LYNN — The city of Lynn will hold a virtual public meeting on April 7 at 5 p.m., which will highlight plans for green infrastructure projects that are aimed at reducing the effects of climate change.
Hosted by Mayor Thomas M. McGee’s office and the Economic Development & Industrial Corporation of Lynn, the forum will enable the city to solicit public input on its planned stormwater resiliency projects. The public input will allow the city to get a sense of local needs and ideas, according to McGee’s office.
“The first step is to give residents a quick update on the project,” said City Planner Aaron Clausen. “Where people can get a better sense of what these solutions are.”
This year, the first pilot green infrastructure projects will be installed near the intersection of Boston and Mall streets as part of the Strawberry Brook Resilient Stormwater Management and Implementation Plan and will include concept designs for future installations at Barry Park and the G.E.A.A. Field.
The Boston Street projects will include two solutions: bioswales and tree box filters.
Bioswales, special channels in the roadway designed to concentrate and convey stormwater runoff while removing debris and pollution, can also be beneficial in recharging groundwater. Tree box filters would “capture tree water as the natural environment normally would, and have it infiltrate into the ground to recharge the watershed naturally,” according to Clausen.
The projects are being designed to improve stormwater quality, flood mitigation and to reduce urban heat island effects to benefit the community They are being funded through a $199,090 grant the city was awarded from the state’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant program, which provides technical and financial support for projects that reduce the effects of climate change.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, project information and opportunities to give input will only be available online, rather than through in-person meetings. Residents can register next week’s forum at: tinyurl.com/LynnMVPmtg. Materials will be available in both English and Spanish.
There will be additional opportunities for public input throughout implementation of the Strawberry Brook Plan going forward. For updates on this project, residents are asked to email Clausen at [email protected].
