Snow, Southie, and the Mayor

The last snow emergency in Boston was two weeks ago, but residents across the city continue to guard their shoveled street parking spaces with all kinds of old furniture, cones, trash barrels, and the like.

Boston has an unofficial policy allowing such space-saving for 48 hours following a snowstorm. The Boston Globe reported Saturday that city employees aren't picking up the junk guarding parking spaces:

City sanitation workers, under orders to throw away anything left in the street more than 48 hours after a storm, cruised Dorchester yesterday collecting garbage. But parking space savers stayed in place.

Why aren't city employees picking up the junk?

Seven words: Michael Flaherty of South Boston for Mayor.

Many people consider snow removal to be the third rail of city politics. Screw up and you'll get voted out. Anger the public and they'll have your scalp. Just ask former Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic.

The last time Mayor Thomas Menino made a big issue of enforcing the city's official policy banning such space-saving garbage he caused a near-riot that made national news. The late District Councilor James Kelly led the opposition to the Mayor, saying that Kelly had "more barrels than [Menino's] got trucks."

Compare the city's current silence on enforcing the ban to the Mayor's open involvement in 2005:

[Mayor Menino] extended the 48-hour grace period for holding spaces after snowstorms by four days.

Calling an end to the city's snow emergency today at 8 a.m., he said residents can keep their claims on spots until 8 a.m. Wednesday. Then, city crews will start picking up parking space markers -- everything from paint cans to trash barrels to a snow-packed picnic basket -- that now line the streets in some neighborhoods.

Councilor Flaherty is actually on record about the issue, looking for middle-ground:

"I don't think people should be entitled to the space until spring," Flaherty said. ''But I don't think 48 hours is enough. It should depend on the snowfall. If we get a light dusting, I don't think you should be allowed to put anything out. But in heavier snowfall, a week makes sense. It's fair and it's reasonable."

Since it's been two weeks since the last snow emergency, we can infer that Councilor Flaherty thinks that the city should currently be picking up the space savers.

In December 2007, it was hot line complaints led to the city taking action to remove the junk:

"The mayor's hot line has been receiving numerous complaints about space savers and a majority of those calls have come from South Boston," Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce said.

Now in January 2009, will Councilor Flaherty's South Boston supporters flood the Mayor's 24-hour Constituent Service hot line (617-635-4500) with new complaints, forcing a confrontation with South Boston residents that could alienate them from the Mayor in an election year?

It seems backwards, but Councilor Flaherty's South Boston supporters might help out their candidate by forcing a confrontation over the space savers -- losing their spaces in the short-term.

If I were betting on the outcome at one of Governor Patrick's casinos, I would put money on the city quietly letting people save their spaces indefinitely. South Boston has a lot of votes; were the neighborhood to unify in opposition to the Mayor, he could have quite a fight this fall.


Image of parking space-saving fan by stephanie says provided through a Creative Commons license.

Brighton Rite-Aid Wall Undergoes Partial Collapse

Back in December, the roof of the Rite-Aid Pharmacy on Market Street in Brighton Center collapsed due to heavy snow.

The walls of the building, particularly the southern one, were in danger of further collapse, so exterior scaffolding was installed outside the eastern wall; the southern perimeter was also fenced off. The theory was that, if the southern wall collapsed inwards, the eastern wall could potentially buckle outwards towards the sidewalk on Market Street.

I've seen the southern wall buckle more and more over the last few weeks; it has now partially collapsed, exposing some of the insulation. While I'm not an engineer, it nonetheless appears as though there is little danger of the eastern wall falling outwards: the scaffolding appears to be working as intended.

By not bringing in a wrecking crew to demolish the building, the owners have probably saved five minutes of demolition charges by letting gravity (and additional snowfall) take its toll on the building. I think it's high time for them to move on and clean up this mess.

I say: "Mr. Rite Aid, tear down this wall!"


UPDATE (3/10/08): photos by Colleen Salmon are posted over at the "AllstonBrighton2006" google group. Here's one:

Boston Snow Emergency Declared Today Starting at 2:00 pm

February 22, 2008

Mayor Thomas M. Menino today declared that a snow emergency and parking ban will go into effect at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. Putting public safety as the top priority, Mayor Menino reminded residents of the following:

* All City of Boston afternoon and evening activities will be cancelled. Everyone is encouraged to use public transportation.
* Move cars from main arterials during snow emergencies. A listing of main arterials can be found at: www.cityofboston.gov/snow/parking.asp
* Do not park cars within 20 feet of an intersection. Parking too close to an intersection can restrict emergency vehicle access.
* Do not throw snow back into the street. "Throwbacks" force the city to remove snow from the same street twice.
* Shovel out fire hydrants close to your home.
* Property owners are reminded to shovel snow from sidewalks that abut homes and businesses.
* Do not double park.
* Keep wheelchair ramps clear.
* Check on elderly and neighbors and others in need.

During declared snow emergencies, discounted parking is available at several parking lots and garages to cars that display Boston resident parking stickers. A list of locations is available at www.cityofboston.gov/snow. The city's Know Snow program will be in effect this afternoon to alert residents of the snow emergency.

The City of Boston Storm Center will open at 2:00 p.m., when the snow emergency goes into effect. Residents with storm-related questions or concerns should call the center at (617) 635-3050, starting at 2:00 p.m.


UPDATE: *** Snow emergency will end at 6:00 am EST on Saturday, February 23rd ***

Snow Emergency; Boston Public Schools Closed Monday

City Declares Snow Emergency - Sunday 1/13/2008


Mayor Thomas M. Menino today declared a snow emergency in anticipation of forecasted heavy snowfall tonight. The snow emergency and parking ban will go into effect at midnight tonight. Putting public safety as the top priority, Mayor Menino reminded residents of the following:

# Move cars from main arterials during snow emergencies. A listing of main arterials can be found at: www.cityofboston.gov/snow/parking.asp

# Do not park cars within 20 feet of an intersection. Parking too close to an intersection can restrict emergency vehicle access.


# Do not throw snow back into the street. "Throwbacks" force the city to remove snow from the same street twice.

# Shovel out fire hydrants close to your home.


# Property owners are reminded to shovel snow from sidewalks that abut homes and businesses.


# Do not double park.

# Keep wheelchair ramps clear.


# Check on elderly and neighbors and others in need.


During declared snow emergencies, discounted parking is available at several parking lots and garages to cars that display Boston resident parking stickers. A list of locations is available at www.cityofboston.gov/snow.

Residents with storm-related questions or concerns should call the City of Boston Storm Center at (617) 635-3050.


Boston Public Schools

Closed for Monday, January 14, 2008

Update: Brighton Rite-Aid Roof Collapse

Contrary to the Allston-Brighton TAB's blog post, Market Street is not fully open to traffic. As I noted this morning, only northbound traffic is currently allowed on Market Street; southbound traffic is still, as of 4 pm, being detoured east-west on Arlington Street.

There is an electronic sign at Market Street and Faneuil Street announcing a detour via Faneuil Street and Parsons Street. Virtually no cars seem to be following that detour, causing a big slowdown on southbound Market Street approaching St. Columbkille's church. Follow the signs!

Southbound MBTA #86 buses are turning left (east) at Arlington Street, and then (presumably) right onto Cambridge Street followed by left onto Chestnut Hill Avenue. I saw one #86 bus southbound across from the Veronica Smith Senior Center, so they appear to be turning left from Washington Street onto Chestnut Hill Avenue.

Needless to say, traffic within 4-6 blocks of Brighton Center is awful in virtually every direction. Take alternate routes.


Future of the Building

Steve MacDonald, Public Information Officer for the Boston Fire Department, confirmed that no people in nearby buildings have been evacuated as a result of the partial building collapse of the Rite-Aid Pharmacy.

I saw construction workers off-loading large concrete blocks from a flatbed truck at the site. MacDonald said that these blocks will be used as part of shoring up the exterior walls of the building. That work is going on tonight, and may continue throughout the day tomorrow (Tuesday).

Once the exterior walls are supported, MacDonal said that full vehicular traffic can then resume on Market Street.

Traffic was being kept some distance away from the building because of the nature of the buckling of the walls and roof. If they north or south walls caved inwards, according to MacDonald, then the eastern wall facing Market Street could cave outwards -- spraying glass and bricks onto the sidewalk and part of the street itself.

Continued assessment of the structural integrity of the building will be made by inspectors from Boston's Inspectional Services Department and the property owner. Boston Police will continue to in charge of the traffic management around the area.


Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

I saw WHDH-TV (channel 7) and WCVB-TV (channel 5) trucks near to the Rite-Aid store at 4 pm, so they are probably planning on live-on-the-scene reports tonight.

No WBZ-TV truck was anywhere I could see. They are probably hanging out over at 181 Brighton Avenue in Allston trying to figure out how the store got rebuilt within 24 hours. As of this morning when they updated their online story, WBZ still had the wrong address for the store on their website. Cached version on google as of 5:24 pm (meaning that around 8 hours earlier, or 9:24 am, WBZ still had 181 Brighton Avenue listed on their website):



WBZ has now updated today's story with the correct address. Hopefully they told their team in the field.

MBTA Buses #64 and 86 Diverted

From the MBTA:

Bus 64 Oak Square - Kendall/MIT - is being diverted due to roadway problem - snow route.

Bus 86 Sullivan Sq. Sta. - Reservoir (Cleveland Circle) - is being diverted due to Street closure. 2 stops missed. Market @ Arlington and Keenan.


UPDATE (10:00 am):  Market Street northbound is now open.  Southbound is being diverted to side streets.  The problem with the alternate southbound route(s) is that they mostly lead to uncontrolled intersections, i.e., without traffic signals.  There are a number of BPD officers around trying to direct traffic, but Washington Street in both directions, and Market Street southbound, were nearly in gridlock this morning.

MBTA Bus #86 is making all stops northbound, but the two stops mentioned above are likely being missed for southbound buses.

Brighton Rite-Aid Pharmacy Roof Collapses; Market Street Shutdown Through Monday Morning

Part of the roof of the (Brooks) Rite-Aid Pharmacy at 399 Market Street (in Brighton) collapsed this evening under the weight of all the wet snow.

WBZ-TV erroneously reports it occurring at the 181 Brighton Avenue location in Allston, while Boston Police report it occurring at the Market Street location in Brighton. The officer answering at D-14 station confirmed it was the Market Street location. WCVB-TV has the correct location.

The sole customer in the store was injured and taken to St. Elizabeth's Medical Center. The four employees present in the store at the time presumably were not injured.

The roof and walls of the building appear in danger of further collapse.

The Boston Police are shutting down the street in front of the 399 Market Street store tonight and through tomorrow morning. They advise travellers Monday morning to avoid that part of Market Street (one block north of Brighton Center) for their commute.

No word on how the MBTA bus #86 will be re-routed tomorrow, because it travels along Market Street at this location.

As can be seen in the (file) satellite image below, the store is quite close to two buildings: a house along Surrey Street to the west, and the Boston Carpenters Apprenticeship and Training at 385 Market Street (to the NW). Boston Police media relations knew of no evacuations, but directed inquires to the Boston Fire Department public information office -- who weren't answering their phones late on a Sunday night. [My clueless mistake! After hours BFD media inquiries should be going to their dispatch number, not the PIO office number.]


Satellite View (via Google Maps):



Street View (via Google Maps):

Snow Emergency Declared in Boston

December 13, 2007

Mayor Thomas M. Menino today declared that a snow emergency and parking ban will go into effect at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. Putting public safety as the top priority, Mayor Menino reminded residents of the following:

• The City of Boston encourages businesses to release employees early. Rush hour is expected to see the storm’s heaviest snowfall. Everyone is encouraged to use public transportation.
• All City of Boston afternoon and evening activities will be cancelled.
• Move cars from main arterials during snow emergencies. A listing of main arterials can be found at: www.cityofboston.gov/snow/parking.asp
• Do not park cars within 20 feet of an intersection. Parking too close to an intersection can restrict emergency vehicle access.
• Do not throw snow back into the street. “Throwbacks” force the city to remove snow from the same street twice.
• Shovel out fire hydrants close to your home.
• Property owners are reminded to shovel snow from sidewalks that abut homes and businesses.
• Do not double park.
• Keep wheelchair ramps clear.
• Check on elderly and neighbors and others in need.

During declared snow emergencies, discounted parking is available at several parking lots and garages to cars that display Boston resident parking stickers. A list of locations is available at www.cityofboston.gov/snow. The city’s Know Snow program will be in effect this afternoon to alert residents of the snow emergency.

The City of Boston Storm Center will open at 2:00 p.m., when the snow emergency goes into effect. Residents with storm-related questions or concerns should call the center at (617) 635-3050, starting at 2:00 p.m.

UPDATE: The citywide snow emergency and parking ban will remain in effect until 6:00 a.m. Friday morning.

UPDATE: Boston Public Schools will be closed on Friday.