CAPTION: An artist's rendering of the Leverett Circle Pedestrian Footbridge.

Do the residents of Beacon Hill and West End want Leverett Circle to have a pedestrian footbridge? Officials from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) want to know that answer. Even though when the old footbridge was torn down four years ago as part of the Central Artery Project and almost $4 million was set aside to replace it, the bridge and its need, according to state officials, is still unclear.
This quandary sparked City Councilor Mike Ross to hold a community meeting last Thursday to help give direction in finding the answer.
More than 100 residents participated in the discussion of whether the footbridge was needed at this busy intersection. Ross submitted a new design of the footbridge created by local architect Miguel Rosales.
The original design that was presented more than two years ago left many residents feeling negative about the proposed footbridge.
“There was a clear obligation to replace the bridge, said Kathy Ryan. “We were so unhappy with the first design.”
“Most designs were to divide us,” Ivy Turner told Ross. “I gave it a try at crossing at grade level, and it doesn’t work,” she continued. “The new design is beautiful.”
Other residents questioned the need for a footbridge, even after the death of a bicyclist at this intersection. Former West End Civic Association President Robin Assaf said she had petitions that were collected in late 2006 with several hundred signatures opposing the initial plans for the footbridge.
Malek Al-Khatib mentioned the new footbridge would visually divide Nashua Street Park from the Esplanade.
Rob Whitney from Beacon Hill asked whether elevators could be installed at the ends to cut down the mass of the structure that will be almost four football fields long. However, the need to have ramps be handicap accessible with an 8 percent slope requires them to be very long.
A DCR spokesperson said outside elevators aren’t an option, given the New England weather and the maintenance they would require. An elevator at the West End commuter stop will be incorporated in the ramp.
“No one does not like this bridge,” Jane Wilson said. “Crossing at grade works for me, but may not work for everyone.”
State Police Lt. Michael Smith said he has unofficially counted 200-450 people crossing this section every 30 minutes. “We need to have police details at this intersection after every major sporting event,” he said.
An unofficial count of the people at this meeting indicated about 90 percent favor a footbridge. Ross urged all residents to become involved and let DCR know whether they want a footbridge. He said his office would act as a facilitator for residents and the DCR to find out what people want here.

Ellen Rooney has stepped down from her position as executive director of the Beacon Hill Business Association (BHBA) to serve on the city’s Election Commission.
Rooney, a longtime Back Bay resident, joined the BHBA in January 2007. In a letter to the organization’s members following her resignation, she stated: “It has been a pleasure to work for the [BHBA]. I have especially enjoyed getting to know all of you, whether through working together on projects like the Taste of Beacon Hill, the Holiday Stroll and the business directory, or by ratifying to see the results of what we’ve accomplished together. This is such a special business community, and it’s been gratifying to see the results of what we’ve accomplished together.”
Upon assuming her new role, Rooney has also vacated her position with the Republican State Committee for the second Suffolk District. She was first elected to the committee in 2004 during the presidential primary and was serving in her second term. During this time, Rooney recruited fellow Republicans to run for local and state elections and worked on many local campaigns.
As one of the city’s four election commissioners, Rooney will now help oversee all elections in the city.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino said, “Ellen brings a strong and distinguished background in politics, and I am certain that she will provide an objective voice to the board.”
Rooney said she is taking on her new role at a special time, with the upcoming special election to fill the seat vacated by State Rep. Sal DiMasi in January.
And she believes her previous experience as chair of the city’s Licensing Board and executive director of the Boston-based Access Scholarship Program will give her an advantage in the new position.
“I’ll be working with the whole city, in every neighborhood,” she said. “I’m already familiar with all of Boston’s neighborhoods through my political experience and experience at City Hall.”

PHOTO 1 CAPTION: Scholars work diligently every morning in the classroom.

PHOTO 2 CAPTION: Each afternoon, Scholars enjoy sailing and kayak lessons at Community Boating on the Charles River.

While summer is traditionally a time when children lose sight of schoolwork, the Learning Project Elementary School is offering a program for kids from throughout the city that combines academics with the experience of sailing on the Charles River.
August Scholars, a tuition-free program that runs from July 20 through August 7, is open to 15 Boston children who are preparing to enter the fifth and sixth grades. The school launched pilot program for eight children last year at 107 Marlborough St., in partnership with two local nonprofits, Community Boating and Hill House. This year, Kristina Royal, a fourth-grade teacher at the school who served as the sole academic instructor for the program last summer, is returning and will be joined by a second teacher.
Every weekday, participating kids arrive at the Learning Project for several hours of intensive schoolwork, focusing on reading comprehension, writing and math, specifically designed to meet their individual academic needs. Following lunch and a brief recess, the children and their teachers walk to Community Boating’s site on the Esplanade for sailing and kayaking lessons. Kids who remain for the rest of the day are then brought to Hill House, where they join other children in the summer program at the Mt. Vernon Street community center.
Andrew Gallagher, the Learning Project’s director of school advancement, said the August Scholars program has already paved the way for participants’ future success in the classroom.
“It provided a really close, intimate environment for the kids and allowed them to see the teacher as an aid because of the close interaction,” he said. “It gave the kids an eagerness to learn.”
Gallagher said the sailing component of the program helps build confidence and promote teamwork. Each child will also leave the program certified by Community Boating to take a boat out by himself or herself, he said.
As for the future of the August Scholars, Gallagher hopes the program becomes a model for partnerships between other schools and youth-serving organizations and sees the extracurricular offerings expanding beyond sailing.
“Any number of recreational components could work,” he said. “They just have to be fun and build confidence and teamwork.”
August Scholars is now accepting applications for the 2009 season. All Scholars must be 10 years old on July 20, entering the fifth or sixth grade in September and able to swim 75 yards. For more information, contact the Learning Project Elementary School at 617-266-8427 or via e-mail to tlp@learningproject.org, or visit www.learningproject.org on the Web.

PHOTO 1 CAPTION: Park Street School sixth-grader Duncan McGaff is seen with his science project.

An enterprising sixth-grader used the newly-installed solar panels at the Park Street School as the centerpiece of his class project, providing one of the highlights of last week’s science fair.
Duncan McGaff unveiled his findings during an exhibition of projects from third- through sixth-graders. He studied how the amount of available sunlight affected the performance of the two solar panels on the roof of the school that heat water in the building.
Using a Web site to analyze the output of solar energy over a one month period from the end of February through the third week of March, McGaff ‘s findings revealed noontime was the optimal time for the panels to receive sunlight and that the evacuated tube panel was more effective than the flat-plate model.
John Zvara, president of Park Street Kids who was responsible for bringing the solar panels to the school last summer, was among those in attendance. An advocate of solar energy since the 1970s, Zvara now uses a solar panel to heat water at his Lexington home and previously outfitted the business he once ran in Burlington with panels for space heating.
“I think it’s an opportunity to shape the way children think of energy,” Zvara said, referring to the panels.
Looking forward, Zvara said plans are now underway to expand alternative energy at the school.
“We hope to get grant money for [additional] solar panels on the roof to reduce our electric bill,” Zvara said.

Real estate good news

While real estate foreclosures are bad news for most people, it currently appears to be good news for the city. More than 58 percent of this year’s $2.4 billion city budget will come from real estate property taxes. While foreclosures will increase, according to the Wall Street Journal and Banker and Tradesman, the banks need to get these nonperforming assets off their books. This fact means that the city is first in line to collect unpaid taxes before the houses go to auction. The city revenue department currently collects almost 98 percent of all real estate taxes on the books. It is a cruel thought, but let’s hope this trend continues for the next couple of years. The big question will be what will happen when revaluation of residential property comes along and these properties are assessed for much less than what they are today.

New school for the neighborhood

There has been a lot of talk recently about a new school being built in the area of the proposed Government Center Garage project. Residents in the West End, North End, Beacon Hill, Back Bay and Downtown neighborhoods with school-age children are very interested in the construction of a potoential new school. One option was that Government Center Garage developer Ted Raymond has been approached by neighborhood associations to build a new school in the planned development.
Well, Mayor Thomas Menino weighed in on this topic last Thursday in a meeting with editors of neighborhood publications. He said a truly neighborhood school for these areas of the city would be very welcome. However, there is a lot more involved than just construction of the building. He mentioned the funds to staff and maintain the new building must be found and allocated. Given the current economic conditions in the city and state, the probability of a new school being built is higher than the probability of staffing it. Menino mentioned there are several sites near the Government Center Garage development that could be used for a new school.

Government Center Garage proposal

In the same meeting on Thursday, Menino mentioned there seems to be a lot of density in the proposed project. Astonished, he said referring to the plans for a new police station in the development: “I just put $8 million into upgrading the A-1 Police Station.” This police station is located within the almost one-acre parcel of city/BRA-owned land that the developers want to include in their development.

And speaking of A-1 Police Station

There has been a lot of talk about cutbacks in the city work force. Schoolteachers will be laid off. But if Mayor Menino has his way, there will be no cutbacks in the police department, despite what the major daily newspapers had to say about it. Menino hopes to obtain a grant to retain the 67 police officers slated to be laid off due to the budget crisis.
This effort to keep the police staff at current levels has to be considered good news for residents in the Beacon Hill and North End neighborhoods. Captain Bernie O’Rourke is able to draw extra resources to help nip in the bud any potential problem like the recent robberies on Thoreau Path and Beacon Hill. A cutback in overall city policing would naturally have affected the police’s ability to respond so quickly.
Menino said with regret that he had to cut back the mounted patrols in favor of keeping more police on bicycles. The cost of the horses was prohibitive in these times.

Let’s get out and clean …

This Saturday, residents from every neighborhood in Boston will be out sweeping, shoveling and bagging the last of winter’s remains. Street sweepers have been out since April 1, but there are still sand and old leaves on the streets, not to mention the fact that there are areas that the street sweepers cannot get, like in the parks and playgrounds.
We urge all residents to take part in any way that they can on Saturday.
A good cleaning makes the neighborhood shine. However, like any cleaning, this cannot happen just once a year. We urge all residents to continue the effort to keep their sidewalks clean. We realize that this continuing battle of keeping ahead of trash is easier said than done.
However, here are some ideas:
First, please move your car on the day of street sweeping. You could save a towing charge, but also make the cleaning job more effective.
Remember to bag all your trash securely. The single bag recycling should help, but make sure that you put all returnable bottles to the side so that the bottle pickers don’t tear through the bags.