An older man tripped on the brick sidewalk in front of the Dunkin’ in Bellingham Square this week, fell hard enough to break his glasses, and lay dazed and bleeding while three people stood over him and did nothing. That is the account of a Chelsea resident who wrote that he heard the fall, went to the man, and told the bystanders to call an ambulance. One of them, he wrote, said the man did not need one. Dunkin’ staff came out, carried the man inside, and within five minutes an ambulance, a fire engine and a police cruiser were on the scene.
The post went up in the Chelsea, MA What’s Happening group and drew 68 reactions and 31 comments in two days, most of them agreeing on the same point: the brick sidewalks around the square are uneven, some of the bricks are loose, and the square is the busiest pedestrian space in the city.
What we know and what we asked
Bellingham Square is the city’s transit and retail center. The commuter rail platform, the bus stops for the 111, 112, 114 and 116, the Silver Line stop and the pharmacies, banks and restaurants along Broadway all feed onto those sidewalks, and the square is where the city’s seniors do their errands on foot. The brick pavers were laid as part of the square’s streetscape work years ago, and brick sidewalks heave and loosen with every freeze and thaw.
The city is in the middle of a $17.6 million reconstruction of Broadway, which the City Council funded this year and which we have covered here. We have asked the Department of Public Works two questions: whether the Bellingham Square sidewalks are inside the scope of that project, and how many sidewalk complaints 311 has logged for the square this year. We will update this article when the city answers.
If you fell on a city sidewalk, Massachusetts law gives you 30 days to notify the city in writing of the time, place and cause of the injury, under General Laws chapter 84, section 18, or a claim is barred. The notice goes to the city clerk. That deadline runs from the day of the fall, not from the day you decide to make a claim.
If you saw the fall, or you have fallen in the square yourself, write to [email protected].