Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum will host a series of community forums to discuss the proposed funicular project that will connect the the two landmarks to Bradford Street and to the center of Provincetown.
The proposed Bradford Access Project involves the construction of a funicular, or tram, laid on a track on a narrow, landscaped strip which will ascend from the Monument’s property immediately next to the Bas Relief Park on Bradford Street up to the monument and museum campus.
The monument and museum is inviting the community to learn more about the project and be part of the process by hosting public forums at the museum on Saturday, November 4 from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm and on Wednesday, November 8 from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm.
“We look forward to meeting with the community to discuss this exciting project that will connect the Pilgrim Monument to the heart of Provincetown,” said Courtney Hurst, President of the monument and museum Board of Trustees.
“Currently, the impenetrable hill on which we sit acts as a visual and a physical barrier to connecting the town with the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum. It extinguishes what would otherwise be a powerful historical linkage between the Bas Relief that commemorates the Pilgrims’ signing of the Mayflower Compact, the Monument that honors their first landing, and the museum that tells Provincetown’s story as an accepting and tolerant place that has welcomed pilgrims of all kinds for centuries,” said Hurst.
The monument and museum wants to create a deeper connection with Provincetown residents and the building of a funicular will do that.
“Improving accessibility is critical to making the connection between us and Provincetown’s residents and visitors, so we’ve been thinking about it for a long time. We’ve identified a tentative solution to achieve these important goals and we’d like to engage the community in conversations to further examine the ideas of our residents and other stakeholders,” said Paul deRuyter, member of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Board’s Bradford Access Project Committee.
As the great grandson of the architect of the monument, Willard T. Sears, I sort of feel compelled to question this, if only on principle. I suppose someone could argue that it provides access to people who have disabilities. But if you can’t walk up an 80 foot incline then it’s highly unlikely you’re going to be climbing the 116 steps of the actual monument itself. It just seems like a bit of an absurd proposition.