By Mayor Martin J. Walsh
Every spring, we release our Capital Investment Plan which funds the critical improvements to our infrastructure and facilities in Boston over a five-year period. It is a reflection of our priorities, and is guided by the voices of over 15,000 residents who offered input for our citywide plan, Imagine Boston 2030. Our Capital Plan funds the essentials of community life — our schools, streets, libraries, and parks, including climate and resilience projects. It’s a commitment to all those who call Boston home and to our future generations.
Here in South Boston, we’re making investments across a wide range of projects, including parks and open space, streets and transportation, our schools’ infrastructure, and our delivery of City services. We’re allocating much of our budget to infrastructure and transportation efforts in order to make navigating Boston safe, reliable, and equitable. That’s why we’re investing $250,000 to complete the reconstruction of Congress Street from Fort Point Channel to West Service Road. This project includes building new sidewalks, street lights, trees, and street furniture. We’re also allocating $250,000 towards analyzing the transportation capacity and developing the design for future improvements to the South Boston Dorchester Avenue area. And, we’re investing $7.4 million to continue the Crossroads Initiative at Summer Street, which will improve roadways, sidewalks, street lighting, and bicyclist safety in the area.
We believe that funding equitable and accessible community spaces is crucial to keeping Boston not only a beautiful city, but also an open and welcoming one. That’s why we’ve allocated $600,000 towards a new open, gathering space on L Street that will provide older residents a place to relax and socialize while encouraging young children to engage and play. Additionally, we’re making a $510,000 investment to improve playing fields and other amenities at Orton Field, next to the Condon School. We’re also making a $250,000 investment in new play equipment for children ages 2 through 5 and safety surfacing for the Medal of Honor Park.
We’re funding a $99,000 project to complete exterior and improve the use and access to the backyard at the South Boston Branch of the Boston Public Library. As you may know, our neighborhoods are highly exposed to sea level rise due to our low-lying coastline. That’s why we’re making a $15 million investment to renovate the BCYF Curley Community Center, which will support re-programming and provide resilient protection from climate change. We’re also funding $3.3 million worth of citywide climate resiliency planning efforts, in addition to $20 million for the design and implementation of a climate resilient waterfront park along the Fort Point Channel. We’re also investing $2 million to implement the Moakley Park master plan, which will redesign the park to mitigate flood risk.
Now that we’ve submitted Boston’s budget, where do we go from here? First, to the City Council, where it will be reviewed and adjusted as necessary. After it’s gone through that process and secured approval, it will go into effect, starting in July 2020 and running throughout the next 12 months. We hope you will continue to provide your valuable input on what we as a city can do to raise up your community. If you’d like to learn more about the Capital Plan and how this budget was created, go to budget.boston.gov.
