B.U. Medical Ponders Plantings for Mass Ave. Medians

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 1:30 p.m.

From start to finish, the reconstruction of Massachusetts Avenue stretching down by Boston University Medical School has been lengthy – 11 years in total. With the end finally in sight, it’s time to hammer out some stray details.

Despite its seeming simplicity, one of the trickier issues yet to be resolved is about what to plant in the median “islands” that exist on the lower stretch of Mass Ave. Although not considered part of university's campus, school officials have signed a 10-year agreement with the city to take over the landscaping and maintenance of the median strips, which act as a gateway to their campus.

Medical Campus Director of Community Relations Carla Richards was on hand as Tuesday's Worcester Square Neighborhood Association meeting to relay that an informal subcommittee of WSANA members had met with her and mayoral liaison Tabitha Bennett, also in attendance, to discuss some of the options. Bennett specified that, although the project is set for final review in November, planting may get split between the fall and next spring.

“B.U.’s thinking seems to be about mirroring the work done along Commonwealth Avenue along the Charles River Campus,” Richards said, which met with positive tones. One resident pointed out that the azaleas and boxwoods planted on Commonwealth between the Agganis Arena and the Boston University East Green Line T Stop (or thereabouts) had been a significant improvement to the overall look of the strip.

But what worked on Commonwealth may not survive the conditions year-round on a strip of Mass Ave. that sees a fair volume of industrial traffic, salt spray and other hazards that will kill off all but the heartiest of greens.

Active WSANA board member (and webmaster) Christos Hamawi stressed the importance of making careful choices about what to plant in the beds, which are approximately 18 inches deep and 4 feet wide.

“We need a creative, elegant and well-thought-out plan,” he said, encouraging other members to do their own research and provide guidance and feedback to the group. “Let’s try and avoid having a cookie-cutter look. We need to find grasses and shrubs that can survive the salt, the draught, the snow – there aren’t that many to choose from unfortunately.”

Peabody-based Weston & Sampson is in charge of the Mass Ave. project and has a landscape architect on board to answer the group’s questions, but consensus seemed to be that a wider net should be cast for a greater pool of ideas – including looking to the Parks Department for some added expertise.

Richards agreed to compile photographs of the plantings on Commonwealth as well as some schematic diagrams and send them to WSANA President George Stergios who said he would circulate them well in advance of the group's next meeting, allowing people time to formulate suggestions.