Development of the Hallett Street landfill site required that all of the existing mature vegetation be removed and the landfill capped with an impermeable HDPE layer similar to a pond liner in reverse , designed to prohibit surface water from filtering through the waste materials below and leaching into the Neponset River . The cap was covered with a 16-inch drainage layer and 8 inches of loam . Trenches were provided around the entire perimeter of the site to collect landfill gasses . Rather than providing the white plastic ‘ candy cane ’ vent pipes typical on most landfills , the gas was collected and run through a passive system custom designed to allow the gas to vent unobtrusively through the cupolas of the two picnic shelters . Shallow foundations were provided to prevent penetration of the cap . The slopes required for surface drainage on landfills were supplemented with additional depths of planting medium above the cap and sand layers to support a limited number of trees and shrubs . The remainder of the landfill site was styled to resemble a meadow . Turf grass varieties were planted immediately adjacent to the pathways , around the shelters , and in other select areas , while the remainder of the landfill site was designed for infrequent mowing and growth of native grasses for a natural meadow feel .
Shade structures and passive grass areas at PJP II Park . Photos | Kathryn O ’ Kane , Kero Photography
Development of the Neponset Drive-In site , on the other hand , required removal or relocation and on-site burial of contaminated soils from the site , depending upon the severity of the contaminant . Soils not suitable for physical contact , but otherwise considered able to remain and not posing leaching hazards were used as shaping material beneath the cover soil . A
The Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston is a system of reservations , parks , parkways , and roads currently under the care and control of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation ( DCR ) formerly the Metropolitan District Commission ( MDC ) and formerly the Metropolitan Park Commission ( MPC ). The Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston is currently eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places .
Two men were key in the development of the Metropolitan Park System ( MPS ), the first regional park system in the United States : Sylvester Baxter ( 1850-1927 ) a journalist and
Charles Eliot ( 1859-1897 ) a landscape architect . Both men advocated for the creation of a system of regional parks .
Charles Eliot led in the formation of the Metropolitan Park System ( MPS ) as the consultant landscape architect for the MPC . “ Eliot directed the selection , acquisition , and development of thousands of acres from 1893 until his early death in 1897 .” He argued that “ local breathing spaces , and the existence of pleasant features of natural scenery in the neighborhood , are really as essential to the moral and physical health of a community .”
Boston Society of Landscape Architects Fieldbook
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