Description:
In-person Office Hours for the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park Flood Mitigation Planning & Feasibility Study to discuss the study findings to date, explore how proposed resilience alignments and strategies in the RLFMP will help address current and future flooding risk in South Boston and protect neighborhood assets, and provide feedback on preferred alternatives.
The Office Hours follow up the virtual Open House on July 11, 2024 from 6:00 PM–7:30 PM.
RSVP: contact Dolores Fazio at [email protected]
Study Background
By way of its unique mission to preserve Boston’s marine industrial uses and promote their connection to the water, Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park is particularly vulnerable to climate-related impacts such as sea-level rise and intense coastal storms.
Coastal Resilience Solutions for South Boston (2018) outlined the extent of flood risk and the need for increased flood resilience and proposed district-scale design options for increasing resiliency. While present-day flood risk is mostly confined to the coastal fringe along the Marine Park waterfront, under the intense storm and significant sea level rise scenarios anticipated in the future, nearly the entire Marine Park area is expected to flood, affecting the MBTA Silver Line, major roadways, bus service and truck routes, critical infrastructure owned by Eversource and Massport, as well as major job centers and destinations such as the Boston Innovation & Design Center, Flynn Cruise Terminal, laboratories, seafood distribution terminals and more.
The RLFMP Master Plan Update (2022) called for all planned improvements to infrastructure and proposed development within the RLFMP to incorporate current and future climate risks and vulnerabilities.
The RLFMP Flood Mitigation Planning & Feasibility project refines the coastal protection options developed through CRS South Boston and advances the Master Plan sustainability and resilience vision. The project aims to develop a feasible and implementable stakeholder-supported flood mitigation solution for the RLFMP that can protect against current and future coastal flooding and sea-level rise while also supporting marine industrial uses and ship-to-shore transfer of goods.
The Study started in the Spring of 2023 and is conducted by the Coastal Resilience Delivery Team of the City of Boston Planning Department with technical support from a consortium of consultants led by Arcadis. The project team has to date completed existing conditions analysis; conducted risk and vulnerability assessments; analyzed alternative district-scale coastal resilience strategies and alignments, and is closing in on preferred alternatives. Throughout this process, the team has been working closely with various project stakeholders, including Massport, marine-dependent businesses and other tenants, and the Boston Marine Park Business Association.