City Says Last-Minute Changes Needed to Make Mass Ave. Sidewalks Safe

Requests by the city to alter elements of the Massachusetts Avenue reconstruction project irked members of the South End Landmark District Commission who said certain changes could have been avoided by better planning.

One request, which was reluctantly approved by the commission, called for a 3-inch gray accent strip to be applied to portions of the sidewalk to alert pedestrians to changing cross-slopes in the walkway. According to Civil Engineer Bill Egan of the Public Works Department, certain portions of the newly constructed sidewalk along Mass Ave. have an average cross-slope of 8 percent. A level sidewalk has a cross-slop of 1.5 percent.

According to Egan, the cross-slopes were adjusted during construction in order to connect entryways to homes and businesses with a standard 6-inch curb. Raising the curb to create a level sidewalk could prevent certain cars from opening their doors, he said.

The gray strip, which is made of thermo-plastic and adhered to the sidewalk using heat, would need to be applied to roughly 25 percent of the reconstructed sidewalks on Mass Ave. between Albany and St. Botolph streets.

On Tuesday, commissioners said they were reluctant to approve the project, but saw no other way to make the sidewalks safe without undoing millions of dollars of construction.

“It would have been better to avoid this situation altogether,” said commissioner John Amodeo. “I think a car door swinging into a curb is a small price to pay for a level sidewalk.”

Commissioners were also presented with a proposal to replace the brick sidewalks near the Mass Ave. MBTA station with concrete. The MBTA has a policy in place banning bricks from being used on its property due to public safety concerns, said MBTA Accessibility Manager Kathy Cox.

Initial plans for the Mass Ave. reconstruction project called for brick sidewalks to be preserved throughout the neighborhood historic district, which includes the area surrounding the MBTA stop. Starting at St. Botolph Street, the sidewalks would become concrete with brick accent strips.

Disability advocate John Kelly, who lives near the station, said extending the concrete sidewalks would go a long way toward helping those with mobility impairments. Kelly produced photographs of areas where bricks have been missing for months.

“If we have a concrete path of travel we won’t have missing bricks to encounter on our way to the station,” he said. “It’s just the smoothest pathway for seniors and people with disabilities.”

But Amodeo, who described himself as an advocate for equal access, questioned whether concrete would solve the issue.

“Concrete is also not immune to cracking, heaving or the plights of deferred maintenance,” he said. “There are as many photographs ones could take of concrete [sidewalks]…that are probably more dangerous to walk down.”

Furthermore, pedestrians navigating the area would be forced to encounter brick sidewalks once they stepped outside the station’s immediate perimeter, he said.

“I don’t see how we’re really advancing the needs of universal access to send a concrete sidewalk into an already acceptable brick sidewalk,” he said. ”We’re providing 40 feet of concrete but we then have a mile of brick that was approved by everyone in this room.”

Ultimately, the commission voted to reject the proposal without prejudice until an MBTA representative could provide further detail. According to commissioner Diana Parcon, the MBTA is a "quasi-public" agency and may not be bound by the commission's decision.

"They come before [us] as a courtesy," she said. "In reality they don’t have to abide by the regulations.”