A new winter visitor to the North End.The Globe’s David Abel gets a jump on Monday’s community meeting regarding the upcoming pilot program for year-round street sweeping on the North End streets. This winter will be the first time that mechanical street sweeping will continue past November when it usually stops until April. This also means that residents will have to move their cars as currently posted, about twice a month, or risk ticketing/towing. If successful, the program could be rolled out to the entire city.
Of course, this is not news to NorthEndWaterfront.com readers. This subject has been discussed at several recent meetings. (View previous posts.)
From the article is a quote from Modern Pastry’s Joe Swankowski that sums up the debate. “They’re going to make a lot of people unhappy here doing this, but you know, this place needs to be cleaned. It gets really dirty.’’
Clean Streets Committee co-chair, Naomi Paul, is also quoted: “Should we be living in filth for the inconvenience of moving a car?’’ she asked. “I don’t think so. It’s the inconvenience of some for the betterment of everyone. There should be no difference in cleanliness if it’s January or it’s June. If we want a clean neighborhood, the cars have to be moved.’’
Countering that view is Al bie Figaratto, “The one consolation of winter, you could say, is that it’s easier to park. This is going to hurt the residents.’’
A community meeting is scheduled at 6:30 pm at the Nazzaro Center, 30 N. Bennet St. The Department of Public Works will discuss the logistics and notification system to car owners regarding how the sweeping will work with the winter weather and other issues.
View all upcoming community meetings on the Calendar.
