Neponset River Greenway Council Meeting

Wednesday, April 6, 2016 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Foley Senior Residences, 249 River St., Mattapan, MA

Join us for our monthly meeting as we discuss progress of construction of the Neponset Trail and other issues along the Neponset River Greenway with staff from the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation, which manages it, the police who patrol it, and concerned citizens. Our meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month at rotating locations in communities of the Lower Neponset.  The agenda is at
http://www.masspaths.net/neponset/NeponsetGreenwayAgenda20160406.pdf

Future Greenway Council meetings

May 4, 2016           Milton Yacht Club, Milton
June 1, 2016           District E-18 Police Station, Hyde Park
July 6, 2016            Port Norfolk Yacht Club, Dorchester
August 3, 2016       Foley Senior Residences, Mattapan

Along the Trail:
 

Dorchester: Morrissey Blvd.
     The first public meeting for the Department of Conservation and Recreation's $3 million project to redesign Morrissey Blvd. was held on Monday, March 28. A PDF file of their presentation is online. Construction has been divided into 3 segments: Neponset Circle to Freeport St., Freeport St. to UMass, and UMass to Mt. Vernon St. The middle section, where the Neponset Trail is in the boulevard right-of-way will be the first to be built once construction is funded. There will be 5-6 more public meetings over the next year, with a pre-construction meeting scheduled for May 2017, pending funding. The DCR will be accepting public comments through APRIL 18th. Please fill out the survey and/or submit your comments directly on their website.

Dorchester: Other segments
     The segment from Victory Rd. north to Morrissey Blvd should be fully designed by the end of 2016.  Money is still needed to build it.
     The segment between Tenean Beach and Victory Rd. is owned by the Mass. Department of Transportation as frontage for the Southeast Expressway. Coordination between state agencies is still needed.

Port Norfolk
     Port Norfolk Park should be completed by the end of June. We hope to be able to visit it at the July 6 Greenway Council Meeting.

Neponset Estuary Cleanup
     The Neponset River Watershed Association (NepRWA) is planning a River Cleanup  in conjunction with DCR Park Serve Day on Saturday, April 30 and hopes folks will both plan to attend and spread the word. Here are the locations:

• Quincy RiverWalk
  • Meet at the Neponset Landing Pier, next to Neponset Landing Apartments at 2 Hancock Street.
  • Park under the Neponset Bridge, between the Adams Inn and Neponset Landing Apartments.
• Granite Ave. Marshes and Neponset Greenway Trail in Dorchester
  • Meet at the far end of the Shields MRI parking lot at 161 Granite Ave., near the Neponset Greenway Trail.
  • Park in the Shields MRI parking lot, or across the street, at the Neponset II Park on Hill Top St.
• Lower Mills/Neponset Greenway Trail in Dorchester/Milton
  • Meet near the pedestrian bridge on the Neponset Greenway Trail, just past the Baker Square Condominiums.  From Adams St., enter the Baker Square Condominiums driveway and look for the check in table after the last building on the left.

For more info, check out https://www.neponset.org/happenings/events/quincy-riverwalk-cleanup/

Mattapan
     Construction on the missing mile should be completed by the end of the year. The trolley bridge shown here should be complete over Patriot's Day weekend, and  Discussion is continuing about lighting around Mattapan station and whether the trail should be separated from the station by a chainlink fence, which the T prefers, or a lower guardrail, which the DCR and the Council feel would be safer.

The Dorchester Reporter has an article on the two competing proposals for development of the Mattapan Station parking lot at http://www.dotnews.com/2016/rival-proposals-would-site-housing-retail-t-parcels . One development team, Nuestra and POAH, will present and discuss their proposal at the April Greenway Council meeting.

Hyde Park Neponset River Cleanup 
The Hyde Park River Clean-up this year will be Sept 24.  We have already begun the planning meetings.  If anyone would like to be captain of one of this year’s clean-up sections (TBD) along the river, please let Martha McDonough know.  This will involve some pre-clean-up visits to that section during May/June and having input into what your needs will be as for supplies, equipment, and number of volunteers needed for that day.

Non-native, Invasive Plant Control Workshop Saturday, April 9
There is a Non-native, Invasive Plant Control Workshop at the Canton Library on Saturday,  April 9 from 1-4 PM.  Early Bird Registration is $15.00. This workshop is sponsored by Watershed Action Alliance of Southeastern Massachusetts.   We have invasive species all up and down the path and the river.  This is an area, we need to put some energy into.  Martha McDonough will be going.  If anyone wants information on how to get tickets, let her know.  It would be great to have volunteer representation from every neighborhood that abuts the Neponset River and the Neponset Greenway.

March 19, 2016 Neponset Greenway Bike Ride
    On the last day of winter we biked along Boston Harbor and the Neponset River Greenway from Castle Island to Paul's Bridge and back. We checked out the new Port Norfolk Park through the fence and the site of the new bridge over the trolley near Mattapan Station. See more photos at: http://www.masspaths.net/photos/nep20160319/

-Jessica Mink