OWNERSHIP
CONDITIONS
CONTEXT
PLANNING PROCESSES

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OWNERSHIP:
City of Boston

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CONDITIONS:
At the end of Arboretum Road there is a tunnel that runs under the commuter rail and into the Bussey Brook section of the Arnold Arboretum. According to long-term Roslindale residents, this tunnel was used frequently to access the Arboretum in years past. One former resident of the Forest Hills/ Woodbourne neighborhood said that as a child she used the tunnel all the time to access the Arboretum. Today, the way through the tunnel is almost entirely blocked by waste materials that have been dumped here. The tunnel is covered in graffiti. Light industrial work sometimes takes place in our just outside the tunnel. Loose boards, styrofoam pieces, tires, pieces of cardboard, and other types of waste block the way. There is still, however, enough room in the tunnel for a person to pass through if he or she is willing to step on or over boards and other loose materials.

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CONTEXT:
The industrial abutters on either side of the tunnel are the Gertel Maurice Trust and the Todesca Equipment Company Incorporated. The section of Roslindale near Arboretum Road is heavily populated and is located about a block away from Archdale Village Public Housing. This block group statistical area is 91% renter occupied, and these residents have a lower income than any other area that surrounds the Arnold Arboretum.

The tunnel leads into the Bussey Brook section of the Arnold Arboretum, which is used primarily as an impoundment area for water, but which also has a network of trails, a beautiful landscape, and a great diversity of birds and butterflies attracted by the wetlands. In 2002, this section of the Arnold Arboretum is becoming increasingly well used as flow from the Forest Hills Station through this property on a newly completed pedestrian connector increases. The pedestrian connector -- and thus the Arboretum Road tunnel -- offers direct access to the South Street gate of the main section of the Arboretum.

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PLANNING PROCESSES:
In December 2002, the Arboretum Park Conservancy, a non-profit citizen group dedicated to the enhancement of public access to the Arnold Arboretum, is exploring an initiative to expand public access to the Arboretum at Arboretum Road. The footpath system that now connects Forest Hills Station and the South Street gate to the Arboretum could be expanded to include the tunnel at the end of Arboretum Road (Keifer, M. (President of the Arboretum Park Conservancy), From his letter to members of the Arboretum Park Conservancy, December 2002).

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