BHA says "not my job"

Posted by John B. Kelly

In light of Andrea Estes' pending Globe story, the city frantically tried to solve the immediate problem of Eileen Brewster not being able to leave BHA property for our holiday party.

Although Eileen has complained many times before about access around her apartment on Ruggles street, little has ever been done. Now, suddenly, she receives a personal telephone call from Sandra Henriquez, Administrator/CEO of the Boston Housing Authority. Henriquez wanted to know what was wrong, so Eileen told her the same thing she later told Andrea Estes, that she could see blocked sidewalks from her window, and the curb cuts for crossing Leon street towards northeastern and Ruggles Station were impassable, and have always been impassable.

The manager of the Alice Heyward Taylor apartments showed up next, the walkway and Eileen's parking space were cleared, but the manager then told Eileen that the curb cuts for the Leon street crosswalk didn't belong to the BHA, but to the city of Boston!

So even though employees of the city of Boston were out at Alice Taylor shoveling sidewalks, they were not going to touch a nearby curb cut -- because it belonged to a separate agency within city government. My goodness.

Eileen called back Sandra Henriquez, who said that she would try to get those curb cuts cleared. (Now Ms. Henriquez may be completely sincere in her desire to get Eileen to the party, but I hope that as an administrator she immediately investigates how pervasive this problem is, and asks for the money to solve it)

So Eileen still doesn't know whether she can make it to the party or not, because the personal intervention of city officials, done in the service of avoiding an embarrassing newspaper story, was nevertheless ineffectual.

City Flops in Bid to Avoid Embarrassment

Above: "Menino Island," 3:30 p.m. December 21, 2007, orphan sidewalk between Horticultural Hall and Symphony Plaza East on Huntington Avenue. Photo: Lidia Alvarado

Geoff Edgers posted our open letter to Mayor Menino and Governor Patrick on his Boston.com Exhibitionist blog. This stimulated another great bunch of comments, ranging from outright hostility to identification.

His earlier posting and link to a set of NAG Flickr photos from December 15 seems to have had temporary impact upon the city, as an official told the Globe that it had compiled a five-page list of violations addressed. Reporter Andrea Estes' telephone calls stirred more action today, from the city and state.

But as this latest Flickr set of photographs show, nothing much has changed in the Fenway. DCR properties are still snowbound, and this city-owned island between Horticultural Hall and Symphony Plaza East, where our holiday party will be held, is still dangerously icy. Private property owners such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the New England Conservatory continue violating with impunity.

Has anyone ever pondered the notion that it might be counterproductive to entrust enforcement of a regulation (snow removal from sidewalks and curb cuts) with an entity (city of Boston) whose self-interest is in its own continual massive violation of that ordinance?

The city is simply not willing to spend the money to clear sidewalks and curb cuts effectively. No wonder inspectional services told the Boston Globe on Wednesday that it had "opted" not to ticket the state, because

"The state's got a large area," said Boston Police Captain Michael Mackan, who heads code enforcement. "If we get a complaint about one of their areas or the MBTA's, I'll call them, and I know they'll get out there and take care of it. . . . Things fall through the cracks."

It's the golden rule of government: do not unto others what you don't want them to do unto you.

The brilliance of the Menino administration is in its ability to adjust course. Deploying the enforcement version of Richard Nixon's "limited hang out" (telling a small truth to hide a bigger lie), the city has now changed its mind and ticketed DCR. Why? Because of the prospect of an embarrassing newspaper article. And please don't hold your breath for any of these tickets to be collected.

What I sent to the governor's office on Monday, and what happened next

Posted by John B. Kelly

Last Monday evening, I sent an e-mail with map, along with photos of the problem sites, to one of Governor Patrick's assistants in the governor's office. I wrote that

the problem with DCR and snow is systemic and long-term. It has never in my 20 years of living here followed requirements for clearing snow. It seems to have long ago decided to ignore the Fenway except for a few sidewalks. As far as I can tell, it doesn't bother with curb cuts (maybe because they have to be done by hand), and leaves quite a few sidewalks untouched, also.

DCR came up with a snow removal priority plan, probably as a result of the West Roxbury high school students being hit on VFW Parkway three years ago. The plan is here: http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/DCR_Snow_Priority/viewer.htm . The most valuable part of the plan for me is that it establishes jurisdiction. Here is a portion of the map with some of the problem areas (I assume there are big problems all the way around The Fens).

All of the marked areas are impassable for disabled and elderly people.

1. Curb cuts at Westland Avenue/Hemenway Street, the North Side. Also adjacent sidewalk on Hemenway Street.

2. Curb cuts on the South side of the intersection. Also adjacent sidewalk on Hemenway Street.

3. Sidewalk between 60 the Fenway and main walkway. This problem quarantines residents of 66 the Fenway.

4. Fenway crosswalk just south of Boston Fire Alarm, 59 The Fenway. Also adjacent curb cut at the northern edge of the service road.

5. Agassiz Road crosswalk.

6. Curb cut at southern edge of service road.

7. Sidewalk along The Fens from Agassiz road heading south. I saw high school students walking in the road on Monday, December 17.

Tuesday:
A truck with sand backed to and fro across the crosswalk at Agassiz road/the Fenway (#5 in the map), for what seems like quite some time, before just driving off and doing nothing.

Wednesday:
A work (prison work release?) crew comes to the same crosswalk, mostly stands around with only a few shovels, and clears a few feet of the curb cut on each side of the crosswalk. Beyond each cleared patch it remains solid ice. The (in)action is captured at Flickr.

None of the other problem areas are touched.

They Tow Cars Don't They?

Posted by John B. Kelly

Cars that interfere with the demands of public safety, such as clear routes for emergency vehicles, get towed. No apologies. But property owners that never bother to shovel their curb cuts have only a ticket to fear, and probably not even that. The prospect of receiving a ticket, out of the 250 tickets written across probably a half million parcels of sidewalk and curb cuts, isn't much to worry about.

The complete failure of snow removal from the sidewalks and curb cuts of the city calls out for an additional measure of enforcement. Just as cars get towed when they become a threat to public safety, so should sidewalks and curb cuts be shoveled -- by the public entity responsible for public safety -- when they become a threat. And just as car owners get billed for the expense of having their car towed, so should property owners be billed for the cost of shoveling out their curb cut/sidewalk.

Of course, necessary disclaimer in effect: no elderly or disabled person would be ticketed or fined.

Globe's Edgers Opens up Dialogue on Snowy Sidewalks

Posted by John B. Kelly

Boston Globe arts reporter (and access advocate) Geoff Edgers's Boston.com blog, "Exhibitionist," is devoted to the arts, but that didn't stop him from posting the above picture of me squeezed between a car and a hard slush at the corner of Westland Avenue and Hemenway Street.

I had sent Geoff and a bunch of other people an e-mail invitation to view 35 pictures of access violations in the Fenway, but until the the picture hit Boston.com, it had received a total of 59 views. After the exposure, views went over 3000.

People responded so enthusiastically to his posting that 16 comments came in within hours, that he put up another posting about this representing the most feedback he had ever gotten on a blog item.

The comments make great reading, in large part because people are remarkably honest. One fellow, Ben, asks the big question:

what should we expect people to do about this? It is nearly impossible to have all of the snow and ice cleared from the sidewalks and roadways the day or two after a big storm. Our New England meteorological/Climate conditions and available human resources just do not allow for it. We should feel bad that this situation creates significant impairments to handicap access around the city, but realistically what can be done about it? Please make some feasible suggestions as to what accomodations should be made.

The answer is to change from doing what doesn't work to what might work. Bill Allan of the disability policy consortium suggests hiring people to shovel, and I think that is the right direction. Let's make it neighborhood-based, and have competitions between the neighborhoods on which can be the safest after a snowstorm. The group that could provide the most leadership would be teenagers, junior high and high school students. They could have competitions against each other, they could document violations, and be empowered to turn in evidence against violators. They would have a list of elderly and disabled people whose homes should be shoveled out as a public service.

All that is needed is the political will.

But I ran into the reality that he describes today, when Patty Provenzano, DCR director of community relations, told me that not only would it be impossible to clear the snow in my or any neighborhood within the three hour limit set by the city, but that DCR isn't even bound to by city regulations. I asked her, "are you sure?" She said she was. I'm thinking that we will certainly have to see about that!

I called inspectional services, and got the "hold on," followed 25 seconds later by the sudden cut off. It's amazing how many times I get "accidentally" cut off when I am making a complaint about being excluded from the streets of the city. Why just the other day, I got accidentally cut off talking to the DCR official who argued that DCR had 24 hours to clear its sidewalks, that "roads are priority one; everything else comes after."

Who knows, maybe they do have their own rules.

Globe arts blog covers (in)access, Boston.com too!

Posted by John B. Kelly

Arts reporter for the Boston Globe, Geoff Edgers, blogged a photo of me between a car and a slushy curb cut at Westland Avenue/Hemenway Street.

The great photo was taken by NAG assistant, Lidia Alvarado.

Geoff wrote that great piece in the Boston Globe magazine this fall about wheelchair access in the theater district.

UPDATE: and then Geoff got the same photo up on Boston.com for a couple of hours this afternoon.

More snow violators in the Fenway

Posted by John B. Kelly

There is another group of photos over at Flickr, showing pictures taken today around noon by Justin Loomis.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation has almost completely abandoned this area.

DCR Snow Follies

above: Fenway crosswalk near fire alarm center, tonight.
below: Westland at Hemenway, tonight.
Photos: Rob DuBuske

posted by John B. Kelly

The heavy wet snow fall from earlier in the morning has long since turned to rain. The temperature is now comfortably above freezing (40° out my window at 3:52 p.m.), so the snow is shovelable (if wet), but time is running out. With a deep freeze coming in tonight that will last through the week, the grim probability is that very little shoveling of any kind will get done by tonight.

There never has been an effective penalty for not shoveling, so why should anyone bother?

What we can expect the next is that peculiarly Bostonian "act of nature" mentality, in which nothing can be done about the snow and ice blocking the sidewalks, and we all must resign ourselves to waiting for the warming rays of the December sun.

Meanwhile, government and media concentrate on road clearance, perhaps because as a group they all drive cars. The hundreds of thousands of people in the metropolitan region who don't use automobiles are thrown off the sidewalks, tethered to our houses, or admitted to emergency rooms.

Boston inspectional services, with its tiny core of inspectors, will write a few hundred tickets and call that a success.

If this approach works so well, why don't we switch to having abutters clear roadways and highways, too?

Getting back to reality, I decided I had to do everything in my power to get these sidewalks cleared before the ice cometh. I called up the main DCR number, got an emergency number, and was very politely referred to the Storm Center at 617-727-1680. This is the number I have often called regarding snow emergencies and HP parking thieves.

"Hello, my name is John Kelly from Neighborhood Access Group in the Fenway. And I'm calling to find out when the DCR plans to shovel off the walkways in the Fenway."

DCR: "We have crews going out at four or 5 p.m., but I can't give you a time. Where you talking about"

NAG: "The walkways in the Fenway, in my neighborhood. The service road near 60 the Fenway, a walkway towards the Westland Gates, all this is DCR property. The sidewalk along The Fens between 60 and 114 The Fenway hasn't been touched since the Thursday storm"

DCR: "Were adding people all the time.”

NAG: "But do you plan to follow the law regarding clearing the snow?"

DCR: "We've got 24 hours."

NAG: "In Boston, you've got three hours."

DCR: "Hold on."

We become disconnected.

"Hello, this is John Kelly from Neighborhood Access Group again."

DCR: "Yeah we got cut off. I'm trying to get that for you."

NAG: "What?"

DCR: "The law, do you have a number? I'll get back to you."

NAG: "It's three hours. What's your e-mail address? I can send you the law."

DCR: "Actually, I don't need the law. Were working on the roads right now. They are priority one. Everything else comes after"

NAG: "So you don't have a policy of following the law?"

DCR: "Apparently not. Do you want the complaint line? I can give that to you."

She persuades me to take the complaint line number, for all the good it's going to do me. It's for Christina , who will be in first thing tomorrow morning at 617-626-1413.

I always wonder in these circumstances how best to characterize someone. Was the person I spoke to ignorant, because she said that DCR had 24 hours to clear the walkways (when she really had three); or was she contemptuous, by, in consecutive order: cutting me off, pretending to look for a law, and then finally telling me flat out that "roads are the number one priority."

Boston's new snow removal ordinance

Posted by John B. Kelly

Sometimes, the Boston city Council is able to make strides towards improving the lives of people in the region. Fresh for this snow season, we have a new and improved snow clearance ordnance. The bill came out of the office of outgoing city councilor Felix Arroyo, and was cosponsored by returning councilors Mike Ross and Charles Yancey.

The previous law was confusing and practically worthless. On the one hand, the ordinance required sidewalks to be totally cleared within three hours of the end of the snow fall, but only threatened a $15 fine against scofflaw homeowners, and only $50 for commercial establishments.

Rational calculation would lead many abutters of sidewalks and curb cuts to conclude that it would be cheaper to pay the fine than to hire someone to clear the snow. And because tickets in Boston are written by the inspectional services division (is it 16 inspectors?) rather than parking control officers (are there hundreds? I see them everywhere) as in Cambridge, people have little to fear.

So here is a partial solution. There are some good "Whereases" in the bill, which was primarily written by Arroyo chief of staff Jamie Wilmuth, unless I'm mistaken. Advocate John Marshall also played a key role.

Offered by Councillors FELIX D. ARROYO,

CHARLES C. YANCEY, and MICHAEL P. ROSS

CITY OF BOSTON
______________

IN THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND SEVEN______________

AN ORDINANCE REGARDING THE PROMPT AND COMPLETE

REMOVAL OF SNOW AND ICE FROM SIDEWALKS AND ABUTTING

CURB RAMPS

WHEREAS: Reportedly, Boston businesses and residents frequently fail to shovel their sidewalks (and abutting curb ramps/cuts) and/or fail to clear sidewalks of snow and ice in a manner that ensures that all residents - including wheelchair users, the elderly and others with disabilities - can traverse the sidewalks safely; and

WHEREAS: This failure to adequately remove snow and ice from the City’s sidewalks results in a lack of reasonable access and mobility for wheelchair users, the elderly, the disabled and other residents, and causes significant public safety issues; and

WHEREAS: A particular concern is the failure by many residents and business to shovel abutting curb ramps/cuts, a legal obligation under the current law of which many residents and businesses are unaware; and

WHEREAS: The existing City Sidewalk Ordinance (CBC CHAPTER 16-12.16) contains few specific guidelines concerning clearing of snow or ice; and

WHEREAS: The Ordinance’s fine for failing to shovel one’s sidewalk and abutting curb ramps/cuts is only fifteen ($15.00) dollars for residents and only fifty ($50.00) dollars for non-residential properties, fines which are not large enough to ensure full compliance with the Ordinance; and

WHEREAS: The Boston City Council believes that clarifying the snow and ice clearing law while increasing the fines for failing to shovel sidewalks and abutting curb ramps would help alleviate these problems and ensure safe accessibility to City sidewalks for everyone. NOW THEREFORE,

Be it ordained by the City Council of Boston, as follows:

Section1.

CBC Chapter XVI is hereby amended by striking Section 16-12.16 (“Removal of Snow and Ice”) in its entirety and replacing it as follows:

16-12.16 Snow, Slush, and Ice on Sidewalks.

(a) Requirements for snow and/or slush. No owner, manager, or tenant of a (i) commercial building, estate, or land abutting on a sidewalk, (ii) mixed-use building, estate, or land abutting on a sidewalk, or (iii) residential building, estate, or land abutting on a sidewalk, containing more than six (6) residential dwelling units shall place or suffer to remain in place for more than three (3) hours between sunrise and sunset any slush or any loose, granular, or packed snow upon such sidewalk. Removal of any slush or snow should be conducted along the full paved width of such sidewalk and in a manner that ensures the orderly flow and safety of pedestrian traffic upon such sidewalks. Removal of any slush or snow shall be conducted in a manner that clears the full paved path or a minimum of forty-two (42) inches wide. Each day that a violation exists shall be considered a separate and distinct violation.

No owner, manager, or tenant of a residential building, estate, or land abutting on a sidewalk containing six (6) or fewer residential dwelling units shall place or suffer to remain in place for more than six (6) hours between sunrise and sunset any slush or any loose, granular, or packed snow upon such sidewalk. Removal of any slush or snow should be conducted along the full paved width of such sidewalk and in a manner that ensures the orderly flow and safety of pedestrian traffic upon such sidewalks. Removal of any slush or snow shall be conducted in a manner that clears the full paved path or a minimum of forty-two (42) inches wide. Each day that a violation exists shall be considered a separate and distinct violation.

(b) Requirements for ice. No owner, manager, or tenant of a (i) commercial building, estate, or land abutting on a sidewalk, (ii) mixed-use building, estate, or land abutting on a sidewalk, or (iii) residential building, estate, or land abutting on a sidewalk containing more than six (6) residential dwelling units shall place or suffer to remain in place for more than three (3) hours between sunrise and sunset any ice upon such sidewalk. Removal of any ice shall be in a manner consistent with the requirements of the preceding sub-section, except that any such owner, manager, or tenant shall be deemed to be in compliance with this paragraph if such ice is made level and completely covered with sand, sawdust, or other appropriate material to prevent slipping. Each day that a violation exists shall be considered a separate and distinct violation.

No owner, manager, or tenant of a residential building, estate, or land abutting on a sidewalk containing six (6) or fewer residential dwelling units shall place or suffer to remain in place for more than six (6) hours between sunrise and sunset any ice upon such sidewalk. Removal of any ice shall be in a manner consistent with the requirements of the preceding sub-section, except that any such owner, manager, or tenant shall be deemed to be in compliance with this paragraph if such ice is made level and completely covered with sand, sawdust, or other appropriate material to prevent slipping. Each day that a violation exists shall be considered a separate and distinct violation.

(c) No person shall remove slush, snow, or ice from privately-owned real property and place it upon any sidewalk or street.

(d) Enforcement/Penalties.

(i) Any violation of subsection (a) or subsection (b) occurring at a sidewalk abutting land zoned solely for residential use and that has six (6) or fewer residential units shall result in a fine of fifty dollars and no cents ($50.00) for each such violation.

(ii) Any violation of subsection (a) or subsection (b) occurring at a sidewalk abutting land zoned solely for residential use and that has more than six (6) residential units or at a sidewalk abutting vacant land shall result in a fine of one hundred dollars and no cents ($100.00) for each such violation.

(iv) Any violation of subsection (a) or subsection (b) occurring at a sidewalk abutting any vacant land or land zoned for any use other than solely residential (commercial or mixed-use buildings) shall result in a fine of one hundred fifty dollars and no cents ($150.00) for each such violation.

(v) Any violation of subsection (c) shall result in a fine of two hundred fifty dollars and no cents ($250.00).

Section 2.

CBC Chapter XVI is hereby amended by striking in its entirety Section 16.32.1(a).

Section 3.

CBC Chapter XVI is hereby amended by striking the sixteenth (16th) paragraph from Section 16-32.6 which paragraph reads "Subsection 16.12.16 Such amendment as is provided in subsection 16-32.1;".

Section 4.

The provisions of these sections shall be effective immediately upon passage.

Filed in the Boston City Council: February 7, 2007

Flickr photos of Unshoveled sidewalks and ramps in the Fenway

Posted by John B. Kelly

Trying something new, I have posted a bunch of photos of uncleared sidewalks and curb cuts at Flickr, the online photo album site. No need to be a member to look at the pictures, just check out this address: http://flickr.com/photos/21914897@N06/sets/72157603470079075/

There is quite a bit of information for each location -- just click on each photo with your mouse.

The Boston City Council, in one of departing City Councilor's Felix Arroyo's final contributions, updated its snow removal ordinance this fall. The bill, cosponsored by Charles Yancey of Mattapan and Michael Ross of my own Fenway , increased fines from a negligible $50 for nonresidential abutters (only $15 for homeowners), to $150 ($50 for homeowners, $100 for residential buildings with more than six units).

As you can see, property owners from the State of Massachusetts all the way down to private homeowners have yet to take the prospect of a fine seriously.