With sidewalks the pits, pedestrians must take to streets
While tourism boosters like to call Boston a pedestrian-friendly city, tipster John B. Kelly begs to differ. He tells GlobeWatch it's been especially tough for pedestrians to get around the city this summer. Kelly, who uses a motorized wheelchair and blogs about accessibility issues, (www.neighborhoodaccess.org ) said he's run into several pedestrian unfriendly situations that violate state law.
A number of city sidewalks have been dug up by construction crews in order to make repairs, but are left unfinished for up to several days, Kelly writes in e-mails to GlobeWatch. The half-done walkways are often several inches below grade, so pedestrians are forced to either step into them or walk in the street. For disabled travelers, crossing a torn up sidewalk is simply not an option since most wheelchairs cannot safely maneuver in and out of what resembles a sandy ``crater," he writes.
A few weeks ago, a large section of sidewalk on Mass. Ave. near Tremont Street in the South End was dug up and left impassable by a contractor, Kelly writes. Cars parked along Mass. Ave. prevented pedestrians from using even the busy street, he said. Near Symphony Hall, the sidewalk in front of Tiger Lily restaurant on Westland Avenue was ripped up for nearly a week before repairs were completed, he writes.
The other scenario, Kelly writes, is when contractors doing work to private buildings, like the Boston Penny Savings condominium project on Washington and Union Park streets in the South End, fail to provide a safe way for pedestrians to get by work sites. The Boston Penny project has ``sidewalk closed" signs posted and fenced off half a block of Washington Street and a section of Union Park. On several visits by a Globe reporter, pedestrians were walking in the MBTA Silver Line bus lane. The construction fence covers up a sidewalk ramp on Washington, leaving wheelchair users little choice but to backtrack a block and travel in the bus lane for an entire city block just to get to the nearest stoplight.
``My beef is that state law requires property owners, in this case the city of Boston, to ensure that access is always maintained along its sidewalks," Kelly writes. ``That means if a contractor is going to dig up an entire sidewalk, it has to provide safe passageway around the site. Otherwise, pedestrians are forced to risk their safety in the street, and wheelchair users are often forced to turn around, go back to the beginning of the sidewalk, and then risk their safety by going out in the street. It's very demoralizing to have one's rights taken away, it's scary, and people do occasionally get hit."
The city responds
The Public Works Department requires contractors to erect signs and ``make an attempt" to offer pedestrians another means of passage when sidewalks are under repair, said Jennifer Mehigan, a spokeswoman for the mayor's office, in an e-mail.
``Often times though, signage will ask pedestrians to cross the street and use another pathway," Mehigan writes. ``Construction of sidewalks is mostly a moving project -- contractors are not in the same area for a number of days -- they tend to move up and down the street, making it difficult to provide another means of accessibility on that side of the street." Work is purposely done on only one side of the street at a time to allow pedestrians to get by, she said.
Though she apologizes to Kelly and others who are having trouble getting around the Boston Penny work site, Mehigan said, ``By asking that people cross the street, we are complying" with the state building code.
Erecting a temporary walkway in an MBTA bus lane is ``not sensible," said Mehigan. ``It is important for pedestrians to cross at the signalized intersections in advance of the construction zone because the right travel lane of Washington Street is used by the MBTA Silver Line and the public safety hazard could be significant," she writes.
``It may mean having to backtrack a few blocks," said Mehigan.
WHO'S IN CHARGE
Joseph Casazza, commissioner
Department of Public Works
Room 714
1 City Hall Plaza
Boston, MA 02201
617-635-4900
E-mail: PublicWorks@cityofboston.gov
YOU CAN HELP
In Brookline, residents can report inaccessible sidewalks to the town's Public Works Department at 617-730-2156 or file a complaint online via the town's website, www.townofbrooklinemass.com.
In Cambridge, complaints can be registered to either 617-349-4854, the city's ``pothole hotline" or by filing a form online at www.cambridgema.gov/TheWorks.
For information about construction work, call 617-349-4863.
Residents in Somerville can report blocked sidewalks to the city's customer service hotline by dialing 311. Those calling from cellphones or from phones outside the city must dial 617-666-3311.
