PUBLIC INPUT

In the early 1940’s and 1950’s the City of Boston made decisions without consulting the very public that was affected. Today Public forums are the norm but that wasn’t the case then. One incident that I got personally involved in… was when I found out the City was going to open up a new route to the newly constructed containerized docking facility near Castle Island. The fastest route from the Southeast Expressway to the new facilities was down Day Blvd., …that is along Carson and City Point Beaches. I couldn’t believe it. Was the City out of its mind? Huge 12 wheeler trucks passing by the shoreline with pedestrians coming and going to the beaches. This had to be stopped.

I started a letter campaign by getting as many people who would listen to write to the City to stop this crazy idea. It worked. No trucks are allowed on the causeway from the Southeast Expressway even today. I was only a teenager then but I learned a lesson that I never forgot. The public can influence policy if only they can be heard.

Forums like this makes it even easier.