The Emerald Network is a team within LivableStreets Alliance. The Emerald Network works to create over 250 miles of greenways (linear parks) within the Boston Metro Region. It partners with community members, non-profits, city governments, and state partners to do this. Its goal is to foster affordable and thriving neighborhoods in Greater Boston. In addition to ongoing advocacy, policy, and community work, it has 3 Priority Projects. Priority Projects are greenway projects that are led by the Emerald Network. They have one or more of the following attributes…
- …are in neighborhoods that lack park space
- …are in areas that have not seen as much investment
- …fill critical missing links in the larger greenway network
- …are complex and have large regional impacts
Charles River Area Projects
What is the Charles River Area Projects project?
The Charles River is an important part of the landscape of Greater Boston. It flows 80 miles from Hopkinton, Massachusetts to the Boston Harbor. Many transit, greenway, ecology, and building projects are happening along the river at once. These projects include community park updates, the creation of paths for people powered travel, and even the tearing down of a highway to create new open space!
These projects are exciting! However, different organizations are in charge of different projects. Land along the Charles River is also owned by different organizations. Organizations are city or state governments, private foundations, and nonprofits. This means it can be complicated to keep track of all the ongoing changes. It is important to keep all teams aware of nearby projects because changes to one can affect another. For example, if one project removes a lane on a road, this could increase traffic near another project. This is where the Emerald Network comes in!
The Emerald Network manages, stewards, and unites the many builders of projects along the river. This way, project teams stay connected and pull towards the same unified vision for greenways and transit.
The boundaries of this project run from the Museum of Science to Herter Park. It spans both the Boston and Cambridge sides of the river. Projects in surrounding cities are also considered.
What is the history of the Charles River Area Projects project?
In August 2022, the Emerald Network hosted a Visioning Session at the Museum of Science. Advocates, community leaders, and non-profits groups imagined a future for the Charles River. They identified barriers, needs from the government, and provided project updates.
What’s Next for the Charles River Area Projects project?
In summer 2023, the Emerald Network will talk to groups who may have not yet been heard. This includes people experiencing homelessness, people with disabilities, and local schools' whose routes are nearby. These talks will identify “asks” of governments and institutional partners. They will also identify what things projects are missing.
Finally, the project will gather members of state and local agencies to discuss problems and solutions. Agencies include MassDOT, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, elected officials, and planners. The Emerald Network hopes to design better ways to work together with these groups.
Charles River Area Project Vision
Click and drag the slider to see the map of the Charles River Area Projects area
Columbia Road
What is Columbia Road?
Columbia Road is a 2.2-mile road between Franklin Park and Moakley Park in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood. It is a busy street lined with homes, businesses, churches, libraries, health centers, and historic buildings.
Frederick Law Olmsted designed the wide boulevard as a tree lined carriage path connecting Emerald Necklace parks. The road is over 100-foot wide with14-foot wide medians. It has little greenery and unprotected bike lanes. Today, these elements create more barriers than points of connection for people.
For many years, residents have asked for more trees, plants, greenery, and places to sit and rest. They have also asked for safety improvements like improved walk signals. The availability of street parking spaces and double-parking blockages have added to traffic issues. Bikes, scooters, and other non-car travelers often feel unsafe along the road.
Some residents have shared bold visions for Columbia Road. Some ideas include rebuilding old trolley lines and moving the median to create space for trees and greenery.
What’s Next for Columbia Road?
Columbia Road has been included in many city planning efforts such as the Fairmount Indigo Planning Initiative, Boston Creates, Imagine Boston 2030, Upham’s Corner Arts and Innovation District Plan, and Franklin Park Vision Plan, and Moakley Park redesign.
While elements of these projects have been disjointed and fragmentary, there is new momentum in a united vision. New large building projects are coming to the street, creating a critical opportunity to leverage these developments to build more safe, restorative, and green spaces.
In 2023, after over 4 years of advocacy, the City of Boston hired a full time corridor planner for Columbia Road! Emerald Network / LivableStreets Alliance will be meeting with the city’s Columbia Road team in Spring of 2023 to discuss how the organization can better support the city’s goals. It anticipates hosting community conversations, reaching out to organizations, and supporting the fantastic work of long time community groups.
Expect to see Emerald Network / LivableStreets staff in the neighborhood later in 2023.
In the meantime, the Emerald Network would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, concerns, and takes on Columbia Road.
Columbia Road Vision
Click and drag the slider to see the current status of Columbia Road and……
DOT Greenway
What is the DOT Greenway?
The DOT Greenway is a proposed .75-mile long park. This park will run from the Fields Corner Main Street District to the Ashmont Main Street District in Dorchester.
The DOT Greenway would be a new community park built on top of a red line MBTA tunnel. Concrete has been filled in over the MBTA tunnel, creating what’s called a “tunnel cap.” The tunnel cap is a long stretch of concrete that is currently surrounded by fencing. The tunnel cap runs from roughly Dorchester Avenue at Talbot Avenue to Park Street at Waldeck Street. The DOT Greenway would be built on top of this tunnel cap.
The park would cross several streets including Centre Street, Mather Street, Melville Avenue, and Park Street. The DOT Greenway would provide residents with a new recreation area in an unused space. The exact design of the park would be created with input from the community.
What is the history of the DOT Greenway?
The Dorchester community has been at the forefront of this project for over 7 years. The park was originally proposed by neighborhood residents and advanced by Greater Ashmont Main Street. The project paused during the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more about the project's history, check out CoUrbanize's DOT Greenway webpage from the project's early days.
In 2022, the Emerald Network reintroduced the DOT Greenway project to Dorchester neighbors. It did this at Boston Open Streets, a block party hosted by the City.
At the event, the Emerald Network collected information from folks about green spaces. They wanted to find out what spaces people love and what makes it hard to get to parks. The results from our data collection can be found here.
What’s Next for the DOT Greenway?
The City of Boston applied for a grant to fund the first step to making the DOT Greenway. The first step would be to do a structural analysis of the tunnel cap. The structural analysis shows how much weight the tunnel cap can bear. This is important because it helps us understand what structures (i.e. benches) and plants could be included in the park. The next step would be to get feedback from Dorchester residents about park design.
While waiting for news on the grant, we continue to connect with community members and collect feedback. Do you want to be informed about progress on the DOT Greenway project? Sign up below & make sure to select "Sign me up to hear more about the DOT Greenway project!"
DOT Greenway Vision
Click and drag the slider to see the current status of the DOT Greenway and the proposed vision!
