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You wouldn't think a kayak launch would need a sign like this

Sign reading: No grilling and no drinking

New sign, who dis?

On Monday, an outraged resident filed a 311 complaint about the goings on at the kayak launch on the Charles at Millennium Park - which is at the end of a fairly narrow path and surrounded by trees and brush:

Yesterday at Millennium Park, people had a barbecue set up at the canoe launch. There was a good sized fire. Had a spark escaped, there would have been a serious fire. There needs to be some ranger activity on the weekends as well as signs specifically stating policy regarding fires and picnicking in the park.

311 and Parks and Rec sprang into action: A new warning sign was posted the very next day. Mary Ellen spotted it today.

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Comments

Yes, because somebody somewhere was having a good time... and that's not what the outdoors and nature are meant for.

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You might be confusing this with the wide open expanses along the Charles River in Brighton or the Back Bay.

The Charles River along Millennium Park is really more of a nature preserve than a well manicured lawn. The stretch in question consists of thick cattail-type things, scrub and trees. There's a dirt path along the river which has some nice views of the river in the spring, but then the cattails grew tall and dense enough to block the river for most of the way.

The kayak launch is at the end of another path, a short, narrow path down to the water, surrounded by trees and brush - you know, just the sorts of things that could easily go up in flames after we've gone without rain for a couple weeks - and not really wide enough to support a party, kayakers and the occasional people who just like going down to the series of concrete platforms leading into the water and sitting there and watching the birds and the river go by. Oh, yeah, and also: All the unleashed dogs whose owners set them to running down into the river to chase balls (benign) or birds (come on).

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There were a consistent source of water nearby with which one might douse an errant flame.

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…. about fire and how it spreads.

You are no Smokey the Bear.

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Nothing surprises me. Adult children running around everywhere.

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You're funny. I came here 45 years ago and nobody cared what signs said - throwing lit cigarettes and garbage out car windows, etc. This is old Boston.

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You're hilarious. It's not about the sign, it's about the behavior. That sign was not needed 45 years ago. Most people had a basic level of common sense, if not respect for neighbors. 45 years ago some people were tossing butts out the window everywhere, not just Boston. While it wasn't right, there was minimal risk of fire on asphalt. We've also come a long way as a society in terms of dumping trash in natural resources and that was because we changed as a society. This is called childish regression.

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...that the subjects and verb are not?

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Just don’t do both

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Unless it’s the doing of these together that is prohibited. Lol.

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OR you can drink, but you can’t do both.

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ain't

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Fun police say “No fun allowed!”

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Just don't block the kayak ramp with a private party using things that start fires.

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If grilling is a problem there it's a problem city-wide, private or public property, and we haven't issued a ban. So the safety angle sounds like BS. And everything fun is prohibited by default in Boston, don't get me started.

I'm going to take a wild guess about the demographics of the people involved but keep it to myself.

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What they did do: Ask 311 to clarify and post the rules
What they didn't do: Call the police

How is that unreasonable?

And, yes, having people party out at a launching spot is a real hassle if you are intending to use it for what it was designed for. When you are carrying a 50lb boat several hundred meters down a dirt pathway, or trying to put that boat in or take it out, the last thing you want to have to do is navigate around some entitled or clueless fool's lit charcoal.

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And boaters?
Grilling in places during a dry spell in places where a fire attended by drinkers could easily be left unattended and spread?

What’s the fun in being a straight up asshole?

Okay, just play the race card. That’s always big fun.

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Drilling, not grilling. In olde Boston a lot of drilling was done in the parks.

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30 years ago the place was literally a landfill dump. Now we're worried about picnicking there. I LOVE THIS CITY!

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