The Charles River Task Force is in the late stages of drafting a report on how state departments engage and communicate with local residents, particularly underrepresented communities, in the area between the Longfellow and Eliot bridges.
Gaps in communications between state departments and local communities have been a focal point of 10 months of meetings, public hearings, focus groups and other community engagement efforts, led by the task force and aided by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The goal is to present a report to the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) on June 30. The group released a draft of four recommendations April 23, highlighting ways to improve
- process and communications
- project planning
- centering equity and environmental justice
- implementation
Each recommendation includes background context based on residents’ current feedback, along with a list of suggested implementation strategies. Those actions include ways to tailor outreach to various communities, implement multimodal communication about projects or changes, designate points of contact within state departments and local offices, ensure equitable access to information, coordinate with local organizations, and more.
Subsequently, two hearings have been held, one an in-person public hearing April 29, where residents reviewed the drafted recommendations and offered feedback, the other a similar session held virtually May 5. Feedback can also be offered via an online survey.
At the hearings, attendees suggested additional communication methods, such as a 311 style option that lets residents report issues and connect with department personnel. Other residents urged for more in-person communication and clear department contacts. “I need to actually see someone and talk to them and say, ‘How do we fix this problem?’” one attendee said.
Residents also suggested DCR maintain a calendar shared with the community to track road closures and access changes, as well as local meetings or opportunities for engagement.
DCR staff said it is working on some of these already, such as an option similar to 311. Monika Roy, who has overseen much of the task force’s work as DCR’s senior environmental justice director, said the department has a calendar-based tool in the works, and hopes it will be implemented later this year.
The task force held a regular meeting on May 13 to discuss feedback from the two public hearings. A DCR spokesperson said the survey has received 17 responses, with a majority of respondents agreeing with the recommendations. The spokesperson said some of the responses encouraged the task force to simplify the recommendations language and incorporate metrics and evaluation practices to ensure DCR meets the outlined goals.
Need for accountability
“Even when the recommendations are finalized, that’s just the starting point,” state Rep. Mike Connolly, who represents part of the project area, said in a phone interview. “The most important aspect of this will be holding DCR and state government, and really all of our city stakeholders, accountable to implementing the recommendations and delivering on the promises of this task force.”
The draft report states that the goal of the recommendations “will help shape how DCR builds and maintains working relationships with marginalized communities across the Commonwealth.” The recommendations charge DCR with improving engagement processes and outreach, centering equity and environmental justice in decision-making, and implementing the recommendations to address infrastructure concerns gathered from the community.
Creating feedback opportunities
Over the course of the project, feedback from the public has sometimes been outside of the task force’s scope, which focuses on process rather than projects. Residents have expressed concerns about safety and infrastructure — specific road closures, intersections, speed limits, etc. — that they feel haven’t been addressed. The fourth recommendation, which focuses on implementation, provides an opportunity for the task force to include those community concerns.
The task force recommends that DCR “apply the communication and outreach recommendations above to address the physical infrastructure-related feedback received,” the document says. The recommendation suggests that DCR address physical concerns from the public with task force strategies, creating a “pilot” for applying the findings to projects across the Commonwealth.
An updated draft is due on June 10, and the task force will hold a meeting on June 17 to discuss and vote on the report. If needed, the task force will meet a final time in late June before submitting the report by June 30.
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