Project Overview and Goals
The Reserved Channel Basin Loop Project is a partnership between Massport, the City of Boston, South Boston government officials, Boston Harbor Now, and ARUP. The partnership is collaborating to create community-led design concepts for completing a continuous public access Harborwalk around the Reserved Channel in South Boston. Funding for the planning of this important project was secured by Senator Nick Collins and Representative David Biele through the state budget process. As shown in the site map below, the Boston Harborwalk currently exists along the majority of the Reserved Channel, but the stretch indicated in orange represents the gap/project area for this planning process. The project goals are to ensure that community interests and desires are prioritized in the design process for expanding public access along this area of the Harborwalk, and that future amenities and improvements to public spaces along this waterfront respond to local needs.
SITE MAP
Existing Conditions
The stretch of Harborwalk considered in this project aims to connect the existing Harborwalk along Pappas Way to the Harborwalk perpendicular to E 1st Street alongside the Eversource substation. Eversource recently completed a different Harborwalk segment nearby, and created First Street Park, which connects the Harborwalk from E 1st Street to the Summer Street Bridge. In addition, a planned Oxford/Pappas redevelopment will also include updates to the Harborwalk along Pappas Way.
Design Concepts, Public Meeting Presentation and Summary
Click this link to view and download the May 21 Public Meeting Presentation: presentation pdf
A hybrid community gathering was held on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at the South Boston Public Library Branch and over Zoom to engage neighbors, abutting property owners, and local leaders and government officials in a visioning process for the future completion of the Harborwalk Basin Loop. The session brought together a project team led by Arup and Boston Harbor Now. The team provided an overview of the Harborwalk’s current status, highlighted related and upcoming initiatives by Oxford–Pappas and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and described the specific segment being studied by Massport. The meeting had 30 participants in person, and 15 participants joined via Zoom.
The meeting emphasized that the effort is conceptual in nature, with no funding currently allocated for design or construction. The objective was to introduce possibilities, share context, and gather public input to inform future planning. Boston Harbor Now presented the historical evolution of the area and its alignment with broader Harborwalk goals citywide, while Arup introduced a range of preliminary concepts, including land-based routes, water-oriented pathways, and a potential pedestrian bridge to improve connectivity and user experience.
To support an inclusive and interactive dialogue, attendees participated in live polling via Mentimeter (an online interactive engagement tool) and engaged in breakout group discussions to share preferences, priorities, and intended uses of the Harborwalk. The following memo summarizes key themes, poll results, and feedback collected during these discussions to guide the development of conceptual designs for this section of the Harborwalk.
Participants in the May 21 community gathering included neighbors to the project site, people who work around the Reserved Channel, those who use the existing Harborwalk in the area for daily walks and relaxation, abutting property owners, open space advocates, and local and state officials. Participants highlighted that creating a continuous loop around the Reserved Channel would be “delightful” and “connect communities” in the area, while improving “quality of life”.
After walking through potential design scenarios for this Harborwalk connection, participants in person and online were asked to vote on which design scenario they prefer. The design concepts and results of that poll are shown below:
Design concepts
Poll results
Participants were also asked about how they currently use the Harborwalk, and what design elements/public amenities are needed to support those uses. Current uses included:
- Daily walking with family and friends
- Meeting with neighbors and community gathering space
- Frequently used as a place to walk dogs
- Biking access
- Sitting and enjoying the view
- A place to rest
- Fishing
To support these uses, community members advocated for the following amenities:
- More vegetation, native plants, and irrigation
- Water fountains with a bowl for dogs
- Shade structures
- Seating and picnic areas
- Wayfinding and historical interpretive signage
- Water safety rings
- Garbage bins
- Dark sky lighting and pervious surfaces
Participants also placed colored stickers on maps of the site to indicate how multiple design concepts could be combined on this project site to create a continuous Basin Loop (Pink = Harborwalk over water, Green = Harborwalk as pedestrian bridge, Orange = Harborwalk over land).
Click this link to view the site maps created by participants:
What are the next steps for this project?
We will come back to the community with updated designs based on the first round of feedback, and have a public meeting to reach preferred alternatives.
Who can I contact to learn more?
Jason Rundle, Senior Harborwalk Manager, Boston Harbor Now, jrundle@bostonharbornow.org
What is the timeline for this project?
We hope to complete this initial phase of concept design and permitting consultation during 2026, the construction timeline will depend on the funding sources for the project.
Will this project be climate resilient?
This Harborwalk connection is proposed to be elevated above 2070 tidal flood elevations such that Harborwalk access is not impacted by “sunny-day” tidal flooding. As the site is not located on a major flood pathway impacting inland neighborhoods, the proposed Harborwalk connection is not intended to address major flood pathways from extreme storm surge events.
How much will this project cost?
Costs will be estimated in ongoing design processes.