More places to recreate?

New parks may be added in Port Norfolk

Cyclists, hikers, and dog walkers share the road, and early-evening strollers have been enjoying the amenities of Pope John Paul II Park since 2001. (PAT GREENHOUSE/GLOBE STAFF/FILE 2006)

The greening of the Neponset River shoreline is the story of reclamation to recreation.

Take the Pope John Paul II Park in Dorchester, a former drive-in and landfill that had been considered in the '60s and '70s as the site for an arena or football stadium. The 72-acre property sat in state hands for decades before being capped and landscaped and opened to the public in May 2001.

Today cyclists, hikers, and dog walkers share the road, while soccer players cavort on lushly landscaped fields.

An adjoining 7-acre parcel at Granite Avenue and Hilltop Street - which once housed a car towing yard, a trash transfer station, and an equipment dump - opened in 2006 and today boasts benches, bike racks, and a place for canoes, kayaks, and other nonmotorized boats on the river.

The next chapter, which may be written in the state Legislature, could give a boost to development in the Port Norfolk section. A $1.4 billion energy and environment bond bill proposed by Governor Deval L. Patrick is now in the House Committee on Natural Resources and includes several sections that could benefit new urban parks.

It would take $5 million to $10 million to rehabilitate the Shaffer Paper site, an 11-acre waterfront parcel in Port Norfolk that has been controlled by the state since 1985 and is believed to be contaminated by past industrial uses.

State Representative Martin Walsh of Dorchester, a longtime advocate of the greening of the river's shoreline, said he is hopeful that the bill will emerge from committee in a few weeks.

"This would be a perfect opportunity to do something in the Port Norfolk area," said Walsh, noting that the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which oversees parks along the river, already has a presence in the area with a storage facility.

The greening of the Neponset has led to increased private investment on both sides of the Neponset, including condo developments in Dorchester, Milton, and Quincy, a key reason many officials are eager to see parklands extended to Port Norfolk.

At the heart of the reclamation is the Neponset River Greenway, a 2 1/2-mile, multiuse path that stretches from Tenean Beach in Port Norfolk to Central Avenue on the Boston-Milton line.

Officials hope to eventually extend the trail from Central Avenue to Mattapan Square, though the DCR's master plan paints only a broad outline of the path.

From Mattapan Square, the route would be expected to closely parallel Truman Highway in Hyde Park on the way to Paul's Bridge in Readville. From there, it could connect via a spur to the nearby Blue Hill Reservation. DCR spokeswoman Wendy Fox said the agency does not yet have any definitive plans for the next phase.

Valerie Burns, president of the Boston Natural Areas Network, a nonprofit group that works to preserve, expand, and improve urban open space, hopes to see a day when a cyclist or hiker will be able to enter a trail in the Blue Hills, follow that trail along the Neponset through several Boston neighborhoods, and finally connect with the HarborWalk.

HarborWalk begins where the Neponset River Greenway ends in Dorchester, and when completed would stretch 46.9 miles along wharves, piers, bridges, beaches, and shoreline from Chelsea Creek to the Neponset.

The DCR has announced plans for another Greenway improvement: Two long-neglected railroad bridges in the Lower Mills area near the Baker Square and Milton Landing condos will be rehabbed to provide easy pedestrian and bike access from one side of the river to another.

Fox said those involved in the project include the DCR, the Boston Natural Areas Network, and the Appalachian Mountain Club, with some funding coming from condo developers under the state's Chapter 91 guidelines for wetlands construction.

Burns said the Greenway has always had strong political support - from state Representatives Walsh, Linda Dorcena-Forry of Dorchester, Angelo Scaccia of Hyde Park, and Walter Timilty of Milton; as well as state Senators Jack Hart of South Boston and Brian Joyce of Milton.

Security concerns since 9/11 have shelved plans for a trail that would have passed near the colorful National Grid gas tank at Commercial Point and connected the present trail with Columbia Point.

"Right now, you're talking about cyclists having to negotiate one expressway on-ramp and another off-ramp to get from Port Norfolk to Columbia Point," Walsh said.

Walsh said the Greenway serves another important purpose.

"This is a beautiful way to connect our neighborhoods along the water," he said.

Rich Fahey can be reached at faheywrite@yahoo.com.