On March 7, 2017, the Greenough Greenway project in Watertown, Massachusetts became the most recent recipient of the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) Envision Bronze award.
The Greenough Greenway project’s objectives include enhancing public safety along the Charles River, providing a fully accessible multi-use path next to the river, reclaiming parkland, and enhancing the scenic value of the Charles River Reservation, improving the environmental quality of the river, and maintaining Greenough Boulevard as a fully functional parkway, as well as demonstrating an efficient and cost-effective public/private partnership.
The $2.4 million project will reduce the cross section of Greenough Boulevard, a Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) parkway. This reduction allowed construction of a tree-lined, ten-foot wide, multi-use path, a substantial green buffer separating pathway users from automobile traffic, stormwater drainage improvements, and a generous strip of parkland to sustain the river bank. The path links to a broad network of regional recreational paths, and improves access to diverse land uses adjacent to the corridor.
The Lawrence and Lillian Solomon Foundation, in close partnership with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, championed the project. VHB led the design effort.