Cambridge Civic Journal Forum

September 21, 2023

Cambridge Announces Opening of New Triangle Park in East Cambridge – Celebration to Be Held September 27

Filed under: Cambridge,East Cambridge — Tags: , , , , , — Robert Winters @ 11:27 am

Cambridge Announces Opening of New Triangle Park in East Cambridge;
Celebration to Be Held September 27

Sept 21, 2023 – The City of Cambridge has announced the opening of the new Triangle Park in East Cambridge, located on Binney Street between First Street and Edwin H. Land Boulevard. An opening celebration will be held at the park on Wed, Sept 27 from 11am to 1pm.

Tree planting and growing the area’s tree canopy were areas of emphasis for the design of Triangle Park. The park is located in the East Cambridge neighborhood, which has less tree canopy compared to other neighborhoods in Cambridge. The park employs a micro-forest planting approach with nearly 400 new trees planted in less than one acre.

“Our parks are such an important part of what makes Cambridge a great place to live, work, and visit,” said City Manager Yi-An Huang. “The opening of this new park, creation of a new public space, and commitment to a more expansive tree canopy are a testament to the dedicated efforts of the City, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, and our community members.”

“The design of this project was guided by the City’s Urban Forest Master Plan and includes significant tree plantings and canopy growth in the Kendall Square area,” said Public Works Commissioner Kathy Watkins. “It also allowed us to try some new approaches for how we think about open spaces and planting trees in the City. As the trees and plantings grow in over time, this unique park will provide an incredible shaded space in the heart of Kendall Square for residents, workers, and visitors to enjoy.”

The passive-use park includes concrete seat walls, lawn spaces, an urban grove with seating, and a multi-purpose timber deck for lounging and seating that can also serve as a small performance stage.

The park is the second of three new parks the City of Cambridge is designing and constructing in the East Cambridge neighborhood, and the second of two built with funding and on land transferred to the City by Alexandria Real Estate Equities. The first (Timothy J. Toomey, Jr. Park) opened in September 2021.

“Triangle Park is the realization of the shared vision of the City and the community to transform a vacant lot that previously worked as a traffic island to a green oasis in Kendall Square,” said Assistant City Manager for Community Development Iram Farooq. “It’s exciting to track the history from the Alexandria rezoning through which the City received this land to today, when we celebrate the completion of this new park. I look forward to seeing it become a place for residents, workers, and visitors to connect and enjoy community life together.”

The design of the park was led by STOSS Landscape Urbanism and construction was led by Argus Construction Corporation. The park is open from dawn to dusk.

For more information on Triangle Park, visit https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/Projects/Parks/trianglepark.

Triangle Park

March 17, 2011

East Cambridge Planning Team meeting and presentation by the East Cambridge Open Space Trust – Wed, March 23, 7:00pm

Filed under: East Cambridge — Tags: , — Robert Winters @ 10:35 am

Wed, Mar 23

7:00pm   East Cambridge Planning Team meeting and presentation by the East Cambridge Open Space Trust  (East End House, 105 Spring Street)

What would you do if you had the funds to acquire or improve open space in your neighborhood? That’s what the trustees of the East Cambridge Open Space Trust are asking Photo of sculpture at Lopez Avenue Community Garden by Mark Jaquithour neighbors. The Trust is custodian of a fund dedicated to that purpose. The trust was formed as part of the settlement of legal action over public amenities provided with the development of what was known as Cambridge Research Park. No longer known by that name or owned by the original developer, it is the area south of Binney Street. and east of Third Street. including the Genzyme building, Watermark apartments, and the Kendall Skating rink.

Money was given to the trust based on the number of square feet in the buildings in the development. Most of the money expected from the settlement has been paid to the trust and we are ready to begin deciding how we can do the most for our neighborhood. That’s where we need your help. We want to know what you want in your neighborhood. Is it a new pocket park, playground, park benches, planters, public art,or something else? We have lots of ideas, but we want to know what you want. The money can only be spent on open space projects in East Cambridge. That means the part of Cambridge bounded by the Grand Junction tracks to the west, the Somerville and Boston borders to the north, the Charles River to the east. and Main Street to the south. If you live here, or even if you don’t, we would like your ideas about how to improve the area.

We don’t have enough money to buy and build a big new park, but maybe we could work with the city to make that happen. We might be able to buy a small plot and make a nice little area, but working with partners such as our city government might make a big difference and we would love to make the fund go farther.

We will be making a presentation to the East Cambridge Planning Team at their meeting at East End House, 105 Spring Street, on Wed, March 23 at 7:00pm. We will ask attendees to write down their ideas for us to add them to ours for consideration. You may also contribute your suggestion on our blog site. [CCTV announcement]
[This announcement was contributed by Mark Jaquith, Chairman, Board of Trustees, East Cambridge Open Space Trust]

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