‘Climate resilience’ a top priority in redesigning Boston park blocks from Mass and Cass - Boston Herald

'Climate resilience' a top priority in redesigning Boston park blocks from Mass and Cass

All options are on the table when it comes to envisioning the future of the dilapidated Clifford Playground in Roxbury, according to officials overseeing a redesign process.

“When we’re looking at park designs, it’s not made in a bubble. There are so many things that go into the decisions,” said Lauren Bryant, a project manager leading the effort for the city.

“There are City of Boston priorities, in terms of things like climate resiliency,” Bryant said during a meeting last week, ” … and then there’s community input which is a huge part of what we are here for,” .

Residents and advocates have long called on officials to address Clifford Playground’s disorderly state, as the 8-acre recreational space festers with needles, human feces and other trash. The city has said it’s responded with increased clean ups, and police frequently monitor the area.

But those efforts have only gotten so far. The intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, a growing homeless encampment prone to heavy drug use, sits just blocks away, with activity often spilling over into the park.

That’s why community members are siding with caution, as the city Parks and Recreation Department looks to gather feedback on what the future of the park should entail.

“The issue … that oughta be literally at the top of the list on everyone’s agenda is the plan for maintenance and safety of the park, whatever we do,” said Diane Wilkerson, a Roxbury resident and former state senator. “We can make it beautiful, but if we don’t have a plan to address the issues that are going on and have been … then why bother?”

About $7.2 million in the city’s $4.2 billion capital plan is being allocated towards the redesign, but residents have said that won’t be nearly enough for the park to overcome being hamstrung by Mass and Cass.

Construction is slated to begin either next summer or fall, with the renovation anticipated to be done sometime in 2025. Multiple design concepts will be presented in December, and officials will come back in January with the most preferred option, Bryant said.

An in-person meeting will be held at Clifford on Saturday at 10 a.m. The last time officials met with residents at the park, in August, no city councilors showed up.

The virtual session last week, however, received attendance from Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson. State Reps. Chris Worrell and John Moran also tuned in.

Designers are looking at various data sources and priorities, with climate resilience a key focus, said Katie Kemen, assistant project manager for consultant BSC Group.

“We really want to build this park to last, to have minimal disruptions, and to really be comfortable and support good use for folks,” Kemen said.

The calls for addressing safety and accessibility have not gone unnoticed, said Ricardo Austrich, the lead project manager for BSC Group. He highlighted the numerous ways people can enter the park and how its faulty lighting needs to be upgraded.

Austrich also pointed out the park’s close proximity to Newmarket station, Mason School and pool, and South Bay shopping center. But he did not mention Mass and Cass.

“The community, particularly, can get here,” he said. “That’s one of the things that makes this a vital place, and an important place, and why we want to make it a better place right now.”

Longtime advocate Domingos DaRosa said he suggests the city consider placing emergency call boxes at entry points around the park.

“As you know, there are countless overdoses at Clifford Park,” he told officials. “If you don’t have a cellphone, if you don’t have anything mobile, you are pretty much stranded.”

DaRosa is no stranger to the issues that residents encounter on a daily basis. The challenges forced him to shut down his Boston Bengals Pop Warner football program this fall, even after area philanthropist Ernie Boch Jr. donated$15,000 to try to save it from being dismantled.

DaRosa is also advocating for the removal of a needle disposal kiosk, an initiative started under the Walsh administration.

“That wasn’t something we wanted from the beginning,” he said. “It invites people to come to the park to do the wrong things. We’re not looking to have folks continue to use Clifford Park as a shooting gallery. We want to bring it back to the safety we had at one point.”