Vision Chelsea Creek

05/18/2023

Check out tonight’s lecture on the Lost Railways of East Boston!

03/31/2023

We can meet by the Creek and talk all about Vision Chelsea Creek. Tune in every third Monday to Harborkeepers group to talk All Things Boston Coastal!

02/22/2023

These old maps show the area between Noddles Island and Hog Island (also called Breeds Island) which is now the Orient Heights neighborhood or as locals call it “up at the heights”. There was once was a Creek that flowed from the Chelsea River to the Broad Sound (Atlantic Ocean) that was called Sales Creek. Then it was filled in through the whole process of filling in land in Boston from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. In one of the maps called “Plan showing location of the property of the East Boston Company in East Boston and vicinity 1911”, you can see the area of what is now Harbor View neighborhood, Route 1A and the private land owned by Cargo Ventures, was once called the Orient Heights Playground. Interesting!

Now take a look at some of the newer maps. That land is all low-lying land subject to significant flooding as according to projections. Take a look at the map of flooding projections for 2070. Not surprising since that was once water.

**Questions to ask as you learn of various proposals out there on the Route 1A Corridor**

What are the plans in place to protect this area from flooding and sea level rise?

Would building more transportation infrastructure that doesn’t have sufficient climate mitigation elements be the best idea?

02/18/2023

02/18/2023

Would you like to learn more about Vision Chelsea Creek?

Our webpage has all the information from the summary report to recordings of the public meetings, images, the interaction of stakeholders on the Social Pinpoint tool where you can see all the feedback specific to the site, etc as well as the more thorough and comprehensive presentation of over 100 pages, if you have the time to red through it. This was a thorough engagement process that created a vision for a resilient and accessible Chelsea Creek. A more resilient waterfront is possible…

Click for the webpage here: https://www.harborkeepers.org/vision-chelsea-creek

Or read the summary report below⬇️

02/18/2023

WHAT DID THE VISIONING PROCESS INCLUDE?

Vision Chelsea Creek was a six month-long visioning, planning, and stakeholder engagement process to re-imagine the abandoned railway site along the industrial shoreline of lower Chelsea Creek.
From May to November of 2020, the team conducted a visioning process relying on inclusive community engagement practices, a framework plan and vision for the creek’s waterfront, and developed visualizations to help build momentum for future catalytic projects. Through this process, the project assessed opportunities for flood protection, ecological shoreline restoration and stabilization, equitable community access, pedestrian safety, historic preservation, and industrial re-use.

The team worked to address these social and environmental challenges through detailed analysis of previous studies, community advocacy, and site conditions – outlining strategies to mitigate negative environmental impacts and create a more resilient, accessible, and restorative waterfront edge. Building on prior visioning and community engagement, as well as the City of Boston's overarching climate resilience goals, the team developed a set of four resilience and climate adaptation strategies for the site. Through both detailed technical analysis and a robust and transparent community and stakeholder engagement process, the project team worked together to design and develop a comprehensive vision for the site. The vision is inclusive of various community needs and priorities while building on waterfront and open space advocacy, industry and maritime uses, and the needs of municipal stakeholders.