By Madyline Swearing, Boston University State House Program
An environmental bond bill passed by the State Senate and awaiting action by the House of Representatives includes roughly $3 million in funds aimed at Dorchester projects, according to Sen. Nick Collins. In its current form, the “Mass Ready Act” bill would raise $3.64 billion for various projects.
The bill has also garnered attention and controversy for a proposal that would ban single-use plastic bags and impose a 10-cent fee on paper bags in stores statewide. Aside from plastic reduction provisions, statewide initiatives include tree planting, coastal land conservation, flood resilience measures, and improvements to state-owned or abandoned dams and bridges, among other climate adaptation projects.
Legislators say that with Boston’s coastal nature, it’s time to begin aligning policy with the potential effects of climate change.
“In a district like mine, where our communities are closely tied to the coastline, we see first-hand why now is the time to prepare for the realities of climate change,” Collins said in a statement. “That means making real investments in resilience so people can continue to live and work along our waterfront with confidence.”
He noted that $450,000 is dedicated toward improvements at the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, the Reggie Wong Memorial Park in Chinatown. and Town Field Park in Dorchester — $150,000 of which would go toward a proposed memorial dedicated to the heritage of the Fields Corner neighborhood’s Vietnamese community.
“I was proud to advocate for these funds for 1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Memorial,” Collins said in a statement to The Reporter. “The work of Ngọc-Trân Vũ and the Vietnamese Diaspora Commemoration Initiative will help ensure that the history and legacy of the Vietnamese community are preserved and honored for generations to come.”
Established in 1897, Town Field is a five-acre park steps away from the Fields Corner MBTA stop. Capital improvements there have been ongoing since 2023, and an updated Doherty-Gibson playground marked the first phase.
Additional improvement plans prioritize walkability, accessibility, community building, and climate resistance, and include shaded dugouts, misting stations, an overlaid soccer field and restructured basketball courts, which, project manager Kevin Bogle said, were designed after several community hearings.
“When we talk about climate resilience in parks, things that we’re looking at are hotter summers and heavier rainfall. So, it’s water management and heat,” Bogle said. “We’re fortunate to have a lot of very mature trees…so we’ll be working to preserve as many of those trees as possible…and then putting in shade structures.”
Bogle also talked about how push-activated water features, like spray showers for younger children and misting stations for older participants, can help visitors cool down on hot days in a sustainable way.
The park’s inland location and large fields will work to slow water flow during heavier storm events. In times of heavy storms and sea level rise, Bogle said, water management is one of the top considerations.
The city’s most recent Climate Ready Boston report identified extreme heat, stormwater flooding, and coastal flooding as three of the city’s climate hazards, with Dorchester being one of the communities of concentrated risk.
The Senate version of the bill would direct $2.5 million toward Boston Water and Sewer Commission stormwater discharge projects, which could include high elevation drainage pipelines, storm surge barriers, diversion structures and water storage using the naturally occurring basin at Dorchester Bay.
The conceptual plan is based on projected sea levels in 2070, which could end up being higher than where City Hall currently sits.
“This $2.5 million in funding will assist with preliminary design work on this issue that we hope would help us prepare competitively for future federal funding to support this work,” BWSC Director of Communications Dolores Randolph said in a statement to The Reporter.
Other state climate projects would receive nearly $700 million in funding, such as the Municipal Preparedness Program, which began in 2017 to support community-driven climate resilience plans and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s regulation of chemicals known as PFAS in drinking water.
PFAS are often referred to as “forever chemicals” and may be hazardous to human health. The Environmental Protection Agency established a nationwide PFAS outreach initiative earlier this month.
The bill now moves to the House for consideration.
