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Citizen complaint of the day: My favorite trash receptacle is gone
By adamg on Sat, 05/13/2023 - 11:21am
Where the trash can used to be.
A concerned citizen filed a 311 complaint about the disappearance of a trash receptacle at Myrtle and Anderson streets on Beacon Hill:
I know it seem silly, but this trash can was one of my favorite improvements in my neighborhood. The one issue is that it was often overflowing. But that just shows how much it's needed.
Neighborhoods:
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Comments
we need more city trash cans not less
Dorchester has this problem too.
For sure
I like the Big Belly combo trash and recycling, but in this case it sure took up a lot of the sidewalk. Not really passable for wheelchairs or those not so steady, the brick sidewalk needs rebuilding too!
The brick sidewalks are
The brick sidewalks are horrid. When I had my knee walker, it was hel going over bricks. Knocked my brain out.
Take a look at city hall plaza
There's nothing inherently wrong with brick: a well-laid brick sidewalk is smooth enough that you can roll a marble across it. The problem here is neglect and shitty maintenance.
But yeah, I've been on a knee roller too, and bad pavement (both the brick sidewalks and the asphalt streets) kind of sucks
I was ashamed.
When I had a knee roller, I realized Boston is just terrible for wheelchair users. Not just the bad pavement. I rolled up to a narrow sidewalk ramp at an intersections and this guy just kept chatting to a guy in a car for a couple minutes while I waited on him.
I might be wrong, but my
I might be wrong, but my guess is the trash can was removed because there wasn’t 60 inches of clear sidewalk. That’s the minimum sidewalk clearance for ADA compliance.
48"
Min is 48", but yes I agree with you.
I believe the legal
I believe the legal requirement is 48” sidewalks, but just a 36” wide travel path past poles or other fixed obstructions. And a 60x60” passing area every 200 feet.
How much of Beacon Hill has 36” sidewalks even if there were no poles or trash cans?
That's ridiculous
Wheelchairs are only 25 inches wide. If they were 48 inches wide, they wouldn't fit through doors. That sidewalk is at least 60" wide assuming those are standard 8" bricks. That's plenty of room for a trash can.
If you don't like it
You go talk with the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board. And then go have a chat with the folks overseeing the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Not all wheelchairs are the same width.
That's ridiculous
Wheelchairs are only 25 inches wide. If they were 48 inches wide, they wouldn't fit through doors. That sidewalk is at least 60" wide assuming those are standard 8" bricks. That's plenty of room for a trash can.
Well
People need space to walk by. I’m sure it was an ADA compliance thing bc didn’t the City get sued for that recently?
Also- most of the litter and subsequently rats are from people placing out their garbage incorrectly not from a lack of street trash cans.
Someone made way for the ducklings...
Of course
There are many possibilities.
There are many possibilities...
We need more people to
We need more people to properly dispose of their own trash.
How about taking care of the
How about taking care of the problem at its source?
Maybe we need a Trash Czar.
Maybe we need a Trash Czar.
That sidewalk is an obstacle
That sidewalk is an obstacle as is.
Too much residential trash
My guess is it was filled with residential trash. People didn't wait until collection day.
Trash Problem
I'll say it again.
Maybe the issue is how we do collection if people have so much trash they have to dispose of mid-week.
Trash Services should always be
1. Free of charge, no limits.
2. Will take ANYTHING. (will prevent it from being dumped somewhere)
3. Dump weekly curbside pick ups, and move to installing dumpsters in every neighborhood that are emptied DAILY.
If you give people a reason to throw away trash properly they will. But so many new buildings have trash limits (or specific trash cans for your unit) because they pay for removal. They won't take anything except household trash. Even curb side wont take everything (ask me about the wood pallets I had to pay someone to take away).
Trash is everyone's problem. There really should be no restrictions on trash removal. None. Its the source of why this stuff happens and why trash just gets randomly left everywhere.
Unintended consequences
Unintended consequences:
#1 and #2: As a City of Boston taxpayer, I'm not super enthusiastic about encouraging every contractor or restaurant inside 128 to come in and dump their construction debris or kitchen garbage on the sidewalk so I can pay to have it disposed of.
#3: Grandma with limited mobility can barely heave the trash bag out the door; it's a lot to ask her to carry it up a steep hill to the end of the block where the dumpster would logically be parked.
A solution that might work: Collect a tax on the raw materials content of stuff that's sold; pay for trash removal out of the proceeds. (Only works if you can do it over a broad geographic area)