Former gas plant site harbors cyanide, other toxins

By Gerard F. Russell
Worcester Telegram and Gazette Staff
Posted Aug. 29, 2015

Worcester Telegram newspaper of August 30, 2015.
Front page article about contamination at Framingham
Irving Street site owned by EverSource.

There is no yellow caution tape or sign warning of deadly toxins, but 350 Irving St. is a cyanide-laden wasteland.

Home to several thriving businesses, it was once the site of an 1800s-era manufactured gas plant where the process left toxic byproducts: oil, coal tar, PCBs, cyanide, petroleum hydrocarbons and many other hazardous chemicals.

A portion of that site was sold to a local businessman who is now feeling the sting of hazardous pollution. An Auburn man is suing a company he worked for at the location.

Framingham's Sudbury Aqueduct runs through toxic site

By Gerald F. Russell
Worcester Telegram and Gazette Staff

According to an easement granted to Commonwealth Gas in 1982,
a permanent right-of-way was allowed over the aqueduct (see
area in red) requiring construction of a bridge. The
easement states, “a suitable reinforced concrete slab with at
least one (1) foot clearance between the bottom of the concrete
slab and the top of the aqueduct” was required. DEP and
MWRA officials say they do not know if such a structure exists.
See April  15, 1982 agreement by going to the Massachusetts Registry
of Deeds, South Middlesex County, Book 14584 Page 511.

The 22-acre Eversource property on Irving Street is dissected by a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority aqueduct, called the Sudbury Aqueduct, that is used in emergencies by the water authority that delivers drinking water to millions of people in eastern Massachusetts.

It was taken out of service in the 1980s but was used as recently as 2010 during a major pipeline break in Weston. At the time, it was used for three days.

Elements of good skatepark design

 from SkateparkGuide.com

If you think that quality skateparks come from pushing around some dirt and pouring “crete” on a bump, think again. Building a concrete skatepark is a labor intensive and highly specialized endeavor. Further, if the builders don’t get it right the first time out, you’ll be skating their lumpy transitions and similar mistakes and for a long time to come.

Examples of Skateparks and sizes

12,000 sf: Ponderosa Skatepark and Skatepath
NOTE: Framingham Matters editor suggests the skatepark design to include a "skate path" that loops back.
 

Click here for other views of this skatepark and skatepath

     The Ponderosa skatepark in Bend, Oregon, consists of an approximately 8,000 square foot main park and 4,000 square foot skatepath and features a variety of street and transition opportunities including quarter- and half-pipes, stairs, rails and ledges. The final design was based on public input, site opportunities and constraints and budget.

Suggested skatepark locations

Suggested locations for a skatepark.