October 25, 2024 | Vol. 53, Issue 20

The only bilingual Chinese-English Newspaper in New England

Climate Change and The Greenway

electric automobile climate change greenway conservancy

By Rachel Lake

(請點這裡閱讀中文版。)

The Rose Kennedy Greenway, located one block west of Boston’s downtown waterfront, faces significant and growing risks of damage and disruption from climate change and extreme storm events. In 2020, the Greenway Conservancy commissioned a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Asset Management Plan. Reassuringly, the Conservancy has sufficient funding to implement the report’s high-priority recommendations for asset protection.

This Plan presents a roadmap for the Conservancy to protect vulnerable assets and manage risks from the effects of climate change and to adopt more sustainable practices to reduce its carbon footprint. The Plan gives an overview of the climate risks that Boston will continue to face and offers prioritized recommendations for how the Conservancy can protect The Greenway’s cherished assets. The Plan was developed by Kleinfelder, the same firm working with the City of Boston on its Climate Ready Boston initiative; this work was funded with capital funding from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which owns the parkland and the highway tunnel beneath.

Priority recommendations focus on protecting the Greenway Carousel and the equipment vaults for the Rings Fountain and Harbor Fog from flooding. The Conservancy has funding via the MassDOT Capital Plan to implement these high-priority recommendations. The Conservancy will integrate other recommendations, such as raising electrical and irrigation infrastructure and addressing urban heat impacts, into ongoing and future design projects. 

The Plan also examined the Conservancy’s carbon footprint and the park’s natural carbon stocks. The report found that 2019 emissions from park operations and office activities were measured at 172 metric tons of CO2 (roughly equivalent to 37 cars driven for one year), but that the park’s carbon stocks were 2.7 times the emissions. Park operations considered in these calculations include Conservancy operations, and do not include emissions from supplemental services or programmatic partners (e.g., food trucks or festivals). The Conservancy continues to take action towards lowering our carbon footprint, such as the 2020 replacement of 5 gas-powered vehicles with electric vehicles and conversion of 90% of the park’s almost 500 lights to energy-efficient LED’s. 

With this Vulnerability Assessment and Asset Management Plan, the Conservancy is proud to continue its sustainability leadership. For more than 10 years the Conservancy has maintained our park landscape organically, introduced pollinator habitat, installed beehives, and instituted water conservation practices. We look forward to continuing this work as Boston faces the ongoing challenges of climate change.

We remind visitors to wear a face covering and practice appropriate physical distancing while on The Greenway. To learn more about The Greenway and work of the Greenway Conservancy, check out our website at rosekennedygreenway.org. Please feel free to reach out with any questions and concerns to info@rosekennedygreenway.org

Rachel Lake is the Marketing and Community Affairs Manager at the Greenway Conservancy. 

(請點這裡閱讀中文版。)

Related articles

Covid vaccine study at Mass General Hospital

If you had an allergic reaction that required the use of epinephrine or a visit to the emergency room in the last five years OR you have no history of allergies you may be eligible to participate.  Massachusetts General Hospital is an active site for a study with appointments on Fridays and Saturdays.   To learn more: Massachusetts General Hospital study website: https://rally.partners.org/study/sarsvacc Site Principal Investigator: Dr. Kimberly Blumenthal Study Coordinator contact information: 617-724-9518 or allergyresearch@mgh.harvard.edu Study Sponsor: National Institute of […]

electric automobile climate change greenway conservancy

Climate Change and The Greenway

By Rachel Lake (請點這裡閱讀中文版。) The Rose Kennedy Greenway, located one block west of Boston’s downtown waterfront, faces significant and growing risks of damage and disruption from climate change and extreme storm events. In 2020, the Greenway Conservancy commissioned a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Asset Management Plan. Reassuringly, the Conservancy has sufficient funding to implement the report’s high-priority recommendations for asset protection. This Plan presents a roadmap for the Conservancy to protect vulnerable assets and manage risks from the effects […]

404 Not Found

404 Not Found


nginx/1.18.0 (Ubuntu)