Monday, July 14, 2014

Parks Department announces Open Space Plan Meetings: East Boston meeting set for August 6

The City of Boston is preparing a new citywide Open Space Plan for the years 2015 to 2021.  As part of this effort, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department developed and launched a survey questionnaire to enable the public to provide input about their park use and preferences.

The Parks Department will be holding a citywide series of public meetings from July 21 to August 14 to discuss the results of the survey.  With this information the Parks Department is developing a multi-year integrated plan for open space protection and development.

Public participation is crucial to the success of the Open Space Plan and the key ingredient to helping us make our parks and open spaces better.  The Plan looks at all public open space, regardless of ownership, including parks, playgrounds, squares, malls, urban wilds, community gardens, cemeteries, greenways, trails, thoroughfares, and harbor islands.  The Plan will also look at demographic and socio-economic data for how the use of open space can be affected in the future.

As part of the data collection process, an environmental inventory is being compiled enabling natural areas to be targeted for protection and stewardship in a priority plan. Natural features of our parks, rivers and harbors, wildlife, geologic features, soils, and vegetation become part of this truly comprehensive Open Space Plan.

Open space advocates, parents, caregivers, and all users of Boston’s parks are invited to attend these meetings.  Dates and locations are as follows. 

6:30 p.m. 
Wednesday, August 6; 6:30 p.m.
Paris Street Community Center
12 Paris Street, East Boston