toll gate there.
See whose police force shows up in response to the inevitable complaints - the MBTA's, the city's, or the state's. Then you will know who owns the walk.
Similar problem in JP
There's a little stretch of dilapidated land owned by the MBTA on Hyde Park Ave in JP that is ALWAYS a mess after snow. People walk in the road to avoid it (same with the Toll Gate Cemetary up the road). Right now, the fence is bulging onto the sidewalk after the March 2nd Nor'easter brought down a tree or two. It looks like the just pitched the tree parts back over the fence and went home.