Downtown's dark heart

2009-03-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

Responding to Michael Levenson's article in the Globe today:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/03/22/downtowns_dark_heart/

DC is deserted at night for the same reason all the other business districts downtown are deserted, because most of the businesses close after 6 - there is no compelling reason to go there at night. Making Washington Street open to traffic will just turn it into another Tremont Street, and Tremont Street is just as deserted as Washington is between Winter Street and the Ritz Towers/Loews. The question is, how do you attract people during the day and night, and the question is simply answered - you need more residents, restaurants, bars, and small boutique style stores. Turn the old Barnes and Noble into a Fridays's and have outdoor seating, or move that rinky-dink Starbucks on Winter to the larger site where HMV used to be. Do these huge chains not have the money for the rent? Is there no way the city can work with the property owners to get those storefronts filled? Has anyone at City Hall tried to sell the fact that the area is a hub of subway traffic, with thousands of people passing through every day? There are at least 15 very prominent storefronts closed up between Winter and State Streets - why aren't there more places for business people to eat lunch? Is the property that expensive? Also, cleaning up the area of Boston Common that connects with Winter Street would be a good start, too. Why not fix the fountain already? Lastly, with all these comments, does the Mayor really need to pay $50,000 in consulting fees to people who don't even live in the city?

Your safety is our number one priority, followed by cleanliness.

2009-03-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

Sullivan Squallor Station

A quick shout out to our good friends at the MBTA gets this blog out to a rollicking start! Ah, the filth that collects along the tracks by the platforms. I've often wondered if the cost of cleaning up the debris that finds itself here - mainly due to lack of waste receptacles along that part of the platform - is less than it would be if a trash can were placed at that point along the platform? I wouldn't think so - isn't there hazard pay involved when cleaning up along the third rail? A good example is Park Street Station - one notices that the extra-hefty bomb-proof cans (that were quickly dispersed after 9/11 at the tune of around $1200 apiece) are only placed in front of the staircases leading to and from the Green Line at the east end of the inbound, outbound and center platforms - the west end of those platforms have no barrels. Guess which end of the track looks like a tornado hit Calcutta?

Boston Is Broken!

Downtown's dark heart

Your safety is our number one priority, followed by cleanliness.