Latest News
Turkey Trot Registration is filling up fast!
ou Join us with you friends, family, and neighbors for the 2023 Franklin Park Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning at 9am. Spots are filling up fast and we’re likely to sell out ahead of Thanksgiving moring. To register, or for more information, go to FPC5k.com
Shattuck Hospital Re-development
You have probably seen the news about a proposed development on the Shattuck campus. The hospital and medical services will be moving by 2026 and a coalition of providers, led by BMC, has been awarded the project. The proposed development includes:
- 405 housing first supportive housing units
- 120 low-threshold emergency beds
- 326 treatment beds
- 450 daily out-patient treatment capacity
- 5,200 yearly in-patient treatment capacity
FPC feels this is too large to support recovery, to care for individuals and families in need, and to protect our park from the issues that arise when there are active substance users in the environment. You can read our Letter to the Boston Globe about the project. The Boston Medical Center-led coalition has repeatedly stated their interest in working with the park community to ensure the final development takes into account neighborhood concerns. There will be presentations and public meetings going forward that we will publicize.
White Stadium Renovation Project
At the other end of the park the Boston Public Schools and a professional women’s soccer team have developed a renovation plan for George Robert White Schoolboy Stadium. You can read details here (special thanks to park neighbor, Josh Muncey):
- General White Stadium updates page
- Boston Unity proposal/deck (In response to the original RFP)
- White Stadium public meeting on the transportation plan for soccer games
Again, FPC is concerned about the size of the plan. The renovated Stadium will include 11,000 seats for 20 pro women’s soccer games every year (and where will all those fans park?!) and new buildings for BPS athletics, potentially including an indoor gym and half-field, fitness and sports medicine facilities, and administrative offices. This project is on a faster track; we will keep you updated about developments and public meetings.
Franklin Park Action Plan
Implementation update: first, a huge thank you to all who showed up at the Mayor’s Coffee Hours and at City Council meetings and wrote or called to advocate for “Action on the Action Plan.” Unfortunately, no extra maintenance and management funds, as recommended in the Action Plan, will be allocated this year. But we are already gearing up for next year’s budget.
- Read a Summary of Recommendations by geographic area of the park
- Review the full Franklin Park Action Plan
The Franklin Park Coalition Board of Directors offered their Comments on the Action Plan and sent a budget request to the Mayor and our elected officials for a significant operating and capital investment to begin Action Plan Implementation.
Report and Track Concerns about Franklin Park
We’re please to announce a new page dedicated as a one-stop-shop to report and track your concerns about Franklin Park. Go to www.franklinparkcoalition.org/311 to view open and closed comments and complaints from parks users. The page leverages the City of Boston’s 311 service to display requests relating to issues in the park. See litter that needs to be addressed? Fallen limb? Out of service water station? You can report these issues, and more, on your smartphone (Android; iPhone) or via the web. And track your report, and those of other park users, at www.franklinparkcoalition.org/311.
Bos: 311 is the best way to report all the issues you want to see address in the park. Download the app, then snap a photo on your phone, tag the location in the park, and write a short description.