North End Innovation: Turning Tree Stumps Into Sidewalk Potholes

North End Innovation is illustrated by the city’s cutting down a tree on Hanover St., corner Parmenter, leaving the stump for a while, then removing the stump, and creating a hole in the sidewalk. It is an obvious hazard to the hundreds of thousands of tourists walking the Freedom Trail, as well as to North End pedestrians.

The brilliant Innovation is putting an orange “danger” cone in the hole, which saves the city time, effort and a couple bucks to fix the sidewalk. Of course, the cone gets toppled, perhaps by someone tripping in the hole. This “sidewalk pothole” has existed for so many months it will soon gain historic protection status.