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TBHA Home > Programs > HarborWalk | ![]() |
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HarborWalk
Boston Harbor's waterfront is a wonderful area for walking, sightseeing, fishing, or simply enjoying spectacular views of the Harbor! In 1984, the City of Boston, at the suggestion of the Harbor Park Advisory Committee (of which The Boston Harbor Association was an active member), established "HarborWalk" guidelines to encourage development of public walkways and public access along Boston Harbor. The Boston Harbor Association continues to work closely with the City of Boston's Environmental Department, Boston Redevelopment Authority, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and waterfront property owners to ensure completion of the 43-mile HarborWalk. Currently, the HarborWalk is about 70% complete. HarborWalk additions and improvements in recent years include: new or improved segments in the North End and Downtown, at Union Wharf, Sargent's Wharf, Lewis Wharf, Yacht Haven Marina, Long Wharf, and Harbor Towers; along Fan Pier (interim walkway) and the Moakley Federal Courthouse in South Boston; along the Fort Point Channel; in the Charlestown Navy Yard; along the East Boston waterfront including Pier's Park; at UMASS Boston in Dorchester; and at Boston Harbor Beaches in South Boston, East Boston, and Dorchester. In July 2004, thanks to a $30,000 grant from The Boston Foundation, The Boston Harbor Association, in partnership with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, launched a website on Boston’s Harborwalk. The website provides accurate and up-to-date information on Harborwalk for the public, including maps, site descriptions, transportation information, and resources for enhancing neighborhood advocacy. The site will promote Boston’s Harborwalk as a resource for residents and visitors, encouraging them to take advantage of the many publicly accessible attractions along Boston Harbor. The website can be found at www.bostonharborwalk.com. June 2, 7, 14, 21, 28 and August 9, 16, 23, and 30 at 12:30 p.m.; September 6 at 1:30 p.m.; May 26, July 12, 19, 26 and August 2 at 5:30 p.m. Participate in one of The Boston Harbor Association's free HarborWalk tours. Enjoy the exercise, warmer weather, and scenic views while you learn about recent changes and improvements to Boston's HarborWalk, and make recommendations on how public access can be improved. Your comments, observations, and suggestions will be incorporated into TBHA's ongoing efforts to make the HarborWalk an inviting and enjoyable destination for all. Children and adults, residents and visitors are all encouraged to come along. To make your required reservation, please contact The Boston Harbor Association at mail@tbha.org or 617-482-1722. TBHA is compiling a comprehensive photographic inventory of existing interpretive signage along the entirety of Boston's waterfront. Participants in TBHA's HarborWalk tours and Harbor education programs have consistently recommended that interpretive signage be developed to inform the public about important locations along Boston's waterfront. This initiative will provide an important starting point from which TBHA, in coordination with the Boston Redevelopment Authority and other interested parties, can begin to examine the types of signage which work best along Boston Harbor and to explore options for the development of a city-wide program for interpretive signage. Through its detailed comment letters and as a member of the Boston Conservation Commission, The Boston Harbor Association is the key advocacy organization working to complete the entire Boston HarborWalk by 2008. During the past year, key segments have been added to the HarborWalk, allowing for additional public access along Boston Harbor:
With support from the Department of Environmental Management's Coastal Access Grant program, The Boston Harbor Association established the "Grading the Walk" program in 1998 to involve the public in evaluating existing conditions and recommending improvements to the HarborWalk. Since then, hundreds of people have continued to participate in TBHA's "Grading the Walk" tours along Boston Harbor. Their recommendations are continuously incorporated into our HarborWalk advocacy efforts. To request a copy of TBHA's, 2001 "Grading the Walk" report which summarizes the findings of 18 months of HarborWalk tours and includes recommendations for completion of the HarborWalk, please call (617) 482-1722 or email us at mail@tbha.org. The Boston Harbor Association's recently completed Chapter 91 Compliance, Boston, MA: Protection of the Public Rights on the Waterfront report gauges the success of regulatory measures to promote public access and public amenities along the waterfront. The report reviewed the Chapter 91 licenses of numerous waterfront properties in Boston to determine compliance with those special conditions in the Chapter 91 licenses which serve to promote public access. The findings in this report are based on site visits and research conducted primarily between October, 2000 and May, 2001, with some updates in July, 2001 and January, 2002. The Boston Harbor Association's (TBHA) new "HarborWalk: Inner City Youth Access Project", begun Summer, 2002, teaches inner city youths about public access opportunities and issues while actively engaging them evaluating and improving segments of the HarborWalk. This new program was developed following the successful pilot project of a 5th grade class from the Paul A. Devers School in evaluating portions of the HarborWalk along the Dorchester waterfront. Besides working with public officials and property owners to complete the HarborWalk, TBHA also works with youths from inner city neighborhoods on HarborWalk activities. Today's youths will be responsible for maintaining and advocating for continued public access to Boston Harbor. By involving them now, young people will gain a greater sense of stewardship for Boston Harbor and the waterfront. TBHA assembled the youth evaluations of the HarborWalk done in Summer and Fall 2002 into a "Youth Action Agenda." This agenda reflects the combined recommendations of all youths who participated in TBHA's HarborWalk: Inner City Youth Action Project.
Last spring, TBHA worked with a 5th grade class at the Paul A. Dever School in Dorchester to help them identify public access improvements along the Dorchester HarborWalk and to educate them about how they could exercise their rights as Boston residents to influence change. The students learned about HarborWalk while developing an understanding that they can play an integral role in promoting public access to Boston's waterfront. The students had the opportunity to meet with planners at the Boston Redevelopment Authority, open space advocates and developers in order to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the diverse interests along the waterfront.
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The Boston Harbor Association - 374 Congress Street, Suite 609 - Boston, MA 02210 - 617-482-1722 (P) - 617-482-9750 (F) - mail@tbha.org |