First design for East Boston's Piers Park III features grassy lawns, salt marsh, and tide pools
Above: The first draft of a design for Piers Park III (click for larger view)
Featuring tide pools, grassy lawns, a picnic grove, kayak launch, natural plantings, and salt marsh, the first draft of a design for the future Piers Park III was released this week, and ready for public comment.
The East Boston park site—currently an abandoned pier adjacent to Piers Park I and the future Piers Park II—is being transformed into a welcoming waterfront destination by The Trustees Boston Waterfront Initiative with site developer designation from the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport). Designs are being created by world-renowned landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. (MVVA), working closely with The Trustees and the community to lead an iterative park design process.
With the first design draft now published, East Boston residents and the general public are asked for their continued comments, suggestions and questions. The input gathered from public meetings on March 29 and 30, as well as from an ongoing online survey and digital bulletin board, will help to inform the next draft of the design.
Piers Park III Public Meeting (March 29)
Reunión Pública Piers Park III (El 30 de marzo)
“Right now we want to know what would attract you to this future waterfront park, what features of this first design do you like, and what’s still missing?” says Nick Black, Managing Director of the Boston Waterfront Initiative. “From the start our goal has been to create a park for, and with, the community so it’s critical to hear different voices and incorporate public feedback into these designs. We expect this design process to continue throughout 2021, as we move into gathering ideas and presenting options for park activities and programming."
Poll questions and a Q&A session generated lively discussion during this week’s public meetings. Participants asked questions ranging from the climate resilience of the future park to the size and height of the landscape, and whether a ferry stop might be an option.
Feedback on the first design will continue to be gathered throughout the spring and early summer, with additional public meeting dates being announced in the coming weeks. To weigh in at any time, a virtual bulletin board is collecting comments, suggestions, and opinions. For more in-depth comments, a survey is available in both English and Spanish:
“We hope to hear from a wide selection of people interested in this park,” added Black. “We want this to be a gathering place for families, and a favorite space for Bostonians—a world-class destination on our beautiful harbor and a real community resource for the neighborhoods behind it.”
The Boston Waterfront Initiative team began meeting with neighborhood associations and community groups this fall, and have hosted four public meetings thus far—two in English and two in Spanish—in January and March. Outreach will continue throughout the project.
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