On a recent Saturday morning Rep. Adrian Madaro hosted a virtual coffee hour to discuss issues, give recent legislative updates and answer questions from residents who tuned in.
One of the issues that Madaro highlighted during the coffee hour was Suffolk Down’s commitment to connect the open space at the proposed site to existing open space in Eastie.
“We were able to secure 40 acres of open space at the Suffolk Downs site along with a commitment that the open space can be used by residents in an unrestricted manner,” said Madaro. “The developer also agreed to fund connections with their onsite open space with the Belle Isle Marsh and future Mary Ellen Welch Greenway extensions.”
Last year Madaro secured $100,000 in the state budget for an engineering, environmental and feasibility study to extend the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway past Constitution Beach to Belle Isle Marsh and eventually to Winthrop and Revere.
Support for the decades-old plan to connect the Greenway with neighborhoods north of Eastie has been long supported by the Friends of the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway (FoMEWG).
Recently, the group has begun engaging residents and gauge the number of residents that would use any future extension of the park system for commuting, running, biking, leisurely strolls, walks with family members or simply a route to access businesses and amenities in places like Winthrop or Revere.
The FoMEWG have been working for years on extending the Greenway further to the north to Revere and east to Winthrop, allowing more people to enjoy this amenity and access the open space and safe, beautiful, low-stress corridor for active transportation that it affords.
There are several proposed extensions to the existing Mary Ellen Welch Greenway. Four proposed extensions include:
• Winthrop Extension: Mary Ellen Welch Greenway to Winthrop
• Revere Extension: Constitution Beach to Revere
• Chelsea Creek: Chelsea St to Revere Beach Parkway
• Chelsea Spur: Wood Island Station to Chelsea