The Beacon Hill Civic Association (BHCA) met with City of Boston’s Chief of Environment and Energy Jim Hunt, to distribute recycling bags along Beacon Hill. About 20 volunteers helped drop off 4,000 packets containing clear plastic bags and instructions on how to “single-stream” recycle, which means all recyclables can now be placed into one clear bag. This replaces the old blue-bin method, which resulted in messy streets created by wind and space constraints.
The pilot program, which had already been launched in Jamaica Plain, the South End, and the North End, is a result of the city’s investigation of ways to increase participation, tonnage, and cleanliness of its weekly curbside recycling collection program. The Public Works and Transportation Department’s "Recycle More, Trash Less" pilots test the feasibility of collecting residential recyclables mixed together in one enclosed recycling container. This collection method is known in the recycling industry as "single-stream" collection.
This pilot program follows Mayor Menino’s recent executive order that, among many other city initiatives, the city would recycle an additional 10 percent. Menino also recently filed legislation for the expansion of the Bottle Bill.
“Recycling is the easiest step citizens can take to help out,” said Hunt, who is making his rounds to every Boston neighborhood to promote the program. “It also saves a lot of money in the city’s trash budget and taxpayer money.”
Beacon Hill had a relatively low level of recycling, because the blue bins took up a lot of space and were difficult to navigate down flights of stairs each week, said Hunt. He believes only about 12 to 17 percent of Boston residents recycle, and the city is looking to raise those numbers. Since the program began in the South End, those figures rose by 33 percent as a result, he said.
“We are trying to make it easier to recycle by making it easier to transport and store recyclables,” Hunt said, referring to the switch to clear plastic bags. Residents can use any clear plastic bag to recycle, but many area stores are participating in the recycling effort and are stocking them, he said.
Just a reminder: in addition to paper, glass, cans and plastics, things like magazines, junk mail, cereal boxes, pizza boxes, milk cartons, and juice boxes (with food, caps and lids removed), may also be recycled.

CAPTION: An artist's rendering of 20 Somerset.

Suffolk University gave the most detailed presentation yet of its hopes for a new art school at 20 Somerset Street, showing new design renderings and a more detailed look into its plans to renovate Roemer Plaza.
The design renderings unveiled by the university show an ambitious tower dominated by a mixture of translucent and more reflective glass facades. The more opaque façade will create a reserved backdrop to the Garden of Peace to the north, according to architect Alex Krieger. The south facing facade, meanwhile, will be more transparent, allowing those in Roemer Plaza to see activity occurring inside the building.
“We want it to be the superior building the city will insist we build,” said Krieger. In addition to glass, the building in its current design would feature a lighter colored masonry meant to fit in with the granite that dominates the surrounding buildings.
The new 10-story building will house the New England School of Art and Design, and general academic space. It was approved earlier this year by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) after an agreement was reached between the university and the Beacon Hill Civic Association (BHCA).
Reaction from task force members was mixed, with some disappointed that the design was not more ambitious and artistic, as befits an art school. However, demonstrating how oppositional residential forces can be, BHCA liaison Rob Whitney said the association might push for a more “classic” look for the building. “The BHCA might want something that looks more like the old courthouse,” said Whitney, “and not so much like a fancy version of 1Ashburton Place.”
In general, however, there was a sense that the building held a great deal of promise.
“There was a task force consensus that a new building, whatever its design, will significantly improve the Somerset Street area,” said Suffolk Vice President John Nucci. “We’re excited that there seemed to be a very positive reaction to the idea of commemorating the social significance of the Metropolitan District Commission on Roemer Plaza.”
BRA representative Gerald Autler said design discussions were always challenging, but worth having. He added the BRA tends to favor more modern looks for new buildings, rather than forced “historicist” approaches.
As ambitious as its plans for the new building is, Suffolk University’s proposal for the renovation of Roemer Plaza is, too. Designs shown by Krieger included an abundance of tree plantings, as well as a brick staircase meant for seating, gathering, and climbing.
The redesigned plaza would also feature new ramps for the handicapped. The plaza would look directly into the more transparent façade of the building, creating a space “full of activity,” according to Krieger.
State Representative Martha Walz worried that the plaza would be too windy in the shadow of the new, larger building, resulting in a space that she called “uncomfortable most of the time,” though Krieger said that proposed grand staircase would help to mitigate wind factors. In any case, said Krieger, additional study on wind impacts would need to be conducted.
The university also hopes to use Roemer Plaza as a way to commemorate the old Massachusetts District Commission (MDC), the influential organization headquartered at 20 Somerset Street that played a vital role in securing and preserving a great deal of the state’s public natural spaces, including the Esplanade and Revere Beach.
According to architect Mark Klopfer, the university would like to incorporate some kind of commemoration of the MDC into the brickwork of the plaza, perhaps on the staircase itself. University officials also discussed plaques or other public displays of MDC accomplishments, but haven’t reached a final decisions on the type of commemoration.
“It’s a chance to commemorate an important part of the city’s history,” said Krieger.

Taxi fares and the green world

Boston’s taxicab users would do well to save up a few more dollars for their daily rides. Cab fares here are rising, and to the point where taking a cab in Boston will be the highest priced ride in the nation.
In this city of firsts, where liberty has always been prized over tyranny in any form, the rising cab fares are but an inconvenience to users, compared with the new expense cab owners will be forced to endure.
Cab owners got the fare raise they wanted but hadn’t bargained on the new city rules forcing them to purchase hybrid automobiles in the future.
The city’s present fleet of gas guzzling, aging Ford Crown Victorias and larger body Chevrolets leave a carbon footprint as big as Texas under present circumstances.
Mayor Thomas Menino believes Boston should have a green taxi force that stands as a recommendation for the city’s effort to be in the vanguard of improving the local ecology.
And he is right.
A fleet of hybrid taxicabs picking up approximately 15 million tourists who come through Logan Airport every year will have a substantial psychological impact on those visitors about what kind of city this really is.
However, the cost of the hybrid fleet for Boston’s taxi drivers will be exorbitant and difficult to meet.
Owners are required to replace cabs every six years. Some 2002 models will have to be replaced with hybrids by January 1.
The city is requiring all the cabs to be hybrids by 2015.
For many cab drivers struggling to make ends meet with rising gasoline costs and with huge payments for mortgages on their licenses, the notion of a hybrid cab is much more easy to take than the reality.
The reality is that hybrid automobiles cost much more than a common cab. An older Crown Victoria, for instance is about $5,000. A city approved hybrid is closer to $25,000.
However, cab drivers are not paying close enough attention to gasoline consumption figures. Gasoline consumption is the whole ball game, with cab drivers trying to make a profit.
A hybrid will end up costing them far less than what they presently drive, and repairs will cost less as well, because there will be fewer of them.
The city’s hybrid taxicab policy is sound business for users and for owners.
Cab drivers will fight the inevitable, but they cannot avoid the inevitable.