City Hall Plaza Revamp | Government Center

Or just don't post clearly incorrect/misleading information?
I share your distain for much of the plaza - don't need to use inaccurate data to critique it then get snarky about it.
Honestly, I stand by my post haha. The tree additions to the plaza you're focusing on - which, again, I have seen in person - do not appreciably improve "shade" as in "utilizable and pleasant shaded space for human activities". No, you're not gonna go and read a book there, because you're not gonna sit on the friggin bricks under the tree in the middle of a walkway, and they didn't install any benches with backs anywhere that a person could comfortably lounge around on. You gotta do some planks to improve your core strength and bring a butt pillow before you go read there.
 
Honestly, I stand by my post haha. The tree additions to the plaza you're focusing on - which, again, I have seen in person - do not appreciably improve "shade" as in "utilizable and pleasant shaded space for human activities". No, you're not gonna go and read a book there, because you're not gonna sit on the friggin bricks under the tree in the middle of a walkway, and they didn't install any benches with backs anywhere that a person could comfortably lounge around on. You gotta do some planks to improve your core strength and bring a butt pillow before you go read there.
There are benches with backs in the aforementioned photo by the GSA, next to trees.
Agree to disagree.
 
So this video has gone extremely viral over the last couple days of the cop eating shit on the slide at city hall. Its very funny but apparently he had to go to the hospital after this wipe out.


On the sports hub they mentioned that a city counsellor had also gone down the slide and got injured. Im guessing that for whatever reason the extra weight of an adult makes this slide go from 0-100 real quick. Hopefully this wont mean the slide gets taken down, but how could they not have tested it on larger people? Hopefully theres some kind of remedy they could do to fix it without having to spend more money fixing it.

I guess they could put up a sign that says kids only, but everybody knows that the sign will get ignored by some ppl. Also some kids can be pretty big too at like 13 yrs old. Its definitely funny and makes for some great content but I cant see the city not addressing this on city hall property.
 
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So this video has gone extremely viral over the last couple days of the cop eating shit on the slide at city hall. Its very funny but apparently he had to go to the hospital after this wipe out.


On the sports hub they mentioned that a city counsellor had also gone down the slide and got injured. Im guessing that for whatever reason the extra weight of an adult makes this slide go from 0-100 real quick. Hopefully this wont mean the slide gets taken down, but how could they not have tested it on larger people? Hopefully theres some kind of remedy they could do to fix it without having to spend more money fixing it.

I guess they could put up a sign that says kids only, but everybody knows that the sign will get ignored by some ppl. Also some kids can be pretty big too at like 13 yrs old. Its definitely funny and makes for some great content but I cant see the city not addressing this on city hall property.

There is (or was, up until very recently - like less than two weeks ago) signage indicating "no adults" on the slide. I've gone down it twice and had no issues (it was fun). Odds are these official types are just fatass office-oafs who haven't actually done anything remotely physical or active in a while.
 
It needs a set of signs as you climb to the top:
“If you survive this slide”
“You’d be a kid now”
 
I haven't gone down that City Hall slide, but it's basically the same design as the slide at Fallon Field, which I have gone down a few times. I'm thinking this cop wasn't very safety minded in his approach -- it's easy to go down slides like that if you are even just a little bit careful. I have also read the theory that his nylon/polyester uniform pants may have acted as an accelerant. Could be, who knows, but I think that video shows something very far removed from the norm.
 
There are benches with backs in the aforementioned photo by the GSA, next to trees.
Agree to disagree.
I have used the thread timeout to consider and research the specific criticism of my assessment of shade and seating, and I regret to inform you all that I am doubling-down on it and in fact will assert that the situation is worse than before the renovation.

This Street View image taken in 2016 shows the pre-renovation conditions of the area of City Hall Plaza along the former Hanover ROW, adjacent to the JFK building. I have panned and zoomed to an image showing in excess of 30 or so mature trees of about 20 feet height, which in better seasons would clearly blanket a large seating area with shade. This is the specific tree canopy area denoted in the BPDA's (outdated) shadow map. There were in the original Plaza design in excess of 20 concrete benches (with backs), each of which could accommodate up to 3-4 seated occupants comfortably. Please note the rectangular entrance "trench" near the center of the photo, lined by distinctive round bollards.

Screenshot 2023-08-03 213023.png

This image taken by dhawkins shows the post-billion-dollar renovation conditions from a vantage point of just past the "trench entrance" area, looking back towards the earlier perspective.

Screenshot 2023-08-03 213110.png

While the trees MAY have been replaced 1:1 (I am unsure as to the exact number), the large mature trees have been removed entirely and substituted with younger ones not even half their height, providing no canopy layer at all for this area - less of an umbrella, and more of a lollipop. Furthermore, the 20+ concrete benches have been removed, replacing them with fern and shrub planters, and perhaps 3 back-to-back bench units, which DO have wood paneling but unlike the concrete ones cannot be used in this layout to socialize face-to-face as they are twice the distance from each other.

More plants is nice - I agree that the plaza as-was was unacceptably bad. This is different, but not better. Except for the hilarious slide, which I encourage them to leave unchanged but perhaps install a webcam. St. Patrick's is gonna be lit.
 
I have used the thread timeout to consider and research the specific criticism of my assessment of shade and seating, and I regret to inform you all that I am doubling-down on it and in fact will assert that the situation is worse than before the renovation.

This Street View image taken in 2016 shows the pre-renovation conditions of the area of City Hall Plaza along the former Hanover ROW, adjacent to the JFK building. I have panned and zoomed to an image showing in excess of 30 or so mature trees of about 20 feet height, which in better seasons would clearly blanket a large seating area with shade. This is the specific tree canopy area denoted in the BPDA's (outdated) shadow map. There were in the original Plaza design in excess of 20 concrete benches (with backs), each of which could accommodate up to 3-4 seated occupants comfortably. Please note the rectangular entrance "trench" near the center of the photo, lined by distinctive round bollards.

View attachment 41211

This image taken by dhawkins shows the post-billion-dollar renovation conditions from a vantage point of just past the "trench entrance" area, looking back towards the earlier perspective.

View attachment 41212

While the trees MAY have been replaced 1:1 (I am unsure as to the exact number), the large mature trees have been removed entirely and substituted with younger ones not even half their height, providing no canopy layer at all for this area - less of an umbrella, and more of a lollipop. Furthermore, the 20+ concrete benches have been removed, replacing them with fern and shrub planters, and perhaps 3 back-to-back bench units, which DO have wood paneling but unlike the concrete ones cannot be used in this layout to socialize face-to-face as they are twice the distance from each other.

More plants is nice - I agree that the plaza as-was was unacceptably bad. This is different, but not better. Except for the hilarious slide, which I encourage them to leave unchanged but perhaps install a webcam. St. Patrick's is gonna be lit.
Yes I'm aware of the old trees. You can find my own comment in this thread several pages back complaining about them tearing them down during construction. They were wonderful.
I don't know what the exact reasoning was for their replacement (need for a level staging area perhaps), but it happened. The new ones will grow eventually.

The old concrete benches were too cold and far apart to have any reasonable conversation across from each other. I never saw more than a dozen people sitting in that space - overbuilt with unwelcoming benches which felt like soldiers. The new ones are a more reasonable quantity, welcoming materials, and pleasantly adjacent to planters.

Anyways, once again, agree to disagree :)
 
So this video has gone extremely viral over the last couple days of the cop eating shit on the slide at city hall. Its very funny but apparently he had to go to the hospital after this wipe out.


On the sports hub they mentioned that a city counsellor had also gone down the slide and got injured. Im guessing that for whatever reason the extra weight of an adult makes this slide go from 0-100 real quick. Hopefully this wont mean the slide gets taken down, but how could they not have tested it on larger people? Hopefully theres some kind of remedy they could do to fix it without having to spend more money fixing it.

I guess they could put up a sign that says kids only, but everybody knows that the sign will get ignored by some ppl. Also some kids can be pretty big too at like 13 yrs old. Its definitely funny and makes for some great content but I cant see the city not addressing this on city hall property.
So this video has gone extremely viral over the last couple days of the cop eating shit on the slide at city hall. Its very funny but apparently he had to go to the hospital after this wipe out.


On the sports hub they mentioned that a city counsellor had also gone down the slide and got injured. Im guessing that for whatever reason the extra weight of an adult makes this slide go from 0-100 real quick. Hopefully this wont mean the slide gets taken down, but how could they not have tested it on larger people? Hopefully theres some kind of remedy they could do to fix it without having to spend more money fixing it.

I guess they could put up a sign that says kids only, but everybody knows that the sign will get ignored by some ppl. Also some kids can be pretty big too at like 13 yrs old. Its definitely funny and makes for some great content but I cant see the city not addressing this on city hall property.

What in the Sam Hill was he doing on the slide in the first place?!! Trying it out for the first time?? Hah!!!! o_O
 
-Looks like some good news has come of this:


Adults flocking to Boston’s viral ‘cop slide’ after officer’s slippery mishap
The viral video that shows a BPD officer catapulting down a slide has piqued the interest of Boston’s young-at-heart.
YD3EAIVLXOKHQKQ3Q7VWTMDXFE-64cbbc4ceb749-768x432.jpg


“The velocity of the officer’s landing has left viewers puzzled about the physics of the incident. As a result, curious Bostonians and social media users are investigating.

According to Jezebel, adults have since been flocking to the playground, with some apparently waiting in 45-minute lines to experience the infamous slide and capture their own videos.

Software engineer and Boston resident Abhi Agarwal recently told Jezebel he drove by the typically quiet playground and saw a long line of adults queued up waiting for their turn on the slide.

He told Jezebel: “I’ve driven by that place plenty of times, there’s no one there usually. Even on weekends, there’s like, maybe one or two kids. And when I drove by, we had a ton of people wearing business suits and having a blast on a Thursday at 2:45 [p.m.].”

Link


-Also

Boston City Hall Plaza Playground's 'Cop Slide' now appears on Google Maps

Boston's newest attraction
copslide.jpg


“Somebody's added the Cop Slide to Google Maps as a local attraction.”

Link


-If this is what it takes to get some more ppl showing up to use city hall, then hey.. Im all for it.
 
-Looks like some good news has come of this:

-If this is what it takes to get some more ppl showing up to use city hall, then hey.. Im all for it.

Sorry, no good news allowed in the cursed wasteland of City Hall Plaza:
FB_IMG_1691970456995.jpg

(Photo care of an online Boston neighborhood community group I'm a part of)

Actually, come to think of it, this could really improve the hilarity. It slices, it dices!
 

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