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Coastal Resilience committee outlines projects: Francis Street, Easy Street concepts and downtown flood barrier work
Summary
The Coastal Resilience Advisory Committee reported on two community workshops for Francis Street Beach improvements, Easy Street flood mitigation concepts, a downtown flood-barrier planning concept, a cliff-stabilizer pilot and other initiatives and funding discussions.
The Coastal Resilience Advisory Committee (CRAC) presented a quarterly report to the Select Board on Sept. 17 summarizing work from January through June 2025, including design outreach for the Francis Street Beach project, concept designs for Easy Street flood mitigation and preliminary planning for a downtown neighborhood flood barrier.
Why it matters: The committee’s work shapes priorities and funding options for projects intended to protect downtown infrastructure and neighborhood properties from rising seas and storm surge.
CRAC said two community open houses on Francis Street drew more than 100 participants and that the work group is reviewing two aesthetic design options—"dune swoop" and "beach overlook"—while coastal storm modeling and a structural engineer (PAR) were retained to inform final choices. The committee reported three concept options for Easy Street: bulkhead expansion and elevation, adaptable road raising to NAVD88 6.5 feet, and road raising to NAVD88 8 feet; concept design funding from a CZM grant was completed in June and funding was approved at town meeting to move to final design and permitting.
The committee described a downtown neighborhood flood-barrier concept that could include raised roads, bulkheads, or nature-based dune restoration stretching from Children's Beach to Washington Street and noted that any such project will require coordination with private-property owners. CRAC intends to hold quarterly meetings specifically for downtown property owners to coordinate private and public resilience work.
CRAC summarized a pilot installation of removable cliff-stabilizer devices on Dionis and Madaket beaches intended to slow erosion; the devices involve screw anchors and plantable honeycomb cells and were permitted through the Conservation Commission and Natural Heritage with a cost near $10,000 for two sites. The committee also noted that the Natural Resources Department received voter-approved capital appropriations exceeding $11 million for a range of projects.
Committee outreach included a local coastal conference with 130 attendees, weekly social media posts, short videos, and newsletters. CRAC reported no formal recommendations to the Select Board for the quarter but noted ongoing work to align zoning and planning with resilience priorities and to pursue funding mechanisms including possible revolving-fund amendments at the next town meeting.
Ending: The committee urged the public to attend its regular Zoom meetings and said it will return with additional updates and requests after completing design-scoping and modeling work for priority projects.
