BOSTON – In January this year, City Council President Ed Flynn and Councilor At-Large Michael Flaherty refiled a hearing order to discuss the safety of light poles, bridges, and other public infrastructure in the City of Boston. This hearing is now scheduled for Tuesday, April 4th at 2 pm at the Boston City Council Iannella Chamber. Residents are encouraged to participate and testify in person or via videoconference by reaching out to [email protected]. The hearing will be broadcasted live on Xfinity 8/RCN 82/ Fios 964 and streamed at: boston.gov/city-council-tv.
This hearing was originally filed in September last year, when a pedestrian crossing the Evelyn Moakley Bridge in the South Boston Waterfront was struck and injured by a falling light pole. At the time, the Public Works Department swiftly inspected all city bridges in the area and removed 23 of the light poles that were deemed not completely satisfactory, with two additional poles having already been previously removed. It is critical that the city continues to ensure our city’s public infrastructure is safe and structurally sound, and there are routine inspections and systems in place for maintenance and repair.
“Unfortunately, this incident shed light on our aging infrastructure, light poles, and bridges – especially against the harsh New England weather, sea air and salt water.” Council President Flynn said. “Councilor Flaherty and I look forward to receiving an update from our city and state partners on the inspection and audit of all light poles, bridges, and public infrastructure, and any relevant plans to make all necessary repairs in a timely manner. We must work with our bridge engineers and design consultants to prevent an incident like this from happening again.”
Councilor At-Large Flaherty said, “We, as a city, have a responsibility to make sure that we regularly inspect roads, bridges, light poles and street signs as a matter of public safety. We live in New England and our area is subject to harsh weather conditions that tend to deteriorate building materials and fixtures quicker than other places.”
For more information, please contact Council President Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 and [email protected].
Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.
Perhaps this hearing should ask questions as to why the L Street Bathhouse is taking so long to reopen. A little research has shown that the old Boston Garden, like the Empire State Building, took eleven months from groundbreaking to completion. Chicago Stadium was finished in nine months. The Montreal Forum was completed in 159 days! These buildings were built in these short amounts of time using 1920’s construction technology. And build from scratch. The L is passing the three year mark for a renovation of an existing structure. Unacceptable! What’s worse is when it finally does open, we’re going to have to listen to speeches from clowns patting themselves on the back, acting like they really accomplished something. You want to do the voters a favor regarding The L? No speeches. Just put some ads in the local papers and online announcing that it’s open and begging for forgiveness that it took so long. We’ve waited long enough.