New Piers Park III design to be shared in community meetings
Community input from online surveys, webinars, and public outreach is being incorporated into a new design for Piers Park III.
ABOVE: The first drafted design for Piers Park III, released in spring 2021
The first drafted design, released in spring 2021, featured tide pools, grassy lawns, a picnic grove, a kayak launch, natural plantings, and salt marsh. The initial draft was created after gathering ideas from an online community survey and series of public webinars, about what elements and features the park should include. A second survey is now collecting opinions and ideas about future events and programming for the waterfront public space.
“We’re excited about how the design for Piers Park III is coming together,” noted Gabriela Ramirez, Community Outreach Coordinator for the Boston Waterfront Initiative. “Our team is grateful for all the input—please keep your ideas coming! We want this park to reflect the needs and desires of the community. Tell us who you want to visit this park with, and what activities you’d like to find there.”
To share the new design for Piers Park III, two Community Design meetings will be hosted on February 16, with one taking place in English (5:30PM) and one in Spanish (7PM). During these meetings the design team from Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc, will share the latest draft, and all will be welcome to voice their feedback.
Piers Park III is being designed to be world-class open space that is welcoming to all, and resilient—so that it can bounce back from storm events and flooding, two impacts forecast to worsen due to climate change. According to a report released last year, Boston is facing the greatest financial impacts from residential flood damage of any Massachusetts municipality, with areas of more severe impacts including portions of East Boston, Seaport, and Back Bay.
The new public park will also be a place for residents and visitors alike to enjoy in both and active and passive ways—an important factor for the wellness of city residents. A poll released this winter found that 70% of Boston voters consider it “very important” that the waterfront “improves the public health of the City by providing open spaces for exercise and enjoyment.”
To take part in the February community design review, click below to register:
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Looking for other ways to give input? Click here to leave a note on the first design to tell us what you like, and what you think is still missing. To share your ideas for future events and programming, click here to take a short survey! As always, please reach out to our team directly with any concerns or further questions: onewaterfront@thetrustees.org
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