Lemuel Shattuck Hospital: an opportunity to make things right

On community-based health services and the Crown Jewel of the Emerald Necklace

General Plan of Franklin Park, 1885, revised to 1892, Frederick Law Olmsted, Courtesy  National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site

Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, which is slated for demolition soon, sits on land that was “Heathfield” - a scenic setting near the westernmost entrance to Frederick Law Olmsted’s masterpiece, Franklin Park, the crown jewel of the Emerald Necklace parks in Boston. Heathfield was once a grassy open field with full public access and walking paths surrounded by forest and rocky slopes, including “Rock Milton”, a large puddingstone cliff that rises above Scarboro Pond. Now it is covered with asphalt parking lot and sits behind a barbed-wire fence.

Franklin Park, 1900-1915, Boston Landmarks Collection image collection, Courtesy of Boston Archives

(Detail) General Plan of Franklin Park, 1885, revised to 1892, Frederick Law Olmsted, Courtesy  National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site

Scarboro Pond Lower Bridge (Rock Milton behind), 1901, P. R. Jones, photographer. Courtesy  National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site

Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, eastern side abutting Franklin Park

Lemuel Shattuck Hospital from Rock Milton side

The City of Boston agreed to convey more than 13 acres of Franklin Park to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1949 specifically for healthcare purposes, and in the seventy years since, the site has been used for the care of respiratory ailments, cancer patients, HIV care, psychiatric services, addiction treatment as well as Department of Corrections inmates with health issues. Several non-profits operate both short- and long- term services for the homeless and clients with substance use disorder on the site. 

The buildings of the Shattuck campus are outdated and cannot be rehabilitated cost-effectively, so the Commonwealth has begun a public discussion on how best to re-purpose the site. In a time of sky-rocketing, nationwide opioid addiction and substance abuse, as well as inadequate services for the homeless, there is a chronic need to expand capacity within the city and state for emergency and transitional housing for all such clients.

But what is the best solution for serving these clients and helping them transition toward optimal health outcomes? Might there be an opportunity for Franklin Park in the answer? 

Since the Supreme Court’s 1999 “Olmstead” decision, Federal law requires that such clients receive services within the least restrictive and most integrated settings possible - within the communities they hope to re-enter rather than in isolated institutional settings that are stigmatizing. 

Simply “replacing” the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital facilities on the same site does not take into account these 21^st Century best practices. There are Commonwealth-owned alternative sites nearby that could serve these integration goals better than lands that were once part of Franklin Park. But the State seems not to have considered alternative sites for these services at all. The premise of their planning process appears to begin with an outdated 12-story building rather than with what is in the best interests of the clients and patients they have an obligation to serve.

For the Commonwealth, for the City of Boston and for the Park there is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get it right - to improve health outcomes for these clients and patients, but also to restore this “broken” portion of Olmsted’s masterpiece.

Olmsted conceived Franklin Park in 1885 as a “country park” to be used “exclusively with reference to rural scenery” – a conception he deemed crucial to the health of urban dwellers in the surrounding neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, Mattapan, Roslindale and Dorchester. Providing rest, recreation, and the democratizing comingling of Bostonians from all races, faiths, classes and backgrounds, Franklin Park has been a respite from the pressures of city life in Boston for generations. 

But over the years this vast 527-acre, internationally celebrated public space has become fragmented and made less “public” by the creation of the William J. Devine Golf Course, Zoo New England’s Franklin Park Zoo, the Boston Public Schools’ George Robert White Schoolboy Stadium and the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital site within the park.

Following on the heels of an ambitious Pathways Improvement project recently completed, the City of Boston is embarking on a new multimillion dollar Franklin Park Master Planning process to consider ways to refine the park and improve access for the public. These efforts, undertaken with active community input and engagement, hope to result in a park worthy of Olmsted’s goals on the 200^th anniversary of his birth coming up in 2022. 

Now is the time for the Commonwealth and City of Boston to coordinate and integrate all these goals: Shattuck Hospital decommissioning and demolition; enhanced and expanded services for mental health and homeless clients within surrounding communities; and the restoration and rehabilitation of Franklin Park to its former glory as a “country park” and the “Crown Jewel” of the Emerald Necklace. Don’t let the opportunity slip away.

To learn more, visit the following links:

https://massconservationvoters.com/2019/06/23/franklin-park-expansion-is-the-opportunity-of-a-lifetime/

https://www.boston.gov/news/franklin-park-master-plan-announced-mayor-walsh

https://www.mass.gov/shattuck-campus-planning

Jamaica Pond Access Enhancements at Perkins Street and Parkman Drive

On Tuesday April 11, 2017 at a well-attended meeting of stakeholders, the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), City of Boston Department of Parks and Recreation, and their engineering and design contractor BETA Group revealed plans for pedestrian and cycling access improvements at the intersection of Parkman Drive and Perkins Street and near the Cabot Estate entrance at Jamaica Pond. The plans include two sets of crosswalks, new paths and sidewalks as well as new traffic signals.

Click for larger image

Vehicle travel lanes on Perkins near the intersection will be narrowed to provide traffic calming and to reclaim greenspace adjacent to the pond. A new island west of Parkman, a concrete median between Cabot and Parkman, a bump-out at the Cabot crosswalk and widened sidewalks to the north are planned to enhance safety for pedestrians in the area. Plans call for the creation of two new ADA-compliant paths connecting the crosswalks to the main Pond-side recreational path while reducing erosion. Though five existing trees will be lost, ten new ones will be planted.

The plan for these safety and access improvements seemed generally well received by those in attendance, with spirited community input commenting on various details. Concerns were raised about whether the plan provides enhanced bicycle safety in the corridor, how the light cycles would function and whether "desire lines" of pedestrian behavior had been covered. It was noted that the community still awaits an access path to the Parkman Memorial from the Pond. JPNC Chair Kevin Moloney expressed gratitude that a plan was moving forward and asked for continued focus on the related Centre Street improvements between the VFW Parkway and Murray Circle as well as the more complex Arborway corridor improvements which have not reached the "25% Plan" stage eighteen months after the last community update. Mark Tedrow of the LivableStreets Alliance questioned whether the crosswalks at Parkman would provide maximal pedestrian safety. Peter Furth, speaking on behalf of the Boston Cyclist's Union, questioned whether the plans took advantage of contemporary best practices for cycling safety and called for consideration of a modern roundabout at the intersection to slow all traffic, not just those stopped at red lights.

DCR said construction staging will be coordinated to reduce rush hour impacts. Their timetable hopes to have most construction complete by year-end, with landscaping coming in Spring 2018. Next steps include taking the plan to the Boston Landmarks Commission next week, to the Mass Historic Commission in about 30 days, with construction bidding taking place this summer and construction beginning this fall.

Residents at Forest Hills to increase Arborway setback

Criterion Development Partners, developers of The Residences at Forest Hills project announced today that they're working to increase setbacks and buffers along the Arborway by 10' in response to community feedback.

This is welcome news, signaled in newly released renderings.

Residences at Forest Hills proposal threatens Arborway recreational experience

A residential housing development proposed for the LAZ parking lot site on the corner of the Arborway and Washington Street in Forest Hills in its current form threatens the recreational experience of the Arborway portion of the Emerald Necklace by proposing to site one building directly on the verge of the under construction pedestrian and bike paths on the southern side of the Casey Arborway Project - including a six-story building with no setback at all from the sidewalk.

Site plan, with actual Casey Arborway plan

There are no buildings on the western or southern sides of the Emerald Necklace between the Fens and Franklin Park of such mass - with the exception of a proposed hotel on the industrial block along River Street in Brookline - and none with zero setback. These buildings will throw much winter shade over the Emerald Necklace, looming over the soon-to-be-restored recreational paths as the project's own shadow studies show.

Winter shadow studies

There is much to admire about the project's proposed density, architectural cladding and affordable housing allotment in this prime Transit Oriented Development-appropriate site, but in renderings provided in the project's PNF documentation, these under construction paths are depicted as if they are additions to the public good rather than public paths being treated as the front yard of the project.

Building B, with Arborway pedestrian and bike paths in foreground, looking southwest

Building B (left) and Building C (corner of Washington and Arborway) looking south

In my view, the lack of setback for Building B along Frederick Law Olmsted's nationally heralded and locally cherished Emerald Necklace is bad precedent, and a threat to the character of the recreational experience for generations to come - just as that experience is being restored in Forest Hills for the first time in sixty years.

Shade(s) of things to come on the Arborway

Mature 'Princeton' American Elms, representative of Casey plantings (but not to scale)

UPDATE 9/22/16: Some of the first 15 trees planted, view east

UPDATE 9/22/16: Some of the first 15 trees planted, view west

UPDATE 9/22/16: nine trees await planting

MassDOT recently announced that the first plantings in the Casey Arborway project area will begin during the week of September 18, 2016. They intend to plant the first batch of 'Princeton' American Elms in the mainline Arborway median from Shea Circle roughly halfway to Washington Street. These stately trees are the first of 578 to be planted within the project area before work is complete.

The existing Arborway and Jamaicaway trees are an aging monoculture of Red Oaks, all equally susceptible to disease and drought pressures. But MassDOT's landscaping plans for the Casey Arborway, prepared by a team of landscape architects including the consulting staff of Crosby, Schlessinger and Smallridge, HNTB, DCR, as well as George Batchelor and Robbin Bergfors of MassDOT, specify an astounding variety of species and cultivars - and in very large quantities.

Most plants specified are native or drought-resistant varieties known to thrive in urban settings. The overall plan is designed to compliment the neighboring Arnold Arboretum, with trees and plantings arranged in collections that bring the Arboretum's bounty and beauty out into the surrounding community and enhance wildlife habitat in the corridor through a great diversity of plant life.

Three hundred and fifty three deciduous trees will ultimately be planted, including four varieties of maple, two varieties of birch, yellowwood, beech, coffetrees, locust, larch, sweetgum, tulip trees, tupelos, hophornbeams, planetrees, two varieties of oak, stewartia, lindens, elms and zelkovas. Evergreen trees to be planted include holly and arborvitae.

But it is perhaps in the 186 flowering ornamental trees specified for the project where the landscaping will really shine, providing a long-lasting display of springtime delight nearest to abutting homes, three miles of new pedestrian sidewalks and three miles of bike paths. Ornamental tree plans call for five varieties of shad trees, four different redbud varieties, seven different dogwoods, four hawthorn varieties, fringetrees, five different magnolia varieties, four different crabapples, four varieties of cherry and two lilac tree variants.

Many of the 383 shrubs included in the design are flowering varieties as well. Forsythia, hydrangea, juniper, rhododendron and spirea are all on their way to the Casey Arborway.

There will be a huge amount and variety of groundcovers and bulbs too. 16,652 one-gallon bugleweeds, sweet woodruffs, spotted dead nettles and thymes will be planted. 150 Climbing hydrangeas will soften retaining walls. 1,965 daffodil bulbs in five varieties will be harbingers of spring, and there will be 77 irises and 1,120 violets as well. 2,444 Boston ivy vines, and some 6,000 grasses in many varieties (oak sedge, fountain grass, lilyturf, switch grass, saltmeadow cordgrass and little bluestem) are to be planted, with many providing seasonal flowering, color and structure.

After years of contentious debate and years more of disruptive construction, Forest Hills and the Casey Arborway will become one of the true gems of the Emerald Necklace parkway system, a revitalized transit hub for Jamaica Plain, and a beautiful and accessible recreational corridor for Boston connecting Southwest Corridor Park, the Arnold Arboretum and Franklin Park.

The first trees being planted soon are only the beginning, shades of things to come on the Casey Arborway.

DCR should update community on Arborway redesign

It has been eleven months since the DCR last updated the community on efforts to address multi-modal safety and access on the Arborway in Jamaica Plain. A public meeting on the project's status is now long overdue. This portion of the Emerald Necklace Parkways is dangerous to all users and after two decades of traffic research, consultant design work and public hearings action is needed to make these roads safe for cyclists, pedestrians and the thousands of cars that use it daily. I encourage all interested parties to write to DCR Commissioner Leo Roy calling for just such a meeting. My own letter follows:

August 31, 2016

Commissioner Leo Roy

Department of Conservation and Recreation

251 Causeway Street, Suite 900

Boston, MA 02114

Dear Commissioner Roy,

I write to declare my support for the DCR's ongoing efforts regarding "Improved Multi-Modal Safety & Access to Emerald Necklace Parks in Jamaica Plain (Arborway)" and to urge the DCR to hold public meetings updating the community on progress towards that goal as soon as possible.

I attended the two kick-off meetings in February 2015 as well as the follow-up meeting in October 2015 which included updates on related efforts regarding the Parkman Drive/Perkins Street Intersection at Jamaica Pond, the Centre Street corridor between the VFW Parkway and the Murray Circle rotary along with the Arborway section between Kelly Circle and the Casey Arborway including Murray Circle. In an effort to inform the surrounding community about these meetings and presentations, I described them fully in a blog I edit called ArborwayMatters available at the following links:

http://arborwaymatters.blogspot.com/2015/02/connecting-casey-bike-paths-to-jamaica.html

http://arborwaymatters.blogspot.com/2015/10/improving-multi-modal-safety-access-to.html

Over the last one hundred years the Emerald Necklace parkway corridor has evolved away from its original Olmsted-era recreational intent and is now, particularly in the study area of the Arborway and vicinity, quite dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists as well as the many vehicles that try to navigate it daily - very often at speeds far in excess of posted limits. Accidents occur regularly in the corridor, some resulting in fatalities. Murray and Kelly Circle are both poorly designed hazards to all users, are located within residential communities, and are vitally in need of improvement.

I was greatly encouraged by the thoughtful and innovative preliminary research and design work conducted by your contractor Toole Design in particular, and impressed by their responsiveness to community feedback in the work they did between the two meetings. I can also attest based on blog traffic to the above summaries and a well-attended Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council meeting last night where the topic was discussed, that Toole's work to date has been well received by many local residents and by drivers, pedestrians and cyclists who look forward to a more rational road network and significant traffic calming on the Arborway.

The community was assured at the October 2015 meeting that a 25% Design Plan for Phase 1 would be presented at a 25% Public Meeting to be held in "Winter/Spring 2016" and that Design Plans and Permitting for Phase 1 would be finalized between "Summer 2016 and Fall 2017" when construction was to begin.

The community eagerly awaits an update on the current state of design and the construction timeline. Thank you for your support of these important endeavors.

Sincerely,

Clayton Harper

CC:

Secretary Matthew Beaton

Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs

100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900

Boston, MA 02114

Steven Kadish

Chief of Staff

Office of the Governor

Massachusetts State House Room 360

Boston, MA 02133

Michael Harris

Director of Governmental Affairs

Department of Conservation and Recreation

251 Causeway Street, Suite 900

Boston, MA 02114

Office of State Representative Jeffrey Sánchez

Massachusetts State House, Room 236

Boston, MA 02133

Projects on the Emerald Necklace

All up and down the Emerald Necklace corridor of parks, from the Fens to Franklin Park, there are projects underway or in the planning stages that will help to preserve, protect, restore and improve access to this vital recreational, pedestrian, cycling and commuting parkway. In partnership with DCR, the City of Boston, Brookline, several green space and neighborhood groups and other sponsoring entities, careful stewardship of Frederick Law Olmsted's legacy will ensure the health of these parks for years to come. The following provides a brief and incomplete summary of many of these projects as well as links to additional information about them. 

You may visit

http://arborwaymatters.blogspot.com/2016/04/may-links.html

for a consolidated list of these resources.

ARBORWAY DCR PARTNERSHIP MATCHING FUNDS PROJECTS -Arborway Coalition

Stone Wall Restoration at Prince and Eliot Streets:

This historic wall has been holding up well, but recently has suffered some damage on the southern end. DCR has been made aware of the issue.

Gateway to theArborway Plan and Implementation:

The old chain-link fence was replaced by a new, lower fence along the Arborway median opposite the Arnold Arboretum. Sections of it have been repaired and relocated in order to improve pedestrian sight lines on the Arborway frontage road, but since that work new damage has occurred that needs to be repaired.

A DCR Partnership Matching Funds Project, the efforts to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety at the Hunnewell Gate crosswalk at the Arboretum are progressing. Expect to see improved signage and crosswalk signals, ladder-style paint and a safer median refuge between the mainline and the frontage road this year.

Annual hillside maintenance and woodlands management by citizen volunteers has resulted in efforts to control invasive species and the planting of many new hickories, redbuds and dogwoods. Many bags of trash were removed by volunteers early this spring.

OTHER INTIATIVES IN THE EMERALD NECKLACE CORRIDOR

A commitment to protect our precious green space includes sustaining the efforts already made previously and supporting new efforts. Some important projects are in the planning stages, some are being designed by architects and engineers, some are under construction, some are awaiting further funding, and some are conceptual gleams in the eyes of dedicated citizens trying to affect positive change in our community through civic engagement.

Casey Arborway Project - MassDOT

Now a little more than a year into what is expected to be a two-year construction process, the Casey Overpass has been demolished and substantial utility work is underway. As the spring and summer progress, we'll see more signs of the new permanent alignment of surface roads, plazas, sidewalks and bike paths, especially east, west and south of the MBTA station. For a detailed look at the demolition and the many positive changes coming to Forest Hills, see the ArborwayMatters blog.

Hazardous Tree Removal on the Parkways – DCR, Olmsted Tree Society, Emerald NecklaceConservancy

Over the winter DCR contractors removed 38 damaged and diseased trees in the corridor identified in a survey of Heritage Trees last year. You may have noticed the small, brass “dog tags” screwed into each mature tree on the sidewalk side about eight feet off the ground. These identify each and every tree in the inventory with detail about their location, size, and health. Though we're all sad to see some of the old trees go, many more new trees are being planted to replace those lost to the allée over the years. With care and maintenance, most will grow strong and tall in years to come. In honor of their 150th year, Ropes & Gray LLP has donated 150 red oaks and two years of their maintenance to the Emerald Necklace. The Emerald Necklace Conservancy’s Olmsted Tree Society in partnership with Boston Parks & Recreation, Brookline Parks and Open Space, and the DCR continue their important efforts to preserve our tree canopy.

Improved Multi-modal Access to Emerald Necklace Parks in Jamaica Plain - DCR

After several public meetings DCR continues work on ambitious plans to improve multi-modal safety and pedestrian and bicycle facilities in three areas of Jamaica Plain: the intersection of Perkins and Parkman Drive near Jamaica Pond, Centre Street between Weld and the Murray Circle Rotary, and the Arborway between the Pond and the Arboretum. These plans have benefited from engaged community input at every step. The challenges here are great but the potential is enormous for local residents, commuters and recreational users alike. ArborwayMatters has detailed the state of these complex plans as presented to the community in October.

Jamaica Pond and Surrounds

In recent years and months, the boardwalk around Ward’s Pond in Olmsted Park has been replaced and Councilor Matt O'Malley has been instrumental in the installation of a new water bottle refill station at Perkins and the Jamaicaway as well as a sunscreen dispenser at the Jamaica Pond Boathouse (a program now being rolled out nationally). Several benches have been replaced around the pond this spring, but as always with this heavily used and well-loved park, upkeep and maintenance are an ongoing challenge. Ssome of the stone walls along Parkman Drive are in need of repair. Efforts continue by Olmsted 2022 and the Friends of Jamaica Pond to protect the green and verdant backdrop of Hellenic Hill from development that would mar the experience of all who love this park.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Crossing at Route 9 and Olmsted Park - Brookline Construction is underway to improve one of the greatest safety hazards to recreational and commuter bicycle use along the Emerald Necklace Corridor – the missing Riverway link between Leverett Pond and River Road at Route 9 in the Broookline Village/Longwood area. Decades of planning and advocacy have created an opportunity for significant enhancement, and the Town of Brookline is moving forward with construction this year.

Muddy River Restoration Project in the Back Bay Fens – Army Corps of Engineers, DCR

The Army Corps of Engineers continues their work to improve flood control, water quality and habitat restoration in the Fens while rehabilitating historic Olmsted landscapes in the Muddy River watershed. Phase One of this extensive project which alleviate flood concern and opens portions of the river long buried in culverts to the sky is nearing completion and will transform the look and appeal of the parkland between Park Drive and Avenue de Louis Pasteur.

Roslindale Arboretum Gateway Path Initiative – WalkUP Roslindale, LivableStreets

With bicycle commuting increasing dramatically in the city and with a transformed Forest Hills on the horizon, WalkUP Roslindale is spearheading a plan for a safe and direct bike link between Roslindale Village and Forest Hills. Other organizations participating include Rozzie Bikes, the Arnold Arboretum and the MBTA. The proposed path begins at the Roslindale Square commuter rail platform, continues on a level grade along the southeastern edge of the Arboretum parallel to the commuter rail tracks before connecting with the Bussey Brook Meadow path and continuing to Forest Hills. Simple, useful and easy to implement, the path could provide lasting benefit to the area.

Allandale Woods

The City of Boston is undertaking trailhead maintenance and improvements in the urban wilds of the Allandale Woods, while the Friends of Allandale Woods remains engaged with developers and the BRA over a proposed residential project at 64 Allandale Street.

Engaged participation, watchful care, diligence and responsible stewardship of our shared public resources are an important part of how these projects come about. Your interest and efforts are greatly appreciated and demonstrably effective.

Thank you for your interest and support,

Sarah Freeman, Arborway Coalition

Gerry Wright, Friends of Jamaica Pond/Community Service Care

Clay Harper, ArborwayMatters