Riverbend Park on Memorial Drive

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During the past three years, Memorial Drive’s Riverbend Park was extended to Saturdays in addition to Sundays and for longer time period than statutorily required, to the benefit of residents across the area, especially in Cambridge; and

On February 27, 2023, the Cambridge City Council voted 7-2 to direct the City

Manager to work with state agencies to ensure Saturday and Sunday operation of Riverbend Park starting in the first weekend of Spring 2023 and ending on the last weekend of Fall 2023; and

On March 3, 2023, the City Manager delivered a formal request to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) requesting full weekend closure of Memorial Drive and offering the City’s services to mitigate traffic impacts on neighboring streets, but despite this request, DCR made the decision to limit Riverbend Park access to Sundays from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM from the last Sunday or April though the second Sunday on November; and

In their letter to the City Manager, DCR cites environmental justice concerns which should be considered, and yet environmental justice would lead to expanding Riverbend Park hours and days as closing Memorial Drive to cars leads to less noise, air pollution in the neighborhood and fewer people driving cars; and

Over half of Cambridge is considered an environmental justice neighborhood, which means dedicated open spaces like Riverbend Park provide for cleaner air, opportunities for outdoor recreation, and thus greater environmental justice for many residents of the city, especially those living with less open space including the neighborhoods along Riverbend Park; and

DCR has not released data on air or noise pollution or traffic impacts due to Saturday operation of Riverbend Park which makes it impossible to determine the impact of Riverbend Park; and

In their response, DCR cites Chapter 457 of the Acts of 1985 to defend this decision, but the state law governing the closure of Memorial Drive issues a minimum number of closures and does not limit DCR’s ability to provide additional closures, consistent with the fact that the state closed portions of Memorial Drive to cars starting in 1975, for ten years prior to the bill’s enactment; and

The city’s survey data from residents showed that 94% of Riverside respondents use the open space multiple times a year, while only 24 individuals (10%) described that they “experienced bad traffic”; and

The overwhelming majority of residents and elected leaders in Cambridge have publicly supported Riverbend Park being open on Saturdays and Sundays for much of the year; now therefore be it

That the City Council go on record expressing its disappointment at the DCR decision, and to ask the DCR to release information about the evaluation framework which was used to reach this decision, including any studies of traffic counts, measurements of noise or air pollution impacts, details of written community feedback received by the DCR, and discussions with elected officials and how they were factored into this framework; and be it further

That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to work with relevant city departments and state agencies to mitigate traffic impacts and to formally request DCR to reconsider this decision, in line with the will of the City Council; and be it further

That the City Clerk be and hereby is requested to forward a copy of this policy order to the incoming DCR Commissioner, and the entire Cambridge state delegation.