Current Environment

Voke Park

Washington Park

Memorial Park

Malone Park

Merrit Park

Bosson Park

O’Malley Park

Highland Park

An individual’s ability to access public space is critical while living an urban landscape such as Chelsea. This includes both the physical and visual ability to access a public greenscape within the city. However, Access to both public space within neighborhoods and along the city’s coast is limited to the residents. Designated truck routes cause heavy commercial flow that trafficked over the bridge, creating a vehicular barrier between residential neighborhoods and the waterfront. The second factor is due to private ownership of land. The recognized value of this land was purchased by companies such as Logan Airport for overflow parking lots, of by private industries such as Eastern Salt Minerals or Gulf Oil for storage tanks. Due to the overwhelming amount of industry that creates many felt barriers in the built environment, the community of Chelsea advocates to not only no longer be Boston’s boiler room, but advocate for enhanced public space and land uses.

Achieving better access to public and waterfront space unfortunately is dictated by existing laws and regulations. Chapter 91 is the tool used by Massachusetts General law and is solely responsible to protect the public right for physical access and use to wetlands and waterways. In Add, the public’s rights to enjoy the environment are protected by Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution: “The people shall have the right to clean air and water, freedom from excessive noise, and the natural, scenic, historic, and aesthetic qualities of their environment.”1

Chelsea currently has 27 public parks and recreational areas, many of which are small pocket parks. Public open space totals 53.5 acres. Park amenities range from tot lots and playgrounds, to basketball courts and playing fields. A large number of parks additionally provide space for “passive uses,” such as viewing nature, walking, picnicking and community events. Table 1detailes the amenities and assets for each park, as well as the range of ages appropriate for that use. Overlaying 1/4 mile and 1/8 mile buffers around each park represents the areas that have the easiest access to open space. Overall, the majority of the city’s area is within a quarter mile of at least one park.

The creation of new public parks located outside of the quarter mile or one eighth mile buffers would increase the accessibility for neighborhoods that currently have limited access to open and recreation space. This has the potential to improve overall health outcomes for Chelsea residents, as it provides opportunities for exercise and recreation. Due to the city’s high levels of development, vacant or abandoned properties are likely the best option for citing new park developments.

Interestingly, very few vacant parcels lay outside of the quarter mile buffer, although several are outside of the one eighth mile buffer. This brings up questions about whether vacant property has historically played a role in determining park location in Chelsea.

1 Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Public Rights Along with the Shoreline. Online at: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/public-rights-along-the-shoreline