The managers of Forest Hills Cemetery closed the scenic grounds to visitors today, saying there were just too many people crowding in for walks and bicycle rides - even as the number of burials is going up due to the increase in Covid-19 deaths.
Staffers locked the cemeteries side gates to and from the surrounding side streets, while the main gate is only open between 2 and 4, and even then only for people going to burials and cemetery staffers and officials.
Some callers to the cemetery report being told the move was in direct response to Mayor Walsh's comments yesterday about his disappointment in the way people weren't staying six feet away from each other outside at some Boston locations.
One staffer said at the main cemetery entrance today that during the current stay-at-home times, the cemetery has seen a lot more visitors - not just people strolling the grounds, but dog walkers, bicyclists and little kids, who were climbing too many trees and monuments.
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Do you have a press release?
By Ron Newman
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 3:42pm
or can you link to another source for this information? It is not yet on the cemetery's website, nor on their Facebook page.
I'm very disappointed that they did not give at least three days' warning before closing, as Mount Auburn did (giving folks a chance to make a last weekend visit on March 28 and 29).
The Forest Hills grounds have always been open to cyclists, unlike at Mount Auburn, where you must lock your bike at the entrance.
I drove down there
By adamg
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 3:33pm
And talked to a manager, who first came up to me (well, six feet up to me) and wanted to know why I wanted to take a picture of the sign (as we were talking, a security guard drove up as well, and got out and stood there, although I think it was more that he wanted to talk to the guy, not that he was afraid I was up to no good).
Was alerted to go up there by people either posting in the Forest Hills neighborhood group or sending me messages saying they'd called the number on the sign ...
So for a change, some actual shoe-leather reporting on my part :-).
You (un)buried the lede!
By Parkwayne
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 6:53pm
So you're reporting that a cemetery manager 'came ... six feet up to' you? Hmm, how deep are the dead buried again? That's right - six feet!
I've always respected your reporting so I know that you wouldn't have said 'up' if there wasn't vertical distance involved - ergo, you're hiding the fact that you interviewed some sort of spectral being or living dead.
I’m not just the manager
By Sock_Puppet
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 7:48pm
I’m a member!
Hah, yeah ...
By adamg
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 12:10pm
Shoulda been a bit more careful with more wording given what I was writing about!
More cities are opening up roads to pedestrians
By spin_o_rama
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 4:32pm
Great that we are keeping company and falling behind with NYC.
DiBlassio has refused to enact what other cities are doing because of policing concerns. So now their city council is pushing forward legislation I believe.
https://twitter.com/berkie1/status/125224578101848...
I'm just not sure it's worth it
By Gary C
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 5:00pm
I'm Mr bike commuter, so I get the desire for people to have safe bike places. I just don't see the usefulness of having a random street here or there blocked off. I rode down Beacon Street today and noticed the "walking and biking" set-asides on Beacon in-bound approaching Coolidge Corner. (They moved the parking lane out so the former parking spots are now available.) I'm sorry, but that's pretty much useless. I didn't see many folks using Francis Parkman Drive this weekend, but did almost get hit by a car whose GPS didn't know that the road wasn't open to him.
Unless you are a kid, the city is now your bike path. I rode Beacon St from Cleveland Circle and got to St Paul Street (that's AFTER Coolidge Corner) before the first car passed me.
Francis Parkman Drive
By Ron Newman
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 5:10pm
Was it not barricaded like it should have been?
It’s a good thing
By Matt
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 8:55pm
No one named a parkway after him.
Parkman Parkway would lead
By anon
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 10:54am
Parkman Parkway would lead directly to the Outerbridge Bridge.
It was two weekends ago. No
By Kinopio
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 11:48pm
It was two weekends ago. No cars were getting on to that section for sure.
Yes it WAS barricaded last weekend
By Gary C
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 8:36am
That's when I saw it blocked off.
It ain't about bikes
By spin_o_rama
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 5:34pm
I agree, finding places to bike is not a problem. There are fewer cars out in general, yeah some are speeding but so far I haven't had an issue with biking.
Walking though, I've seen plenty of cases of people stepping into the road, narrow sidewalks without enough room to socially distance, parks closing and the ones open having little space to social distance to the volume of people.
Cities like Oakland are making connected networks of local traffic only (for the resident concern trolls, its open for emergency vehicle access) so its not about a few random roads here and there.
Hell, I saw one tweet I gotta find of a random neighborhood that took it upon themselves to post up a small barrier and signage saying "No through traffic." Opened up the whole block for social distancing.
Again, its not about bikes.
Need a place to exercise.
By Runner
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 8:53am
I had been going for runs through the cemetery because it is one of the few places where I can avoid people and get to franklin park. I stayed away from the newer areas and always wore a mask.
I have tried the arboretum a few times, but the Problem there is that people hang out around the entrances and people (without masks) will actually walk toward you and hog the entire path - which makes it extra challenging if you are running or biking or even just trying to go for a walk.
Now I’m not sure what I can do. I don’t have a treadmill or a stationary bike. I am in an apartment with kids and we don’t really have any other safe outdoor space aside from the sidewalk. Playgrounds are closed. I really wish Walsh would start closing down some streets for people to get physical activity.
Ok, but...
By lbb
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 3:54pm
...maybe not a cemetery.
Please think about this. It's not a park. It's not a recreational facility. It's a place where people are buried and where their loved ones come to pay their respects. The fact that "but people have always run/biked/walked their dogs there" doesn't really count for much these days; times have changed.
Ok, but...
By spin_o_rama
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 3:37pm
..maybe a cemetery?
Please think about this. Times have changed as you said, maybe we need to temporarily rethink the role these spaces have for our societal needs right now.
Its a fairly valid request from someone who just told you have almost no safe options to exercise and social distance, not to mention the mental health impacts.
And in a city where the Mayor has refused to follow the examples of other cities and create safe space to socially distance on roads.
One thing about these times...
By lbb
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 3:54pm
...is that cemeteries are being used a lot more, as cemeteries.
The role of these spaces is as places to inter the dead. I'm not sure why you think "our societal needs" should trump that, given that they're mostly not even public spaces.
They aren't mutually exclusive
By spin_o_rama
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 4:35pm
We can provide recreational space temporarily during a period of time when social distancing will getting exercise and fresh air are vitally needed and we can still inter the dead there.
The role of golf courses, for instance, should change too and its not public space currently.
I guess the real issue is, people don't have enough space and lower in this thread you were pontificating about why people can't just walk down the sidewalks, as if that space isn't already cramped enough, especially for social distancing.
Guess we need to open the roads oh but our Mayor isn't doing that so ok, people are gonna need to get out and will go where they can. Maybe we should plan it a little better.
Better question, what should we do for social distanced exercise and recreational needs if we aren't opening cemeteries or golf courses, are closing parks in some cases, have really narrow sidewalks and roads that aren't open to pedestrians?
Really?
By lbb
Thu, 04/23/2020 - 10:01am
Pontificating? Really?
I see. Do you have data on these cramped sidewalks?
I'm not sealioning, I'm asking. I'm not seeing "cramped" sidewalks.
Your first go-to should not be a cemetery. A cemetery is not ever there for your "recreational needs", and absolutely not now. But tell me about your needs: what kind of space do you need, how much, located where? There probably is a solution, but you're going to have to consider less-than-perfect solutions.
Ain't about me, my needs are being met just fine
By spin_o_rama
Thu, 04/23/2020 - 4:51pm
As I stated in this very thread:
https://www.universalhub.com/comment/779086#commen...
But also in other threads that maybe you didn't see:
https://www.universalhub.com/comment/774645#commen...
https://www.universalhub.com/comment/776795#commen...
Data? As in examples?
https://www.universalhub.com/comment/779385#commen...
So again, what should we do for social distanced exercise and recreational needs if we aren't opening cemeteries or golf courses, are closing parks in some cases, have really narrow sidewalks and roads that aren't open to pedestrians?
What less than perfect options are left?
Victorian Era Cemeteries
By ElizaLeila
Thu, 04/23/2020 - 10:17am
I think what people are forgetting, is that cemeteries, such as Forest Hills (1848) and Mt. Auburn (1831), were created in the Victorian Era. They were treated or created as some of the first parks and used as such. Picnics, visiting loved one passed on, etc.
Article in the The Atlantic (2011)
Writeup in Atlas Obscura titled 'Remembering When Americans Picnicked in Cemeteries'
Quote from Atlas Obscura, "Eating in graveyards had, and still has, historical precedent. People picnic among the dead from Guatemala to parts of Greece, and similar traditions involving meals with ancestors are common throughout Asia. But plenty of Americans believed that picnics in local cemeteries were a “gruesome festivity.†This critique, notably from older generations, didn’t stop young adults from meeting up in graveyards. Instead it led to debate over proper conduct."
Yes, Forest Hills is private property, but it is there for the public good. Perhaps they can, like the Arboretum, find a way to staff it to help encourage social distancing, as well as care, consideration, and respect of the cemetery and it's occupants.
Another thing I noticed about the "walk/bike" lanes.
By Pete Nice
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 8:21am
Is that cars now park in the right lane, and that right lane is smooth (for the cars and bikes that were riding on them). Now bikes are force to ride in the parking spaces/gutters, which have lots of potholes, cracks and bumps. Like Gary C said, biking is much better now with 75% of the traffic gone and was probably more efficient before the walk/bike lanes were established.
Yeah, parking spaces tend to
By anon
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 10:56am
Yeah, parking spaces tend to be bumpy places to bike, because each parked car oil leak spot messes up the asphalt.
Grrrr...
By 500Monkeys
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 5:04pm
This is a really disappointing decision for those of us in the area trying to find quiet, calm, beautiful and uncrowded respite from the stresses of this damnable pandemic. "Hazardous Conditions"? As someone who walks through a few times a week at varying times of day, I can attest that Forest Hills Cemetery is far less crowded, far less frenetic that nearby Arnold Arboretum or Jamaica Pond. Here it's actually easy to maintain social distance. I understand that it's a PRIVATE cemetery, but it exists in a public context, and it ordinarily invites the public in to explore with their free maps to historic graves and sculptures. The public needs spaces like this now more than ever as we all cope with confinement and the anxiety of Covid-19 and economic trauma. Perhaps they might have taken some interim steps short of barring the gates: signs encouraging social distance and waste removal (like the Arboretum and Emerald Necklace have installed); reminders (if they think they're needed) that monuments are not play structures; volunteers or paid security to encourage compliance... I certainly hope they reconsider.
Too bad people abused this
By anon
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 5:24pm
Too bad people abused this beautiful gem of a cemetery and ruined it for people like yourself. Don't blame the hard-working people who manage and maintain the cemetery and the grounds.
Closure of Forest Hills Cemetery
By Virginia Mazur
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 6:56pm
I am saddened by the closure of Forest Hills today - for all of us at this time.
It is my famly cemetery and I visit regularly and, in recent weeks saw very small numbers
of visitors walking the grounds compared to anywhere in the area. What has the cemetery done to advise the public and where has Mayor Walsh received his information? Today's action seems strange and without accurate advice. Please reconsider. Forest Hills has always been more than a cemetery but a public refuge to celebrate spirit, music, art and what binds us all in humanity - especially needed now.
Ginny Mazur Mendendhall
Jamaica Plain
They should have closed the
By Kinopio
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 11:59pm
They should have closed the cemetery off to cars that aren’t there for a burial. I walked to the cemetery Sunday and there must have been 30 cars parked in the driveway. Usually there is just a couple. Then you have the extremely lazy people who actually drive into the cemetery. These selfish, lazy people who drove there ruined the cemetery for locals who just want to walk around. Im tired of this. Stay in your own damn neighborhood.
I'm sorry I had to drive into
By BHL057
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 6:19am
I'm sorry I had to drive into the cemetery to visit my grandparents, parents, brother and cousin. Also while I was there, I must admit that I did walk around and visited graves and monuments and admired the art that was found throughout this wonderful area.
Maybe they paid for a plot there?
By Pete Nice
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 6:47am
And drove in, visited a family members grave and then walked around a bit. Then they got upset when they see you walking around, a person on private property, not even from Boston (you might live here but are hated because you are gentrifying it) ruining their peaceful area which they paid hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars for.
I have no issue with people walking around areas which are commonly used for public use, but man, the arrogance and entitlement I see now of people thinking private properties are theirs is amazing. Stay in your own damn neighborhood? How about stay off private property?
(I get the fact that people flocking to areas in cars might upset the balance of a place like this cemetery and its use, and that may have led to this decision to close the cemetery to those from the neighborhood whom usually enjoy it, but I’m also betting it’s all city residents who are driving there as well,)
Not all neighberhoods have
By anon
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 8:38am
Not all neighberhoods have large open spaces for people to walk in.
Hmmmm
By ElizaLeila
Thu, 04/23/2020 - 8:33pm
Your phrasing is confusing. If the cars were parked in the driveway, they weren't in the cemetery. Or are you saying you saw the cars past the main gates and chapel, in the cemetery proper?
With Mt. Auburn Cemetery in
By anon
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 5:12pm
With Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge closing weeks ago due to people letting their dogs run around off leash, I'm surprised Forest Hills waited this long. These are active cemeteries with loved ones being buried every week, not a playground for cycling or a dog park. Dogs are not allowed in cemeteries. Biking to the cemeteries of course is welcomed, but you're not allowed to bike inside the cemeteries. You have to lock up your bike and most people respect that. Unfortunately too many visitors since the pandemic weren't being respectful of these beautiful burying grounds and ruined it for everyone else who was being respectful.
Forest Hills Cemetery has always allowed bicycling
By Ron Newman
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 5:43pm
In fact, the annual Hub on Wheels bike tour used to go through Forest Hills Cemetery.
Mount Auburn disallows bicycles, but I don't think that is the norm for most other local cemeteries.
About Forest Hills: "While strolling, picnics, bicycling and quiet recreational activities are permitted, please respect the serenity that is so essential to this contemplative environment."
That's a shame, but thank you
By anon
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 6:01pm
That's a shame, but thank you for clarifying.
Not so
By Rozzie Girl
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 5:42pm
Forest Hills Cemetery has always allowed dogs on leashes in most but not all parts of the cemetery. It has always allowed bikes.
Dog walking, on or off leash,
By cw in boston
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 6:05pm
is not allowed in Mt. Auburn at any time. Leashed dogs are allowed in Forest Hills. So I don't think Mt. Auburn was closed because of unleashed dogs.
Agree that a minority of people ruin it for everyone else.
Off leash dogs was part of
By anon
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 9:20am
Off leash dogs was part of the tipping point for the closure of Mt. Auburn Cemetery. There's a small group of people who go birding there who were informed by one of the staff who they have gotten to know over the years who let them know. Overcrowding was of course another one of the main issues.
Walking Dog at Forest Hills
By anon
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 6:49pm
We've lived on one of the streets abutting Forest Hills Cemetery for over a decade and has always enjoyed walking our dog on their premises. There's a placard at every entrance that states as much as long as owners pick up after their dogs and are always leashed. Most people are very respectful of the grounds, but there's certainly those few that can damper it for the rest of us. Just unfortunate the grounds are closed (beautiful time of year to visit with all the trees and flowers blooming) but completely understand given the current situation.
Please cite your sources.
By anon
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 12:28am
Where did you hear that the Mt. Auburn closure was due to off-leash dogs?
Are you the same anon who commented this on the Mt Auburn post, and didn't answer where you heard it?
Get in the car
By Will LaTulippe
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 5:14pm
I drove the length of Route 117 out to Lancaster. Found a nice walk in the woods in Bolton that had an old quarry in it, and found a brewery in Lancaster, where I picked up some suds, turned around, and came home.
If you have a car
By Ron Newman
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 5:25pm
If you don't, your range is limited to where you can walk, where you can bike (if you have one and are physically fit enough to ride it a long distance), or where you can take public transit to (not really recommended right now)
Can't share a ride, either
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 5:41pm
I have picked up Ron + Ronbike to go to an event in, say, Hull before, but we aren't doing that now.
I have been twice in the last
By Whit
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 6:13pm
I have been twice in the last 3 weeks. It is an absolute falsehood that there were too many ppl and that social distancing was not being practiced. A lie.
I sort of wrote off Forest Hills Cemetery....
By Michael Kerpan
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 6:52pm
... after it rather abruptly killed off the long-running Lantern Festival -- after having previously canceled all other cultural events (and firing all the staff who worked on these).
This is right
By pcannon
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 7:37pm
It's been how it always is: basically desolate. I've run there often specifically for this reason, you rarely ever see another person.
Oh wow. Now that I know
By Anecdotal McGee
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 10:41pm
Oh wow. Now that I know someone has been there twice in three weeks and it wasn’t crowded at those two specific times, I totally believe that there is no reason to close down a private place that has been overrun by people not following suggested guidelines. For sure must be an absolute falsehood.
Like the Fells ...
By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 1:18pm
You can probably go in at 11am on a weekday and it is fine ... but weekends have turned into the Clusterflock of Hell in terms of illegally parked cars, crowds, people not moving aside on trails, and overall damage to the facilities.
So, yeah, I can go for a walk during the day before 3pam and it isn't an issue. On weekends I have started seeing people cruising the neighborhood for parking - and those are the ones who bother to look for legal parking. Sheepfold and its Special Assholes With Canines Club had to be closed due to rampant illegal parking, dog waste, and people who think social distancing means not sniffing one another's rears.
That has become a problem for
By anon
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 8:45am
That has become a problem for sure. Before Covid19 benches were often hard to come by , so if you were old or had other mobility issues you had to be careful about where you would walk. Now I see they are wrapping up the benches in tape too.
So many suggestions I see are assuming that everyone is 25, in good shape, has a bike and all the time in the world with no kids at home.
Not everyone has a car.
By anon
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 5:28pm
Not everyone has a car.
I will also add that the only
By Whit
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 9:36am
I will also add that the only affront to dignity that I witnessed was the newly arrived pretty-princess Disney angel sculpture that these cretins have installed at the main entrance. The manager of a Walmart garden center would find it too embarrassing for the parking lot.
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