South Common at Risk. Here we go again.

January 9, 2017 by PaulM Posted in Uncategorized 2 Comments

I am surprised this topic is back in play. So, what’s the thinking by those who want to put a new high school on the South Common? Are they saying to themselves that it will be no problem to blow up that useless empty lot where there are not many homeowners nearby? Do you think the City of Boston would blow up the historic Boston Common to build a school on that property?

2 Responses to South Common at Risk. Here we go again.

  1. Brian says:

    There are some in this city—a vocal minority—who just won’t accept that the current LHS location is the best location. The overwhelming evidence supports keeping it downtown.

    For years the vocal minority has been saying it should be at Cawley because that’s where the playing fields are located. Now the Cawley plan gets unveiled and 3 of the fields would have to be eliminated to put up new buildings and parking lots. We’d be right back at square one busing kids out of Belvidere to practice.

    The logistical nightmare a few hundred kids have to deal with, once daily, would be foisted on thousands of students,twice daily, if built at Cawley. Imagine taking the bus from Pawtucketville—it would be and 1-2 hour commute each day. Tardiness and absenteeism would be rampant.

    Kids that would normally walk to school would now get a ride or drive. Congestion would increase and teenage drivers are more prone to risky driving. Belvidere streets are wider and designed for speed so crashes would be worse.

    There are no sidewalks on Douglass or Clark Rd so even the Belvidere kids wouldn’t walk. Most Belvidere residents I’ve spoken to want to keep it downtown. It seems only Belvidere parents who’s kids will be attending LHS during construction want it at Cawley.

    Putting it at the South Common is laughable. There would be no room for any playing fields or parking and would eliminate a great park that is poised for improvements. If it were a viable option it would’ve been under consideration at the onset.

    At this point we need to unite as a city and have a spirited debate about how to make the current downtown location the best possible facility for the next 100 years. Long term community benefits should take precedence over potentially risky business gain.

  2. Joe from Lowell says:

    I read the determination to move the high school as coming from two motives:

    1) The Kirk Street building would be very profitable for whatever developer gets to turn it into condos, and

    2) scapegoating the presence of LHS students in the mid-afternoon for the problems of the downtown retail sector.

    The South Common is their last hope, because the non-central sites would blow the transportation budget through the roof.