WFXT reports the new BTD regulations along Walter and Bussey streets, aimed at making spaces available for Arnold Arboretum visitors, are causing problems for workers at the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center and Faulkner Hospital.
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Your car isn't our problem.
By anon
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 9:48am
Your car isn't our problem.
I've noticed with the Faulkner construction the amount of cars in that area. The construction company should rent a lot somewhere and bus their workers in.
Oh, the trucks with Lets Go Brandon stickers and NH plates?
By anon
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 12:35pm
Yeah, they can celebrate their freedoms in other markets for their work.
Cool
By Sock_Puppet
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 9:56am
Next they can ticket the school buses that idle there half the day
"The city said there will be
By jrobe
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:48am
"The city said there will be a grace period before parking tickets are issued, but didn’t specify how long that grace period will be." Using history as a guide, I predict that no one will ever actually get a ticket. That would require some sort of enforcement, which is just silly.
Kinda like the "education"
By anon
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 11:59am
Kinda like the "education" and not "enforcement" in WR...it works so well!
"New" bus lane on Washington still not enforced...
By peter
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 12:57pm
Every time I take the 35/36/37 bus from Forest Hills down Washington Street during the evening rush hour there are cars parked in the bus lane. I've yet to see one tow truck in action.
The buses have dash cam
By cinnamngrl
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 1:46pm
They should mail them tickets.
Many things should happen,
By Plen-T-Pak
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 7:03pm
Many things should happen, but they don't, because that's how it goes.
Can be done but...
By b from Ros
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 8:13am
...lobby the lawmakers
Heres an even better idea:
By Kinopio
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:00am
Heres an even better idea: get rid of Bussey street. There shouldn't be a damn road going through the middle of a busy park. Same goes for Circuit Drive in Franklin Park, Charles Street between the Common and Public Garden, etc. Parks should be parks, not medians between streets.
As for the complaining workers: you are not entitled to have free parking provided to you by Boston residents. Its ridiculous how spoiled drivers are around here.
That's right, screw those workers
By anon
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:14am
especially the immigrant minorities who do the housekeeping and menial jobs which keep healthcare facilities operating 24/7. How dare they drive to work.
Faulkner provides parking
By Dani B.
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 11:20am
Faulkner provides employee parking at two off-site locations with free shuttle bus service to the hospital. Also, the workers you claim to care about ("immigrant minorities who do housekeeping and menial jobs") are the ones who are least likely to drive to the hospital.
Do they?
By Bostoneer
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 11:21am
Do the "the immigrant minorities who do the housekeeping and menial jobs which keep healthcare facilities operating 24/7" actually drive to work though? Much more likely they take are taking the bus. People who drive are wealthier than average and low income workers drive a lot less than high income ones. Much more likely that the people parking there are Doctors and administrators.
Parking is for the park.
By John
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 11:54am
The parking is obviopusly there for people who visit the park.
Chester Square belongs on
By anon
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:19am
Chester Square belongs on this list too!
Bussey street provides access
By NoMoreBanks
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 11:48am
Bussey street provides access to the interior of the Arb for those with disabilities, small children, etc. It also allows for the Arb to do maintenance, access to utilities in the area, etc.
I would 100% support a reworking of the street to discourage anyone from using it as a cut through, though. Say a speedbump every 15 feet? A dozen more stop signs? Make it unappealing to anyone who isn't using it for the intended purpose which is accessing the park.
Just make it a dead end
By tjridesbikes
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 2:57pm
Park access preserved, with no opportunities for using it as a cut-through. Problem solved!
A permeable dead end
By HenryAlan 2.0
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 3:33pm
There is no reason to block pedestrians or bike riders from using the full length of Bussey street.
Small children can walk
By anon
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 3:10pm
Mine were trekking miles at a time but age 3. I would bring a tiny stroller just in case but didn't even do that by age 4.
Parents need to stop using their kids as an excuse for sloth.
Arboretum Maintenance
By transitgeek
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 4:29pm
The Arboretum already has a network of roads throughout it that are utilized by the staff/rangers for access throughout the park. Closing Bussey Street would not prohibit them from maintenance or utility access. Just closing that off to the public and/or restoring it to parkland would go a long way.
Get rid of Charles Street ?
By anon
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 12:53pm
Get rid of Charles Street between Boston Common and the Public Garden?
Boston Common and the Public Garden are two seperate parks with two
separate sets of rules (not that they are ever enforced), different characteristics, etc. You seem to think "a park is a park is a park".
Yes, get rid of that speedway.
By Lee
Sun, 03/03/2024 - 8:15am
Allow access to the underground garage only and tear up the rest of the pavement.
"no options"
By Dani B.
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:07am
"There are no options she said, after listing off two reasonable options."
On a more serious note...
By Dani B.
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:12am
I don't understand how it's the city's responsibility to provide free parking to one of the richest employers in the commonwealth.
The same thing happens in JP
By LarryW
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:23am
from all the LMA commuters.
And in Mission Hill
By 02120
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 12:57pm
Most of the metered parking, visitor 2-hour parking, and nearly all the handicapped parking spots are taken by hospital employees with handicapped placards. Same hospital employees take the same reserved handicapped spaces every M-Fri. and walk the 1/4 to 1/2 mile to the hospital to work.
It is great that hospitals in the LMA make it a priority to hire folks with disabilities, but perhaps they could have designated handicapped spaces at the hospitals for them. Seems cruel to make them park so far away.
City Hall does not care
By LarryW
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 2:40pm
A significant portion of the residential street parking is abused by out of state cars and commuters who don't live here. Residents have been complaining for years and City Hall won't do anything to stop it.
Out of state cars
By Will LaTulippe
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 9:22pm
So, if Massachusetts absorbed those states, you wouldn't be bothered by their parking anymore?
Or is what you really meant to say "I'm upset because people who live more than 30 miles away are parking here?" It's possible that people in Austin, TX have parking issues too, but they don't have that argument.
Very simple Will
By LarryW
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 6:56am
If you don't live here, gtfo
And how much money
By Will LaTulippe
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 10:15am
Did you give to enrich Steve Bannon, er, build the wall?
And if a frog had wings, it
By Scratchie
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 9:41am
And if a frog had wings, it wouldn't bump its ass a-hoppin'.
Good quote
By Will LaTulippe
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 2:49pm
RIP Jimy Williams
I Wonder
By Username Unknown
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 7:43pm
What do you think the percentage is of folks that have a HP placards actually need them? They seem pretty easy to get. I may apply for one for the recurring hangnail I get on my big toe.
The City
By anon
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 4:03pm
Allows some of the most successful restaurants/bars and their wealthy owners use City property for very low cost outdoor dining.
Many v. Few
By Dani B.
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 12:00am
This is a silly comparison. Far more people benefit from the space if it’s used for dining than if it’s used exclusively by one person to park their stupid giant SUV while they go work an 8-hour shift.
There's very little public
By MM
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:42am
There's very little public transit over there, I don't blame them.
The only bus serving those institutions runs once an hour off-peak/once every ~30min on-peak, and only connects you to Forest Hills.
They're 1mi+ from Forest Hills or the Needham Line stops, which is further than most people are realistically going to walk.
Hospitals mean many of the workers are on shifts that don't correspond perfectly to normal peak hours either.
-----
That said, those institutions could certainly have invested some money in either transit shuttles or building adequate parking for their staff.
There are employee shuttles run by MGB!
By Dani B.
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 11:22am
There are three private shuttle routes run by MGB that connect the Faulkner to employee lots near Chestnut Hill and Forest Hills in addition to the green and orange lines. The fact that there is little public transit is irrelevant as Faulkner plugs that gap for its employees.
During off peak hours when the shuttles and the T aren't running employees are permitted to park on campus.
“ They're 1mi+ from Forest
By Lee
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 12:35pm
“ They're 1mi+ from Forest Hills or the Needham Line stops, which is further than most people are realistically going to walk.”
Walking is good for most people. A mile is nothing for most people. The path from the Faulkner to Forest Hills is through the Arboretum and one of the pleasantest commutes you could hope for.
Ever walk a ward for a living?
By anon
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 3:43pm
You have never worked at a hospital on your feet all day.
Not in a hospital but in a restaurant.
By Lee
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 4:14am
Then I walked 2 miles to my evening gig. So yes, I can walk the walk.
I mean to be fair there's one
By NoMoreBanks
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 11:53am
I mean to be fair there's one bus that swings by there and it's not exactly on a commuter schedule. Realistically public transit would require walking to the square or maybe biking through the arb to get to Forest Hills. And the MBTA is barely functional as a system. I'd also be upset if my commute went from a 30-40 minute drive to a possible 2+ hours where you're also risking getting assaulted and thrown onto active train tracks.
But really the employers should be addressing this. They should either be running better more frequent shuttles to off-site parking or providing uber vouchers or building a garage or something. There's a big shortage in health care workers right now so it's not like these people can't walk away for somewhere that has parking.
Be reasonable
By RW
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 2:47pm
"you're also risking getting assaulted and thrown onto active train tracks"
This is not a reasonable concern. And yes the MBTA has its well-documented problems, but plenty of us still use it to get to work most days. It's not "barely functioning."
Really
By Bostoneer
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 3:42pm
“where you're also risking getting assaulted and thrown onto active train tracks.” How often do you think this happens? The truth is that the T is way safer than driving and it’s not even close. You are far more likely to be injured, assaulted, or even killed commuting by car than you are on the T. Facts don’t care about your feelings.
I favor both the rule and enforcement
By HenryAlan 2.0
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:09am
But I have to admit, it's hard to see what the hospital employees will do. Public transit to the area is pretty bad, just a single bus line that operates infrequently. The Faulkner has an employee shuttle from Forest Hills, perhaps the Hebrew Rehab can institute something similar. The employers will need to step up and take this on, as subsidizing employee parking really isn't the job of the city, which has valid competing needs for those spots.
They'll do
By LarryW
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:19am
what every other person does that doesn't get free parking: public transit, walk, bike, rent a spot, get dropped off, etc. Most likely they will park on residential streets and BTD won't ever come and ticket them.
Great
By LarryW
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:10am
Now do the same thing in all of JP.
I can understand this being a
By anon
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:19am
I can understand this being a temporary issue given the constant development of Faulkner up the road, and construction causing parking areas to be closed, but...
Given the development of Faulkner up the road, their development plans should include places for their employees to park, rather than clogging up public streets all day. Maybe that's the plan? If so, the parking restrictions could be delayed until that work is complete (which is never /s )
It's also worth noting...
By Dani B.
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:20am
That MGB provides three different employee shuttle routes connecting Faulkner to two different off-site employee parking lots and the T. This princess just doesn't like the options provided to her.
Don't forget about blue bikes
By hydeparkish
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:47am
And all mayor Wu's bike lanes !
Actually, they aren't Mayor
By anon
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 12:03pm
Actually, they aren't Mayor Wu's...they're for the tax paying citizens of this city.
Parents and car owners aren't the only people that pay taxes. Us childless losers also like to use things that our tax $ pays for.
Yes, I also own a car - I just think it's time we stop killing cities with cars.
I guess
By LarryW
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 2:47pm
You're killing the city then.
Yes, 100%. But we're a 1 car
By anon
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 3:16pm
Yes, 100%. But we're a 1 car household that puts about 2k miles a year on it. We take the T, bike, walk and drive on occasion.
Our excise taxes don't fill a pothole and the gas tax hasn't been raised in ~25 years. We have eot change our thinking and it's doable.
Get back to me
By Bostoneer
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 3:45pm
Get back to me when entire neighborhoods are demolished for bike infrastructure like they were for car infrastructure. Until then you can calm down and get a sense of perspective.
What a gutless copout
By LarryW
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 6:51am
Total capitulation
Neighborhoods demolished for ….
By Lee
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 8:39am
… bike infrastructure.
Lol. Great visual.
they don't budget the time.
By cinnamngrl
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 12:41pm
I don't know how often the shuttles run. These people probably are upset that they can't park 5 min before their shift starts.
But the Arboretum is for everyone to enjoy, not car storage.
Construction parking
By Rozzident86
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 11:26am
As someone who drives by there early in the morning I can’t help but think the influx of construction workers parking for free all day working over at the Faulkner was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Hard to pretend you’re a local taking the dog for a walk when you’ve got a snow covered pickup with NH plates
I've watched commuters
By LarryW
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 2:57pm
zipping to and from the job sites in the area daily for years. The city knows what they're doing and still won't install resident parking for it's constituents.
There is a process for establishing resident permit parking
By HenryAlan 2.0
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 3:37pm
Neighborhood residents can petition the city for resident permit designation. A certain number of people in the neighborhood must indicate support, and if that threshold is reached, then the city will put up the signs. The city will implement it anywhere that process is followed. The issue with a lot of the Arboretum parking, though, is that there are no residences specifically at that location.
Petitions were submitted years ago
By LarryW
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 4:22pm
BTD and City Hall have the petitions, they just won't give the residents what they want. This was all highlighted in the complaints about the White Stadium deal.
Didn’t the Neighborhood
By David02131
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 5:22pm
Didn’t the Neighborhood Liaison from the Mayor’s office talk to the Longfellow Neighborhood about this 6ish months ago?
I thought the feedback about 2 hour parking was pretty positive.
BTD hasn't zoned a street in nearly 5 years
By LarryW
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 6:51am
The Neighborhood Liaisons don't do anything
Whoa, seriously?
By erik g
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 9:56am
Is that data publicly available anywhere? Not trying to sound skeptical or dismissive, I'm genuinely curious. If BTD has put a de facto stop to their own documented policy for changing neighborhood parking designations, under the nose of two different mayors, that's a huge freaking deal.
Seriously
By LarryW
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 11:42am
There's articles around that mention the moratorium. There is no official press release. We submitted petitions before the pandemic and then they told us the whole program is on ice.
Post some links?
By HenryAlan 2.0
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 12:31pm
Extraordinary claims require at least a small amount of evidence. I have not seen any articles suggesting what you say, but I have seen two anonymous posters on two web forums make such claims. I need a bit more than unverified claims by you and the anon from the other site to buy the idea that the city has shut down this program.
"I have not seen any articles suggesting what you say"
By LarryW
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 12:55pm
Oh really? You commented on one of them!
https://www.universalhub.com/2023/jp-roxbury-resid...
"Residents said the city could go a long way in soothing their fears by letting them turn their streets into resident-only parking zones. But BTD's Nick Gove said the city currently has a moratorium on new resident-only areas."
https://www.boston.gov/departments/parking-clerk/r...
"The City of Boston is currently not accepting applications for new resident parking permit locations at this time."
https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/11/patchwork-...
That was six months ago
By HenryAlan 2.0
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 2:31pm
The words, "at this time" kind of imply that things can change. Was it a policy choice, a practical limitation regarding the specific application, a temporary circumstance? I'm sorry, but neither of those articles say that the city no longer runs a resident permit program.
Keep apologizing
By LarryW
Wed, 02/28/2024 - 3:03pm
The links confirm everything I said. That must really bother you because now you're misquoting me. They won't tell you why or when they're going to do anything. Bottom line, City Hall is actively resistant to the needs of its constituents in this regard. This only serves to benefit nonresident commuters and disadvantage residents.
Faulkner employees were
By KTK
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 11:39am
Faulkner employees were parking there LONG before the construction started.
Next - go after all those Brookline folk who park next to Jamaica Pond for DAYS.
Yes!
By LarryW
Tue, 02/27/2024 - 2:50pm
There's cars and trucks from all over the country parked for months here. City Hall won't lift a finger.
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