The City of Lynn was awarded $199,090 in climate change funding through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program. Lynn was designated as an MVP Community by the State in 2019. The program provides communities with funding and technical support to identify climate hazards, develop strategies to improve resilience, and implement priority actions to adapt to climate change.
The City of Lynn was first awarded a MVP Action Grant in 2019 to look for opportunities to implement nature based solutions within the Strawberry Brook watershed to specifically reduce storm water flooding and urban heat island effect. This funding will allow the City to build upon that progress through two projects, the Boston Street Green Infrastructure pilot project and the Barry Bark / GEAA field storm water and flood mitigation plan.
“Flooding has been a major concern in Lynn for a number of years, specifically in the area of Boston Street and Barry Park,” said Mayor Thomas M. McGee. “With the technical assistance offered through the MVP program, we will be able to invest in proactive mitigation projects that will allow us to do our part to start to limit the impacts of climate change and greatly improve the quality of life for members of our community.”
The neighborhoods along Strawberry Brook will see direct advantages such as reduced flooding, better air quality, improved urban landscape and a reduction of urban heat island and better water quality as a result of this planning and investment. The concept plan involving Barry Park will also account for new green infrastructure such as sport courts and storm water playgrounds that will both support recreation and storm water management. Both projects are expected to be completed by June 2021.