Boston City Council Hears Plan to Activate Parks and Streets All Winter Long

BOSTON -- March 21, 2023, Boston City Council committee hears testimony pushing the city to embrace year-round winter programming with expanded investment. The Committee on Arts, Culture and Special Events, chaired by Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, held a public hearing Tuesday on Docket No. 0334, an order for a hearing on winter placemaking, with witnesses from the Parks Department, the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics, the Small Business Office, and the Office of Tourism, Sports and Entertainment. Parks Commissioner Ryan Woods told the council that all parks programming is privately funded through corporate sponsorships, "zero dollars" from taxpayers, calling it a barrier to expanding winter activation across the city's 332 properties. Applied policy fellow Amy Mahler estimated the city's two winter placemaking pilots, including a free neighborhood equipment lending shed in Fields Corner and a pop-up snow-day activation at Ringer Park, cost "well under $30,000" combined. Director Alicia Porcina reported that Boston Main Streets organizations held 102 winter events drawing more than 20,000 attendees in 2021-22, nearly double the prior year's 55 events and 13,000 attendees. The committee kept the matter open for a second hearing on infrastructure, with the Boston Transportation Department and Public Works expected to testify.