One only has to look at the Boston Common and know that the health of this fragile resource is still in jeopardy. It was only a few years ago that we heard from members of Friends of the Public Garden, how the earth that the grass grew on was so packed down because of all the foot traffic that it was like concrete. We heard about the danger to the trees. We heard about how the parade ground on the Common was in trouble. And, we heard how the city officials were trying to shift more events from the Common to the City Hall Mall to help relieve some of the overuse and give this fragile resource time to recover.
We join with the Beacon Hill Civic Association in saying that the proposed size and scale of the Outside of the Box cityide arts festival with a projected attendance of 20,000 to 30,000 people per day for 10 days is not right for the Common or for the neighborhood for this summer or quite frankly at anytime.