Climate change mitigation
In October 2018, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced a comprehensive climate change adaptation proposal to protect the Boston Harbor coastline from flooding,[4] and in October 2020, the Walsh administration released a 174-page climate change adaptation report for the Boston Harbor coastline in Dorchester.[5][6] In February 2022, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced an $8.2 million project to construct a 0.7-mile shared-use path from Tenean Beach to Morrissey Boulevard and that will connect the Boston Harborwalk with the Lower Neponset River Trail on the Neponset River Reservation via Morrissey (including a 670-foot boardwalk in the salt marshes near the National Grid gas tank) that will be included in the $9.5 billion in federal funds the state government received under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.[7][8]
In August 2022, Governor Baker signed into law a bill co-sponsored by Massachusetts State Senator Nick Collins and Massachusetts State Representative Daniel J. Hunt establishing a Dorchester Shores Reservation and Parks Trust Fund administered by the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs to ensure the long-term conservation, maintenance, and improvement of Reservation properties.[9][10] In March 2023, the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) announced a virtual public meeting to solicit public feedback from residents for an initiative titled the "Dorchester Resilient Waterfront Project at Tenean Beach/Conley Street" (that will involve staff from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the DCR, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) to formulate a climate change adaptation proposal for submission by the following June 30 to address coastal flooding due to sea level rise on Tenean Beach and Conley Street.[11] In July 2023, the BPDA issued its final report for the Dorchester Resilient Waterfront Project at Tenean Beach/Conley Street.[12][13]
