Neponset River Greenway Council Meeting
Wednesday, May 4, 2016 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Milton Yacht Club, 25 Wharf St., Milton, 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/NeponsetGreenwayAgenda20160504.pdf
Future Greenway Council meetings
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
September 7, 2016 Milton Yacht Club, Milton
Along the Trail:
Bob Bouchelle
We lost one of our most stalwart volunteers when Bob Bouchelle, an original member of the Neponset River Greenway Council, died on April 10. Barbara Baxter noted that "Bob will be greatly missed by all of us for his love of the Greenway, and all the volunteer time he put into helping keep it Green. His dedication to Pope Paul Park, Hallett St. Park, Ryan Playground, Schaefer Paper, BNAN garden, Kennedy Playground, and the Hyde Park Neponset Greenway and Martini Shell" was a model for us all. His obituary is online here.
Dorchester
A second public meeting on the reconstruction of Morrissey Blvd., which includes a significant segment of the Neponset Trail is supposed to happen in May, but no date has been publicized yet. Supporters of green sapce along the highway and bicycle and pedestrian access need to attend this series of meetings.
The segment from Victory Rd. north to Morrissey Blvd is scheduled to be fully designed by the end of 2016, but the legislature needs to designate money 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 before the end of June. We hope to be able to visit it at the July 6 Greenway Council Meeting, which is being held at the Port Norfolk Yacht Club.
Neponset Estuary Cleanup
The Neponset River Watershed Association (NepRWA) held a successful River Cleanup in conjunction with DCR Park Serve Day on Saturday, April 30 along the Quincy RiverWalk, the Granite Ave. marshes and Neponset Greenway Trail in Dorchester, and the Lower Mills/Neponset Greenway Trail in Dorchester and Milton.
Mattapan
 The Canopy bridge over the trolley tracks near Mattapan Station was installed on Saturday, April 16. The Dorchester Reporter wrote about it.
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.
Construction on the missing mile should be completed by the end of the year.
There are two competing proposals for development of the Mattapan Station parking lot. The Dorchester Reported describes them. One development team, Nuestra and POAH, presented their proposal at the April Greenway Council meeting. The other, Trinity Financial, is scheduled to present theirs at the May Greenway Council meeting. It would be nice if the developers could contribute to safety measures near Mattapan Station.
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.
-Jessica Mink
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