Park Planning

The Boston Parks and Recreation Department has been leading the planning process to redesign Moakley Park with Stoss Landscape Urbanism and Weston & Sampson as the designers and engineers. Boston Harbor Now, South Boston En Accion, the South Boston Neighborhood House, and other groups have contributed to the public outreach. Everyone is encouraged to provide feedback as the plans are refined and the project is built in phases. Additional information can be found on the City of Boston website.

Plans for improvements to Moakley Park are underway including upgrading the sports fields, adding new community gathering spaces and increasing planting. With these improvements, the plan also prepares South Boston for the effects of a changing climate. The park landscape is designed to:

Prevent coastal flood waters from entering the neighborhood
Manage stormwater from increased rain events
Add planting, water features, and use materials to keep the park cool on hot days

The elevated landscape will be fully accessible, with walking paths at the high point running the length of the park and will provide views out to the Boston Harbor and Islands.

Based on feedback from the community meeting last fall and the focus groups over the winter, the following changes have been made to the plan:

Active Recreation
- created a full clover of ballfields by adding 1 additional 200’ field
- added 2 multiuse lawns for events and active recreation
- reorganized field layout so that ballfields and rectangular fields are clustered together, optimizing the park for tournaments
Resilience
- Created protection for Saunders Stadium from coastal flooding by relocating the resilient berm in front of the stadium
Access
- proposed street parking creating safer crosswalks at Babe Ruth Drive
- introduced a 2 way continuous cycle track around the park