Riverside residents voice concerns over Gibson Park project

By Barbara Taormina

A crowd of residents from the Riverside neighborhood met with city officials to continue the ongoing discussion of the Gibson Park resiliency project at the Point of Pines Yacht Club on August 5. The meeting was hosted by the Revere Department of Planning & Community Development and Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya.

The sticking point for the community remains the 6-foot-high vegetative berm along Mills Avenue that will protect the neighborhood from flooding and rising sea levels. But Riverside residents, led by Councillor Guarino-Sawaya, are opposed to the berm, which they say will limit their access to the waterfront and obstruct water views from their windows. Some families who have been in the neighborhood for generations said they are considering moving.

Chief of Planning & Community Development Tom Skwierawski explained to the group that a stone berm planted with native plants is the only flood mitigation structure state environmental regulators will allow. The berm will slope up to the road and narrow it by several feet, another concern for residents. The slope design allows the berm to absorb the force of the ocean unlike the straight-standing sea wall that resists ocean strength and creates other problems.

But Riverside residents who live with the waterfront and the landscape do not want to see that change to their neighborhood, and their way of life, despite the risk of flooding. The 11 access points to the water’s edge will be reduced to three maintenance access points and one guaranteed public access spot at the renovated community boatyard.

There is funding available to upgrade the drainage system in and around Gibson Park to reduce flooding, but the money is tied to the installation of the berm. Residents questioned why the drainage improvements couldn’t come first, which would allow planners to determine if the berm is necessary. Skwierawski said the berm is needed to protect residents and their homes from flooding which is increasing with climate change. Some residents said they had flood insurance and thus don’t need the berm.

Skwierawski told residents to write to the state’s environmental agencies and explain in detail why they oppose the berm and prefer a seawall solution. He also promised the neighborhood that the city would maintain open discussions on the Gibson Park plan and they would be notified of any changes or decisions.