Anyone who wants to see the most beautiful patch of sidewalk in Somerville should come by my house. Bring a camera, you aren’t going to see its equal on your street, my street, or any other. Any day now, it could be jackhammered into rubble, so you have no time to lose.
Two months ago, this panel of pavement was the scene of some bleeding and bone-breaking that just had not happened. Tree roots had broken the slab into pieces and pushed the pieces eighteen inches off the pavement. Elderly men taking their dogs on their morning constitutionals stopped me on my way home from taking Emma to pre-school and told me I should call the city and tell them to fix it. The lady from across the street was very good at telling me what could go wrong if I didn’t get it fixed. She didn’t want anything bad to happen to me or the kids. “Call the Mayor and tell him he has to fix it. Tell him you’re sick and that you have two kids.”
She was the one who told me what might have happened one night in August. “Some lady fell in front of your house last night. I think something happened; she broke something, fractured something, I don’t know. You call the Mayor and get that sidewalk fixed.”
I never needed to speak with the Mayor. I called my Alderman and I identified myself as many ways as I could I was a Somerville homeowner, a voter in his district, I was a mother with two young kids and a person with Cerebral Palsy and a seizure disorder. I was all of these things, and I needed my sidewalk fixed. Someone had fallen in front of my house, might have broken something; I needed that sidewalk fixed. It was up to the city to fix it.
Within fifteen minutes, the Alderman was in front of the house, work order in his hand, waiting for the DPW. Accident waiting to happen, they agreed.
Two weeks later, our neighbours were in awe of our smooth, flat sidewalk. There are cracks and pits all up and down the street, but the panel in front of my house is pristine.
Last week, the builders told us that if we wanted the extenuation work on our house to include a full second bathroom and a half-bath, we will need to put in a larger pipe to carry water to the house. This means the sidewalk in front of our house needs to be dug up, wrecked. After that’s done, we’ll be replacing it at our own expense.
So my local friends, come and marvel at this monument to telling the city of Somerville what needs to be done. Enjoy it while you can.
Two months ago, this panel of pavement was the scene of some bleeding and bone-breaking that just had not happened. Tree roots had broken the slab into pieces and pushed the pieces eighteen inches off the pavement. Elderly men taking their dogs on their morning constitutionals stopped me on my way home from taking Emma to pre-school and told me I should call the city and tell them to fix it. The lady from across the street was very good at telling me what could go wrong if I didn’t get it fixed. She didn’t want anything bad to happen to me or the kids. “Call the Mayor and tell him he has to fix it. Tell him you’re sick and that you have two kids.”
She was the one who told me what might have happened one night in August. “Some lady fell in front of your house last night. I think something happened; she broke something, fractured something, I don’t know. You call the Mayor and get that sidewalk fixed.”
I never needed to speak with the Mayor. I called my Alderman and I identified myself as many ways as I could I was a Somerville homeowner, a voter in his district, I was a mother with two young kids and a person with Cerebral Palsy and a seizure disorder. I was all of these things, and I needed my sidewalk fixed. Someone had fallen in front of my house, might have broken something; I needed that sidewalk fixed. It was up to the city to fix it.
Within fifteen minutes, the Alderman was in front of the house, work order in his hand, waiting for the DPW. Accident waiting to happen, they agreed.
Two weeks later, our neighbours were in awe of our smooth, flat sidewalk. There are cracks and pits all up and down the street, but the panel in front of my house is pristine.
Last week, the builders told us that if we wanted the extenuation work on our house to include a full second bathroom and a half-bath, we will need to put in a larger pipe to carry water to the house. This means the sidewalk in front of our house needs to be dug up, wrecked. After that’s done, we’ll be replacing it at our own expense.
So my local friends, come and marvel at this monument to telling the city of Somerville what needs to be done. Enjoy it while you can.
Comments