October 2019 Neponset River Greenway News
Neponset
River Greenway Council meetings are usually held on the
first Wednesday of the month at rotating locations in the
communities of the Lower Neponset River: Hyde Park,
Milton, Mattapan, and Dorchester. On Wednesday, October 2, 2019, we will
meet at 7:30 pm at the District E-18 Police Station, 1249 Hyde Park Ave., Hyde Park, MA.
Future Greenway Council Meetings
November 6, 2019 Port Norfolk Yacht Club, Dorchester
December 4, 2019 Foley Senior Residences, Mattapan
January 8, 2019 Milton Yacht Club, Milton
February 5, 2019 Hyde Park Police Station, Hyde Park
News Along the Greenway
APA designates the Neponset River Greenway as a Great Place
On September 25, 2019, the American Planning Association designated the Neponset River Greenway as a Great Place in America, joining Back Bay, The Emerald Necklace, Norman B. Leventhal Park, Washington Street, and Fields Corner.
We'll celebrate at the Harvest River Bridge on Saturday, October 26, at a time as yet unknown.
The APA noted that:
Today, the extension of the Neponset Greenway between Mattapan and
Central Avenue is a popular space used by both communities for walking,
biking, and other activities. The Neponset River Greenway now plays an
integral role in the transformation of an industrial river corridor,
previously hidden from view, into a publicly accessible network of
trails and open spaces that links the southernmost neighborhoods of
Boston to Boston Harbor.
Click on photos for more of the bridge opening.
 
The Greenway Council and DCR Commissioner Roy The Harvest River Bridge at its opening
Upcoming Events Along the Greenway:
Pumpkin Float on Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Join
the DCR and the Neponset RIver Greenway Council for our annual Pumpkin
Float on Davenport Creek in Pope John Paul II Park at 5:00 pm.
Pumpkins float on the outgoing tide promptly at 6:00 pm.
 
Maria, Maggie from the DCR, Jessica and John Preparing to launch pumpkins last year
mounted the pumpkins on floats and lit them.
Recent Events Along the Greenway:
Climate-Ready Dorchester Meeting on September 25
As part of the Climate-Ready Boston
process, the Boston Environment Department hosted a public meeting at
the Leahy-Holloran Community Center to present current and future
flooding problems along the Dorchester waterfront, where the Neponset
Trail runs, and start a discussion on what can be done to ameliorate
them. To find out more, check out the Climate-Ready Dorchester web site or click on a photo.
 
Impact of higher sea level on Dorchester Greenway Council member John Lyons
checks out a 3-D map of the waterfront.
Neponset River Cleanup on Saturday, September 21
The Neponset River Watershed Association
(NepRWA) removed trash from water and land to help beautify the area
and restore fish and wildlife habitats in Hyde Park, Mattapan,
and Milton. See more here. NepRWA reports that:
People of all ages came together to clean up over 7 total miles of
the river and its banks in 3 hours. A little more than 6.5 tons of
trash was cleaned up, including 121 tires; 435 plastic food wrappers,
straws, bags, and containers; 2 TVs, 201 pieces of scrap metal and
construction materials, 10 plastic containers of motor oil, 11 milk
crates, 14 shopping carts, a twin mattress, a wedding cake topper, auto
parts, a metal sink and table, a door, a traffic cone, an Apple
computer, a canoe, a hammock, a loveseat, and much more.
Today's Lesson: Beware What You Wish For
In an article in CITYLAB on September 11, How to Build a New Park So Its Neighbors Benefit, Laura Bliss
describes a new report from UCLA and the University of Utah which
surveys strategies for “greening without gentrification.” New rail
trails in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta, park projects
which at some point aspired to provide green space in neighborhoods that
historically had little access to it, have contributed to skyrocketing
property values which are forcing out those whom it was supposed to
benefit. The new joint report
by researchers at UCLA and the University of Utah surveys
“parks-related anti-displacement strategies” (or PRADS) undertaken by 19
U.S. cities where 27 major park developments are underway, including
those in the “High Line Network,” a coalition of projects trying to learn from the namesake New York example.
The Neponset Trail and other projects around Boston are doing this, too.
We should be aware of the effect of improved greenspace and think hard
about what we can do to avoid forcing out our neighbors through higher
rents and taxes.
-Jessica Mink, who also took the uncredited images in which she is not present
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