Boston PIC Approves Charlestown Flood Barriers, Roxbury School Safety Streets in Year-End Session

BOSTON -- December 18, 2025, Boston's Public Improvement Commission approved 17 agenda items unanimously at its December 18 session, clearing flood protection infrastructure, school safety street improvements, and public-realm upgrades for four new development projects. The most significant action authorized specific repairs for the Boston Interim Flood Protection Project on Main Street in Charlestown, covering deployable barriers to be owned by the city and operated by the Office of Emergency Management, along with permanent concrete walls, bike lane reconstruction, and storm drain upgrades near the Schrafts building. The commission also approved nine right-of-way widening petitions and a specific repairs plan spanning nine streets in Roxbury's Garrison-Trotter neighborhood, all tied to a MassDOT-awarded Ellis Elementary Safe Routes to School grant affecting five schools. A 27-unit mixed-use building at 635 Hyde Park Avenue in Roslindale won approval for both a pedestrian easement and specific repairs, contingent on obtaining a Massachusetts Architectural Access Board variance for a sidewalk slope created by upgrading a substandard curb. The Saint Agrippina Society of Boston, which has operated its North End feast festival for over 113 years, received a private utility license to install two updated Eversource-supplied electrical service cabinets on Hanover Street. Amy Gordon of the Transportation Department was unanimously appointed Vice Chair, and the commission's next meeting is set for January 15, 2026.