Boston’s solution to rising seas includes novel canal system in Back Bay Canals

[M II A II R II K]

Report offers ideas for a Boston beset by rising seas


SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

By Casey Ross



Read More: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/...VnI/story.html

.....

A report scheduled to be released Tuesday about preparing Boston for climate change suggests that building canals through the Back Bay neighborhood would help it withstand water levels that could rise as much as 7 feet by 2100. Some roads and public alleys, such as Clarendon Street, could be turned into narrow waterways, the report suggests, allowing the neighborhood to absorb the rising sea with clever engineering projects that double as public amenities.

- The canal system was among the more imaginative solutions offered by some of the city’s leading planning, architecture, and engineering firms in a report compiled by the local chapter of the Urban Land Institute. Other suggestions include raising the Harborwalk, which rings the waterfront, to act as a stronger barrier for nearby buildings, adding breakwaters in the harbor, and creating wetlands that would act as sponges during periods of high water. The authors said the ideas are intended to show how the region can respond creatively to the dramatic effects of climate change.

- “We’re not going to start digging the canals tomorrow,” said Brian Swett, Boston’s chief of energy, environment, and open space. “But the report makes the important point that you can’t solve 6 feet of sea level rise simply by building a bigger dam on the Charles River.” --- Boston, Cambridge, and other municipalities are working on climate change ideas to address the increased threat of coastal flooding. Earlier this year, Governor Deval Patrick’s administration launched a $50 million effort to develop a statewide plan.

- In addition to considering canals and higher sea walls, the group called on municipalities to discuss ways to raise money to prepare vulnerable areas and alter building and zoning rules to make way for inevitable flooding. --- “We’re at the point of really thinking what we need to do differently, given the future we’re facing,” said John Bolduc, an environmental planner for the City of Cambridge. “We’re all going to have to cope with more flooding.”

- In the low-lying Alewife section, new residences might have to be concentrated into taller buildings with more space between them to make room for water infiltration. The report also suggested that retail shops be concentrated into a raised corridor to keep them above flood waters. --- The Urban Land Institute encouraged Revere city officials to raise sidewalks along the beach above the flood plain to create opportunities for retail development and a more active boulevard for shoppers and beach-goers.

.....

Sea rise could bring a Clarendon Canal and other flood controls. (Michael Wang, Arlen Stawasz, and Dennis Carlberg)







The report proposed raising the Harborwalk by several feet and adding tidal landscaping, such as marsh grass.

[Leo the Dog]

7ft by 2100?

I think they meant 7 inches.

[Larry King]

cool pictures but a waste of money.