Animals

Jamaica Plain Dog Park on ‘Paws’ While New DCR Commish Evaluates Projects

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Sorry Jamaica Plain dog lovers -- you're going to have wait longer for an off-leash dog park. Back in 2018, DCR announced that a location by Oakdale Street, which is already used as a renegade dog park, would be the site of a large off-leash dog park. Since then no shovels have hit the ground, merely just renegade paws. That leads us to February 5, 2020, when Jim Montgomery was named the new commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Montgomery decided to pause numerous proposed projects, including the Jamaica Plain dog park within the Southwest Corridor Park.

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Transportation

Francis Parkman Drive Between Perkins St. & Arborway Closed Indefinitely to Vehicles

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Seemingly to reduce crowds and limit exposure to each other around Jamaica Pond, vehicles are indefinitely banned from driving on Francis Parkman Drive between Perkins Street and the Arborway. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation opened segments of four parkways in the Greater Boston metro area to expand pedestrian and cyclist access. DCR said shutting out vehicles from the four parkways will reduce close contact of park users, and large concentrations of people on adjacent sidewalks and paths. The four parkways are as follows:

William J. Day Boulevard in Boston (from Farragut Road to Shore Drive including Castle Island Parking) – open indefinitely;
Francis Parkman Drive between Perkins Street and the Arborway in the City of Boston (Jamaica Plain) – open indefinitely;
Greenough Boulevard (Little Greenough) between Arsenal Street and North Beacon Street in the Town of Watertown – open indefinitely; and,
Fellsway West between Sheepfold Park in the Town of Stoneham and Parkway Park in the City of Medford – open weekends only (dawn to dusk).  

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Transportation

DCR Completes Arborway Road Safety Audit

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A road safety audit of the Arborway was recently completed by the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation to improve safety for all users -- pedestrians, autos and bicyclists. The audit was conducted on the parkway from South Street to Eliot Street in Jamaica Plain, according to a DCR press release. The audit evaluated existing safety issues of speed, pedestrian and bicycle access and ADA accommodations, lighting, pavement marking, signage and more. The report is available online by clicking here. The report also identifies potential short-term and long-term safety improvements.

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Environment

Hemlock Hating Insect: City Removes Killed Trees Along Emerald Necklace

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If you've driven along Francis Parkman Drive recently you may have seen a sizable forest area clearcut by the city to remove dead trees, some of which killed by an insect that feeds by sucking sap from hemlocks. The removed trees were between the Francis Parkman Drive and Prince Street, including a hemlock grove and individual trees that were dead or failing, said Margaret Dyson, Director of Historic Parks for the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. The area looks to be several hundred square feet and is visible from Francis Parkman Drive. The culprit was the hemlock woolly adelgid, which is native to east Asia, where's it not a problem because natural predators keep it in check. But on America's east coast it goes unchecked.

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Animals

Bow Wow! Dog Park Site Chosen for Southwest Corridor

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After years of Jamaica Plain residents battling to get a dog park in the neighborhood, it looks like that dream will come to fruition -- and it's going to be an impressively big one, too! The dog park will eventually be built by Oakdale Street near the train tracks. and an initial proposal was for a 60,000 sq. ft. site.

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Animals

Three Sites Proposed for Possible Dog Parks on Southwest Corridor

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Eventually, there will be a dog park in Jamaica Plain. There have been numerous proposals through the years, but the community never bit for any of them. But the latest doggone effort by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), which proposed three different possible sites along the Southwest Corridor for dog parks, seems to have some (four?) legs to it. At a DCR public meeting on August 2, state officials provided an overview of three possible locations. Click here to view the entire Department of Conservation and Recreation proposal.

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Transportation

New Crosswalks, Solar-Powered Flashing Signals Installed on Centre Street by Murray Circle

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After hearing for years that traffic calming measures were needed for Centre Street between the VFW Parkway and Murray Circle, DCR crews installed new crosswalks and  added flashing signals last week. The installation of three newly striped crosswalks at Rambler Road, Westchester Road and Whitcomb Avenue, are actually all short-term improvements, said Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Press Secretary Mark Steffen to Jamaica Plain News. All of the crosswalks have solar-powered Rapid Rectangular Flash Beacons (RRFBs) to increase visibility. The Emerald Necklace Conservancy also worked with DCR and residents on the new traffic calming measures. Going forward the DCR will look at long-term changes to the area, which include redesigning Murray Circle, Kelly Circle, and the Arborway following the completion of the Casey Arborway project by MassDOT.

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Government

Jamaica Pond: Meeting on Improving Bike Access, Pedestrian Safety Tuesday

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A public meeting to discuss access and safety enhancements to Jamaica Pond will be led by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and Boston's Parks and Recreation Department Tuesday, April 11. The meeting will specifically discuss how to enhance Perkins Street and Parkman Drive, which are both access points to Jamaica Pond. The DCR presentation will reveal designs for enhancing and improving pedestrian and bicyclist safety. The plan will also include measures for calming traffic, according to a DCR press release. The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the Hunnewell Building in the Arnold Arboretum Tuesday, April 11, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Project designs will be made available on the DCR's website following the meeting.

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