As Bette Davis once famously declared, "What a dump." It's a sentiment tipster Ellin Reisner of Somerville and many others have when they walk around the area surrounding the Sullivan Square MBTA station.
Reisner tells GlobeWatch the pedestrian walkways between the station and the Somerville city line have long been ignored when it comes to maintenance.
"For several years East Somerville residents and community groups have attempted to address serious safety concerns along the pedestrian route along lower Broadway in Somerville to the Sullivan Square T stop," Reisner writes in an e-mail.
"I have documented the lack of lighting that makes walking unsafe at night. The trash along the sidewalk and street is disgusting and the attached photos (one week after the last big snowfall) reveal that a large section under McGrath Highway was never shoveled or even given treatment with salt so that the high volume of pedestrians walking there can do so safely."
A Globe reporter's visit last week found that while snow had melted along the sidewalk from Broadway to Maffa Way, the busy walkway was dirty and a section under the highway overpass was quite dark even during the day. An orange barrel marked a large crack in the sidewalk that a wheelchair user had to maneuver around, while a pylon identified some broken pavement up the street on Broadway. Trucks, buses, and cars coming off the highway sped by at a high rate of speed, making the walkway feel rather dangerous.
Reisner said she often sees pedestrians clutching the chain-link fence to avoid falling on sidewalk ice. Sometimes elderly people will walk in the road rather than try to navigate the snow- and ice-covered sidewalks, she said.
"So who is responsible for keeping this area safe, clean, and well lit?" Reisner asks. "Is it the MBTA (which does maintain the sidewalk along the Sullivan Square T stop), is it the city of Boston, is it MassHighway? They all respond that 'It is not my job.' "
Reisner said she sits on the board of directors of East Somerville Main Streets and has spoken about the problem to Boston city officials, state legislators, and Boston transportation officials to no avail. The group was so fed up with trash under the highway last summer, it cleaned it up.
"It is a safety issue and aesthetically it is a disgusting gateway into Boston," writes Reisner. "Even if the city of Boston could care less about Somerville residents, perhaps Boston officials might respond to the aesthetic argument. In the meantime, we wait for someone to fall and get hurt on the ice or hit by a car or truck trying to avoid the ice."
The MBTA responds
The pedestrian route Reisner writes about crosses city limits between Somerville and Boston. While the sidewalk between the Sullivan Square station and Somerville runs from Broadway along Maffa Way, a Charlestown street, its upkeep belongs to the MBTA.
"That is our responsibility to maintain it," concluded Lydia Rivera, an MBTA spokeswoman.
"That's unacceptable," she said of the lack of snow clearing on sidewalks and persistent trash problem.
Rivera said that in the spring, the T will again partner with local community groups to clean up the area around the station. As for the lack of lighting, "crews will be advised to review [the possibility] of lighting the area for safety reasons," said Rivera.
WHO'S IN CHARGE
Daniel A. Grabauskas
General manager
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
10 Park Plaza, Suite 3910
Boston, MA 02116
617-222-5215
