Neighbors, Quincy councilors concerned about proposed bridge over Blacks Creek

QUINCY — The salt marshes tucked between Merrymount Park and Wollaston Beach are quiet and serene. Tall grass blows in the wind and sun bounces off the still waters, undisturbed despite cars whizzing by on the neighboring Quincy Shore Drive.

In the marsh, hundreds of species of plant and aquatic life, including osprey, thrive with little human interference. On Pine Island in the middle of the marsh, owls, horseshoe crabs, fox, coyotes and dozens of other animals find refuge from big city life.

But a plan by the city to build a bridge between Merrymount Park and Pine Island could soon put a stop to all that, local environmentalists say. 

"We don't have many marshes left. We really need to protect it," Pam Brennan, a member of the advocacy group Quincy Making Waves, said. "(Pine Island) is not something we should be disturbing. We just want it to be left to nature."

Planning for bridge underway

The city has proposed building a 450-foot bridge from the banks of the marsh behind Merrymount Park at the Ryan Boathouse to Pine Island, a small island in the middle of the marsh between the park and Thornton Street. It would be 17 feet wide, city council documents said, with pilings every 9 feet – more than 60 total. The bridge would be 6 feet above the mean high water level, according to an environmental notification form the city submitted to Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office. 

Money for the bridge's design was included in a $27 million city parks bond approved by the city council in May of 2017. The Merrymount Park project was the second largest included in the plan and was given $2.4 million for pre-construction work of the bridge, formally called the Pine Island Boardwalk. 

"There is a lot going on in Merrymount Park and part of the challenge with the pandemic has been that we couldn't host community meetings to really go over the master plan," Mayor Thomas Koch said Wednesday. "Merrymount is really the jewel of our parks system. Connectivity with Wollaston Beach and with Pine Island are part of the idea."

On Monday, the current city council passed a resolve, which is a formal way of submitting an opinion or asking something from the administration, in opposition to the bridge. Ward 5 Councilor Chuck Phelan, whose district includes Wollaston and Blacks Creek, submitted the order. The uncertainty surrounding the extent of the environmental impacts concerns him.

"Even in talking to the EPA they said 'We are trying to mitigate damage.' There is no question there is going to be damage," Phelan said. "What I'm worried about is putting in a 450-foot-long bridge with 66 piles that are going to be driven into a pristine salt marsh and cause irreparable damage." 

The project went in front of the Quincy Conservation Commission earlier this month and was met with opposition from local residents. The commission then decided to push off the hearing until Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, the state environmental agency, weighed in. MEPA's decision is expected to be released Friday and the conservation commission will re-hear the project July 7. 

More than 100 comments were submitted to MEPA by residents and neighbors. 

A change of heart

At the first conservation commission meeting, Phelan said he was told, "Well, you guys voted for it." 

"There was so much in that plan, I don't think anyone totally realized what they were voting on," he said.

Phelan was not on the city council in 2017. Current councilors Bill Harris, Ian Cain, Noel DiBona, Nina Liang and Brian Palmucci were on the board at the time. Councilors Liang and Cain voted against the section of the $27 million parks package that funded the Merrymount Park project. The package was ultimately approved by a 6 to 3 vote.

"I think we have a valuable salt marsh in the Blacks Creek area," Phelan said. "There is a lot of wildlife in there, some are endangered species and they are there because the area is alive and well. It speaks well to the health of Blacks Creek... Pine Island is one of the last untouched and undeveloped areas of Quincy."

Of the councilors who voted for the project in 2017, DiBona, Harris and Palmucci signed on to Phelan's resolution Monday.

"Whenever I get an overabundance of emails over an at-large councilor, I know there is a red flag that goes up," DiBona said at this week's meeting. "The main concerns that folks gave me were concern with the chemicals of the wood to build the bridge, they were concerned with the ecosystem for food and life of animals, and they basically wanted to preserve the environment and not cut down healthy trees in the process."

Of the $2.4 million budgeted for the design and permitting of the project, $1.5 million has been spent. No money has been allocated for construction. 

Environmental concerns

Brennan, whose group has been involved in a number of environmentally-sensitive projects in Quincy, said construction of the bridge alone would be detrimental to the area. Any barges brought in would undoubtedly wreck the marsh bed, as would the 66 pilings, she said. 

Brennan said there is plenty of nature to enjoy in the Blacks Creek and Merrymount Park area without opening up Pine Island to foot traffic. She said that piece of land should be reserved for wildlife a majority of the time. She added that if someone really wants to see the island, they can cross the marsh at low tide from Thornton Street.

"We have so many natural resources that have been touched in our city, we should leave this one alone," she said. 

Koch said Pine Island has been used in the past as a party spot for teenagers, and said the plan was to open up the "beautiful natural resource" to more people. The bridge would also be wide enough for a car to use so the island can be policed and maintained. 

In response to the recent opposition, Koch said he has asked the Quincy Commissioner of Natural Resources Dave Murphy to "take a step back" and schedule community meetings to go over the entirety of the park's master plan. 

"Maybe in that context people will feel differently, but if the neighbors are that vehemently opposed and the council is that vehemently opposed I'm not going to shove it down anyone's throat," Koch said. "Hopefully they will be open to the idea of opening (Pine Island) up to more people who can enjoy it. but if the will is not there we will look at other options."

Original Source: https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2021/06/24/quincy-concerned-bridge-proposed-pine-island-over-blacks-creek/5321256001/