Pandemic has proven parks and other open spaces are essential services

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Pandemic has proven parks and other open spaces are essential services Chuck Anastas and Doug Pizzi | June 17, 2020 In Massachusetts, the pandemic is an unprecedented public health and economic disaster. Thousands have died, tens of thousands are unemployed, state revenues are plummeting, and the future is uncertain. Amidst all of this, one thing is true – the essential importance of parks and open spaces to our physical and mental health. This is particularly true of our state parks, forests and other facilities managed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Before the pandemic hit, DCR was making progress recovering from budget and staff cuts going back to the Great Recession of 2008. Massachusetts Conservation Voters (MCV) is the only statewide, non-partisan, non-profit organization solely focused on helping DCR avoid suffering another round of devastating budget cuts during a time that its services are needed most. But this is a difficult goal and we need your help to be successful. MCV...
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DCR Opens Spray Decks, Playgrounds, and Fitness Areas to the Public

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Press Release | Department of Conservation and Recreation | June 16, 2020 https://www.mass.gov/news/dcr-opens-spray-decks-playgrounds-and-fitness-areas-to-the-public BOSTON — The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) announced that it has opened agency-managed spray decks, playgrounds, and fitness areas for public use in accordance with safety standards issued by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) as part of Phase II of the Baker-Polito Administration’s reopening plan. The department will be conducting periodic cleanings of spray decks, playgrounds and fitness areas and has posted signage providing visitors with guidance when using the facilities. For guidance and additional information, please click here....
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Parks matter more than ever during a time of sickness

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Richard leBrasseur | The Conversation | May 18, 2020 https://theconversation.com/parks-matter-more-than-ever-during-a-time-of-sickness-something-frederick-law-olmsted-understood-in-the-19th-century-137882 Parks matter more than ever during a time of sickness – something Frederick Law Olmsted understood in the 19th century The COVID-19 pandemic has altered humans’ relationship with natural landscapes in ways that may be long-lasting. One of its most direct effects on people’s daily lives is reduced access to public parks. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidelines urging Americans to stay at home whenever feasible, and to avoid discretionary travel and gatherings of more than 10 people. Emergency declarations and stay-at-home orders vary from state to state, but many jurisdictions have closed state and county parks, as well as smaller parks, playgrounds, beaches and other outdoor destinations. There’s good reason for these actions, especially in places where people have spurned social distancing rules. But particularly in urban environments, parks are important to human health and well-being. As a landscape architect, I believe that Frederick Law Olmsted, the founder of our...
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Parks are essential — especially during the coronavirus pandemic

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Julia Africa, Cheri Ruane, Gary Hilderbrand, Chris Reed | The Boston Globe | May 6, 2020 https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/05/opinion/parks-are-essential-especially-during-coronavirus-pandemic/ Now, more than ever, our parks must be understood as essential public infrastructure. Not unlike essential workers, their contributions during a pandemic should be celebrated, protected, and ultimately leveraged to support public health. We must shift our thinking to repurpose public spaces during times of crisis, restore their ecologies when the crisis abates, and adapt our parks to better accommodate urban populations (especially those who have been historically underserved) for the future. In Boston, we rely on our Emerald Necklace park system — which stretches from Olmsted Park in Brookline to Franklin Park in Dorchester — for so much more than a walk in the park. In times of peace, these iconic landscapes have played just about every starring role: as cow pastures, premodern sewage treatment ecologies, muster grounds, performance venues, flood-retention basins, and stages for visiting dignitaries, and historic movements (civil rights, Women’s March, March...
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An opportunity to reimagine Boston’s open spaces

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Kathy Abbott | The Boston Globe | May 4, 2020 https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/04/opinion/an-unprecedented-opportunity-reimagine-future-bostons-open-spaces/ Today, Boston’s typically bustling streets and plazas are nearly deserted. But from the Harborwalk to the Back Bay, it’s clear individuals and families cherish parks and open spaces as escapes during a time of physical distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic. At a moment when our lives have been stripped to their barest essentials, we have seen what Boston collectively values most for its community. Health and safety are clearly the highest priorities, along with economic security. Our parks and open spaces are right behind. Familiar parks, paths, and plazas are a refuge, providing emotional, mental, and physical release. This moment of tabula rasa in parks and the city as a whole has suddenly and dramatically clarified something critical for moving forward: We have to stop thinking about parks as one-off, leftover spaces amid development. Given that, status quo practices for land-use planning need to be shifted. Instead of inserting small, isolated green...
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Warm Weather Crowds Cause Closures at Mass. State Parks Over Social Distancing

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Asher Klein | NBC 10 Boston | May 2, 2020 https://www.nbcboston.com/news/coronavirus/warm-weather-crowds-cause-closures-at-mass-state-parks-over-social-distancing/2117523/ Authorities across New England have been concerned that the arrival of warm weather, which had taken its time, this weekend would bring people out to parks and beaches in enough numbers that they wouldn't be able to maintain effective social distance. The first Saturday of May finally brought spring weather to Massachusetts, drawing people out of their homes for a breath of fresh air amid the stay-at-home advisory. But they filled up state parks, prompting authorities to close at least five of them temporarily Saturday afternoon. Two had to be closed twice: Concord's Walden Pond State Reservation and Princeton's Wachusett Mountain State Reservation. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation tweeted out the two-hour-plus closures, put in place to limit the number of people inside the park. To read the full story, please click here....
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Keep parks open. The benefits of fresh air outweigh the risks of infection.

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William "Ned" Friedman, Joseph G. Allen and Marc Lipsitch | The Washington Post | April 13, 2020 https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/04/13/keep-parks-open-benefits-fresh-air-outweigh-risks-infection/ In the midst of a pandemic, urban life goes on. People are mourning the loss of a spouse, battling cancer and dealing with anxieties and stress from everyday life on top of new anxieties and stress from the coronavirus, all of which is often made worse by economic insecurity and extended duties of caring for children and elderly relatives. What public-health and well-being policies can help alleviate some of the extraordinary stressors that urbanites are feeling across the nation right now? Part of the answer is baked into every city in the country. It is our public green spaces, our parks, botanical gardens and arboreta right outside our doors or down the street. Regrettably, though, many public green spaces across the country have been closed. Yes, in most cases, there have been good reasons for the specific closings: overcrowding with parking lots jammed, egregious disregard for...
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De Blasio Commits to 100 Miles of ‘Open Streets’

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Gersh Kuntzman | StreetsBlog NYC | April 27, 2020 https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2020/04/27/breaking-de-blasio-commits-to-100-miles-of-open-streets/ Mayor de Blasio just did the City Council 33 percent better — he’s committed to opening up 100 miles of streets for socially responsible recreation during the COVID-19 crisis. At his virtual press conference this morning, de Blasio said negotiations with the City Council — which is pushing its own bill for 75 miles of car-free space — have yielded success: 40 miles of open streets this month, with a goal of 100 miles at an unspecified date in the future of the crisis. “The City Council came forward with a vision for how we could open up more streets and do it in a way that’s responsive to the core concerns of the NYPD over safety and enforcement,” the mayor said. “Over the next month, we will create a minimum of 40 miles of open streets. And as the crisis continues, the goal is to get up to 100 miles. We will focus first on...
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State coastal beach reservation parking lots closed to reduce crowds during COVID-19 pandemic

State coastal beach reservation parking lots closed to reduce crowds during COVID-19 pandemic

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Scott J. Croteau | MassLive.com | April 2, 2020 https://www.masslive.com/coronavirus/2020/04/coronavirus-in-massachusetts-state-coastal-beach-reservation-parking-lots-closed-to-reduce-crowds-during-covid-19-pandemic.html Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker issued an emergency order Thursday requiring all coastal beach reservation parking areas managed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation to close. The order said all of those locations will close by 12 p.m. on Friday, April 3. The measure was put in place to reduce large crowds of people at beaches during the COVID-19 outbreak. “Coastal parkways that provide access to state beaches will also be closed to both parking and dropping off passengers,” Baker’s office said. “State beaches will remain open and available to pedestrians for transitory use only - walking, jogging, biking, solitary fishing, etc.” Parking restrictions can be found here. The state will open select seasonal state parks early and expand access at other parks to provide more open space for residents. The charges will take place April 3, Friday, at 12 p.m. The parks that will open early are: Willard Brook State Forest in Townsend; Dunn State Park In Gardner; Ashland State...
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Massachusetts State Parks COVID – 19 Update

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Press Release, Department of Conservation & Recreation | March 2020 In an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Baker-Polito Administration is urging the public to stay home as much as possible to avoid person-to-person contact. However, should individuals and their families need to get outside for healthy, outdoor recreational activities, including walking, hiking, jogging, and bike riding, Massachusetts state parks and other natural resources managed by DCR remain open and accessible to the public. Additionally, state parks are public areas, and while the agency continues to make efforts to sanitize high-touch locations, these surfaces are only as clean as the last person who has come in contact with it. Please take appropriate steps to protect your health and the health of others by following the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s (DPH) guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Visitors to state parks should follow these additional guidelines: Minimize outdoor recreational time to limit potential exposure...
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March Blog: Get Thee to a Park

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Get Thee to a Park Doug Pizzi | March 26, 2020 As we hunker down in response to COVID-19 and distance ourselves from each other, there are precious few opportunities to break the sheer monotony. Sure you can watch television, listen to music, read, and play games, all worthy pursuits, especially now. But that’s not going to get your heart rate up or give you that endorphin fix that you regularly need to feel healthy physically and mentally. Fortunately, one of the best things we can do to accomplish that goal is still available to us. If we do it responsibly, we can still take advantage of our massive state park system. Read: Massachusetts State Parks COVID-19 Update With 450,000 acres under management, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is largely open for business. Of course, they have closed the skating rinks, playgrounds, outdoor athletic fields and courts, and other facilities that, by their very nature, bring people in close proximity...
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The Ecology of Disease

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Jim Robbins | The New York Times | July 14, 2012 https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/sunday-review/the-ecology-of-disease.html THERE’S a term biologists and economists use these days — ecosystem services — which refers to the many ways nature supports the human endeavor. Forests filter the water we drink, for example, and birds and bees pollinate crops, both of which have substantial economic as well as biological value. If we fail to understand and take care of the natural world, it can cause a breakdown of these systems and come back to haunt us in ways we know little about. A critical example is a developing model of infectious disease that shows that most epidemics — AIDS, Ebola, West Nile, SARS, Lyme disease and hundreds more that have occurred over the last several decades — don’t just happen. They are a result of things people do to nature. Disease, it turns out, is largely an environmental issue. Sixty percent of emerging infectious diseases that affect humans are zoonotic — they...
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February Blog, DCR to be Tested in 2020

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Chuck Anastas and Doug Pizzi | February 27, 2020 Sometimes, amid all of the disappointments of misplaced developments, destructive highway realignments, and park funding shortfalls, it’s hard to stay focused on the dream of expanding public access to conservation lands and recreational opportunities for everyone. Yet each day people are using our vast park system; hiking, biking, kayaking, rock climbing, playing catch or pick-up basketball, skating, even horseback riding. Every day, people take advantage of precisely what open spaces and parks offer to all of us. Our park system is a miracle born of vision and hard work by many people and organizations over centuries, and the fact that more than a decade of underfunding and outright neglect haven’t led directly to its demise is another miracle. So, the work to reverse this trend continues - our work. This year offers us the opportunity to make parks and DCR part of the public conversation again. You may have seen earlier posts in...
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Will the Appalachian Trail Stop an $8 Billion Pipeline?

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Opinion | Will Harlan | The New York Times | February 23, 2020 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/23/opinion/appalachian-trail-pipeline.html BIG IVY, N.C. — I live in Appalachia, and on Sunday mornings I hike the Appalachian Trail across the mountains I call home. It is my church. I drink from its springs and rest in the shade of its ancient forests. For decades, the trail has been my refuge. I have run for miles through tunnels of rhododendron, crossed paths with bears and camped with my children beneath starry skies. A few years ago, however, the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline broke ground, and crews began clear-cutting a scar across the mountains to move fracked natural gas from West Virginia to customers in Virginia and North Carolina. On my trail treks in Virginia, I watched the bulldozers creep closer. Then suddenly, on a crisp fall morning in 2018, the bulldozers stopped. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated a permit allowing the pipeline to cross the trail deep beneath...
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On The Right Tract

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Kathy Abbott, Boston Harbor Now | Architecture Boston | February 20, 2020 https://www.architects.org/stories/on-the-right-tract Boston is a city that prides itself on having parks before there were parks. Boston Common, set aside in 1634 to graze cows, is credited as “America’s first public park.” One hundred thirty-five years ago, the city was also home to America’s first playground, when Frederick Law Olmsted designed and developed the Emerald Necklace—envisioning 1,100 continuous acres connecting major parks from the Common to Franklin Park and eventually Boston Harbor, along rivers, streams, and parkways. Olmsted’s parks were built to address issues of the day: increasing urban density, public health, flooding. These historic parks still provide some of what’s needed today, but we are facing new challenges. What can we do now that will set a new standard of excellence for our parks for the next 135 years? In 2020, Boston is experiencing its most rapid population growth in nearly a century. Thanks to immigration, the populace is becoming increasingly...
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