This past weekend, some attendees at the annual Roxbury Homecoming celebration, were dismayed to find that the concrete paths where the event was held in Franklin Park were under construction. The torn-up paths presented an accessibility problem, especially for a number of seniors.
“I heard hundreds of complaints – in real time,” Councilor Tito Jackson told the Banner.
“They wouldn’t pave Hanover Street when there’s going to be a feast. I just don’t understand what was in their minds.”
Event organizers said that although it was an inconvenience, the matter was handled soon after they raised the issue with the Parks Department.
“People were kind of upset because of the construction, but we’ve had a conversation with the Parks Commissioner, and he’s apologized for it,” said Evelyn Thorpe, Chairperson of the Roxbury Homecoming Committee that organizes the annual celebration, when reached by phone.
“They gave us assurances for next time and acknowledged there was a breakdown in communication. [The Commissioner] took responsibility for it.”
Timing and talking
The problem appeared to be a mix of timing issues and some miscommunication.
Ryan Woods, a spokesperson for the Parks Department, said that the pathway construction was part of a broader parks improvement program, and that the department was adhering to priorities expressed during earlier community meetings.
‘The community wanted the section that was most used done first,” he said, noting that that area of the park was in “heavy decline.”
“Franklin Park is heavily programmed – no matter when you do it, it’s going to interfere,” he said, although he acknowledged that the Roxbury homecoming celebration did draw particularly large numbers of people.
He said that the construction began a few weeks ago, accompanied by the requisite community feedback meetings, and that the Parks Department had put out public notices that the Franklin Park Coalition pushed out as well.
“It was an inconvenience, and we apologize for the inconvenience,” he said. “It wasn’t our goal to inconvenience anyone – it was our priority to get it paved the way the community wanted it done.”
When asked if there were any conversations about shifting around the schedule to accommodate the Roxbury homecoming, Woods said there were not, and that a shift in timing played a large part. The winter snowstorms delayed the department’s required meetings with the city’s Landmark Commission, which occur before the project is put out to bid.
“We [originally] hoped to have it done before the summer – before any events took place,” he said.
The miscommunication aspect appeared to stem from the selection of which community groups were contacted.
Woods named the Franklin Park Coalition as the group with which the department had communicated about the construction project as a whole.
Thorpe, however, said that the RHC did not receive notice that the work would interfere with their event.
“We’re the organization permitted for the event,” she said. “It would’ve been nice to have some kinds of heads-up.”
She said that RHC didn’t know about the pathway construction and the impact it would have until last the day before the event.
Soon, however, this matter will be a thing of the past. Work on the pathways is anticipated to be done by the middle of next week – just in time for the 4th of July. Woods said the walkways won’t need another round of touch-ups for at least another decade after that.
