Editorial | Bits and pieces from my notepad

A few stray thoughts while waiting for the first frost of the season:

• By most accounts, Saturday’s ‘Open Streets’ event on Dorchester Avenue was a success. The event shut down Dot Ave to vehicular traffic from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and required even more parking restrictions for those who live along the route. But the net outcome was a positive experience, according to those who journeyed out to the avenue.

One constructive critique heard often in the days since: If it’s staged again next year, city planners might condense the route some. Two miles is a lot of ground to cover and there were scant programming options and light foot traffic between Peabody Square and Gallivan Boulevard, for example. As evidenced by the huge turnout for the Night Market in Fields Corner last July, there’s an appetite for these sorts of street festival/block party events in Dorchester.

Saturday’s Open Streets suggests that with a tighter route and a bit more engagement, there’s a strong audience for a repeat next year. We’d also like to see the Open Street concept tried out on the Mattapan Square end of Blue Hill Avenue. And with all these fresh takes on seasonal street festivals, here’s a pitch to resurrect the Adams Corner Irish Festival, which was a huge hit a few years back.

Dorchester’s villages really shine when we have a chance to bring in crowds for a day of fun without cars in the way. We should have more of them.

•The state’s Dept. of Conservation and Recreation needs to do a better job explaining what it’s up to at Ryan Playground in Mattapan. There’s been a fair amount of confusion and misinformation flying around over the last couple of months regarding construction supposedly starting up next year that could dramatically change the way families use the popular spot near the Neponset River. Specifically, there’s a plan in the works to remove a popular water feature that helps neighborhood kids cool off in the summer.

As we reported earlier this month, state Rep. Brandy Fluker Oakley told constituents in a public meeting that the feature is going to be repaired and upgraded, not eliminated. Now, the state agency has set a meeting for next Wednesday (Oct. 5) at 6 p.m. to “inform the public of the agency’s plans to convert the existing wading pool to a splash pad.” A pad is not a pool— and families have been quite vocal about their desire to keep this amenity intact. The DCR should come to the meeting prepared to hear them out and make changes accordingly. Planners, please: Listen to the people who use the park.

• Mattapan, Dorchester, and Milton residents alike should pay close attention over the coming weeks to new details about the MBTA’s Mattapan Hi-Speed Trolley Line. The T will convene a virtual meeting on Tues., Oct. 18, for the public to “learn more about the status” of the “transformation program” to “ensure accessible, reliable, and modern service” for “years to come.”

The orange-colored PCC cars that run on the line’s eight stations are getting near-term upgrades, but the longer-term plan is to replace the popular but aging fleet with Green Line-styled vehicles over the next decade. That will require more work on the tracks, platforms, bridges, and other infrastructure. Make sure to tune into the Zoom meeting on the 18th.


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