Blessing of the Bay Boathouse and Blueback Herring River Route 

In the fall of 2009, the City of Somerville was awarded $201,000 by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust to create new opportunities for community members to access and engage with the Mystic River.

This generous grant will allow the City to make much-needed improvements to the Blessing of the Bay Boathouse grounds and its dock, as well as to designate safe pedestrian access - the Blueback Herring River Route - from Foss Park to the Boathouse on Shore Drive.

Critical improvements at the Boathouse will enhance the accessibility and visibility of the site. New handicap accessible ramps will provide access to the parking lot and to the Boathouse, and additional lighting will further increase the site's safety. A new floating dock that rises less than a foot above the water will make boating safer and easier. New signage will highlight the Boathouse and the resources of the Mystic River. Enriched community programming at the Boathouse will complement the physical improvements and encourage people to find new ways of using the boathouse and experiencing the Mystic River.

Groundwork Somerville will run "Walk to the River Days" along the Blueback Herring River Route to increase community awareness of Somerville's connection to the Mystic River, and to encourage people to be active and enjoy our natural resources. Groundwork will also install a new community garden at the Boathouse, to be maintained by community volunteers. The Somerville Arts Council will incorporate the creation of new panels for the Mystic River Mural into their Summer 2010 Mystic Mural programming. These new panels will direct people to the boathouse and highlight some of the resources the boathouse offers.

The positive impacts of the improvements to the Blessing of the Bay Boathouse and the Blueback Herring River Route will reach beyond the boundaries of Somerville. The current users of the Boathouse include schools and public boating programs that serve members of several Mystic River watershed communities, and the riverfront paths at the boathouse connect to open spaces along the Mystic River in many of the other Lower Mystic River cities. To highlight these connections and encourage their growth, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) will be using Somerville's Blueback Herring River Route as a pilot project to guide the other cities of the Lower Mystic River watershed in creating their own Blueback Herring River Routes. The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) is working with a graphic designer to create a logo that will be used in the signage for all of these River Routes.

Somerville's grant is one of five that the Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET) awarded in October 2009 to improve community access to the Lower Mystic River, and to raise public support for restoration of the river. The grants, totaling $508,500 were funded by sales of MET's specialty environmental license plates. The projects are located in the cities of Medford, Somerville, Everett, Chelsea, Boston and Malden.

For more information about this project, please contact: 

Parks & Open Space Department
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
617-625-6600 x2500

For information on recreation programs at the Blessing of the Bay boathouse, please contact: 

Recreation & Youth Department
19 Walnut Street
Somerville, MA 02143
617-625-6600 x2980

Proposed location of the Blueback Herring River Route