A few weeks ago I toured the Fenway with one of Senator Brownsberger’s constituents who uses a wheelchair to get around. They wanted to show me some of the barriers to accessibility which exist on DCR managed infrastructure. We primarily looked at sidwalks and curb cuts on our walk represented by the loop in blue on the map below.
I have listed some of the conditions that we observed below. We would like to develop an inventory of all locations which present barriers to accessibility in on DCR sidewalks and roads in the Fenway in the area detailed on the map above. The DCR is responsible for most of the sidewalks on Park Drive and The Fenway which are adjacent to the parkways. The paths and walkways on the interior of the park are managed by the City. If you know of the locations of other issues, please feel free to post them in the comments below. We will present this list to DCR for repair.
- Curb cuts at the exit of the carriage lane at The Fenway near Westland are too steep and have a too big of a lip to be useful.
- The curb cut on the north side of the exit of Agassiz Rd has a large bump where the asphalt meets the ramp. The curb cut on the south side is too steep to be useful. Image below.
- On Agassiz itself, and visible in the screenshot above, the stone dust path ends abruptly on both sides, with no curb cuts available to cross the road.
- On either side of the crosswalk of the newly installed ramps at the entrance to the carriage lane in the vicinity of 84 The Fenway, there is a large drop from the ramp to the asphalt of the road. Image of the north side below.
- On either side of the crosswalk just north of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy headquarters, there are issues with the ramps. The ramp on the west side of The Fenway is too flat, causing it to retain water and debris, image below. The ramp on the east side is very uneven and was constructed without a landing.
- Very flat ramps across from 61 Park Drive, catch debris and sand.
These observations were from a relatively short around the park, please add anything else which you believes warrants attention from DCR in the comments below.
I have difficulty getting around on Charlesgate where Boylston connects. There are multiple spots of uneven pavement and where the crosswalk meets the road it is extremely bumpy making for not such a safe trip to cross the street.
The sidewalk on the Charlesgate bridge that crosses over I-90 Mass Pike is extremely difficult.
Sidewalks on either side of Agassiz Road are usually insufficiently plowed during the winter.
The intersection of Park Drive and Brookline Ave/Boylston, especially by the old gas station and on the Longwood side of the street is exceedingly prone to massive collections of rain, snow, ice and debris and is a major issue for anyone to navigate in foul weather, let alone someone who uses a wheelchair and has any mobility issues. This would be an area I would look closely at.
In addition, the quality of the walkway on the South side of Boylston street, from the existing gas station to the closed gas station is quite variable, with a large number of owners doing a poor job of maintaining their sections of the sidewalk.
Please note: The following issue was brought to the attention of the Office of the Chief of Streets in 2019 and 311, yet remains unresolved.
It is difficult for pedestrians to cross Fenway from the Museum of Fine Arts to the Muddy River. Cars parked along Fenway block visibility of oncoming vehicle traffic. Furthermore, the curvature in the road creates a ‘blind drive’ affect. Vehicles speed down this roadway and do not see pedestrians waiting to cross the road. Please provide “Slow” signage for vehicle drivers at crosswalks between Museum Road and Forsyth Way. Please provide mirrors opposite these crosswalks for pedestrians to see oncoming vehicles.
The Fenway MBTA trolley/bus stops on Park Drive are very dangerous for pedestrians. There is no crosswalk from one side of the street to the other, yet walkers frequently cross to gain access to the T. This has been an issue for many years, but is always thwarted from the T to DCR to Boston City. Can a crosswalk be added? Perhaps, before someone is seriously injured?
Please contact me for images. Please note the correction of my email from the previous post, below.
It drives me crazy that the sidewalk on corner of Westland ave and Hemenway is rarely shoveled.(adjacent to Park)Most of the handicapped parking is also on that corner and plowed in making it impossible to get access your car if u have one. There are also bricks dug up that were never replaced. Have called 311 lots, but usually to no avail.
I echo Pete’s comment about the crosswalk area on Park/Boylston/Brookline between the 401 Park Drive and the old gas station- the curb/street areas have huge puddles during inclement weather. Secondly, in that same area, crossing at Boylston, the walk sign is on for a very short period of time, while the one across Brookline provides more time to get across. However this one is a dangerous crosswalk because cars and pedestrians are given the walk and green light at the same time.
I also echo Mia’s comment about creating a crosswalk at the Fenway T/bus stop area. It’s a big road and I see people run across to the median and then to the other side, but it’s dangerous. The nearest crosswalk is down the hill, closer to St. Mary’s.
Thanks for weighing in.
Here is an additional comment that was sent to be via email: “…there are still some broken pathways near the Victory Gardens…”