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BOSTON (State House News Service) — Multilingual signs welcoming visitors to beaches in Greater Boston should be installed by next summer, two seasons later than a robust signage rollout to promote diversity and inclusion at the public spaces was expected.
Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Brian Arrigo committed to the 2024 timeline at a meeting Tuesday, when lawmakers on the Metropolitan Beaches Commission aired frustration over the lack of accessible signs in their districts where the majority of residents do not speak English as their primary language, including in East Boston.
Arrigo, the former mayor of Revere, promised hard signage to complement some multilingual information already posted on metropolitan beaches to communicate water safety information and to protect shorebirds like piping plovers.
"We're also looking at using some new environmental justice mapping tools that our team has designed that will allow us to better understand the language access needs and communities that are surrounding properties and beaches," Arrigo told the commission. "And as we work through building out and installing additional signage, we want to make sure at the end of the day that everyone has the ability to access and enjoy the beaches, no matter what language is spoken."
The pledge comes after former Acting DCR Commissioner Stephanie Cooper, who is now undersecretary for environment, signaled the multilingual campaign would be rolled out in 2022, said Chris Mancini, executive director of the nonprofit Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, which manages the Metropolitan Beaches Commission. DCR has yet to complete its signage effort, Mancini told the News Service.
While DCR did start using English no-swimming signs with QR codes, which people can scan to read the sign in various other languages, Mancini said the multilingual functionality was not intuitive to him or other beachgoers.
"We didn't realize they were multilingual until we went back to DCR and said, 'Where are the signs?'" Mancini said.
A report released by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay in May recommended that DCR post multilingual signs with QR codes, directing people to web pages about beach regulations, operating hours, parking restrictions, public safety and water quality "on each of the Metropolitan Beaches from Nahant to Nantasket, including Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull."
Only 4 out of 250 signs surveyed by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay in winter 2022 had languages other than English, according to the report.
Bruce Berman, who on Tuesday stepped down as the commission's lead consultant, said he saw only two multilingual signs on beaches as he drove from Nahant to Nantasket over the weekend.
Berman said he expected a more "dramatic rollout of QR codes and multilingual signs" in 2022. Part of the delay in delivering on Cooper's plan can be chalked up to high turnover at DCR, he indicated. There have been six DCR commissioners over the last eight years, according to the report.
"In the past when administrations change, sometimes things slip. Commissioner Arrigo made it very clear today that he is not going to let this slip -- and that's important," Berman said. He added, "Commissioner Arrigo's a terrific guy, and he really understands parks and beaches. And we're counting on him to hold the agency accountable."
Rep. Adrian Madaro, co-chair of the Metropolitan Beaches Commission, said he's spoken with Arrigo about the importance of tackling language barriers in places like East Boston, Revere and Lynn.
At Constitution Beach in East Boston, Madaro said the only multilingual sign is an electronic board listing the park's operating hours. But on summer days, there are typically thousands of beachgoers who are immigrants and don't speak English at home, he said.
QR codes are a positive step to share information, but Madaro said physical welcome signs in other languages are also important to help people facing technology barriers. Arrigo said DCR is exploring how to redesign existing welcome signs to include around 8 to 10 languages.
"We want to make sure that they feel welcome, that this is an accessible resource to everyone and that they feel included," Madaro said. "There's a lot that we need to do to achieve that, but one simple thing is making sure that signage is in languages that they can easily understand."
Written by Alison Kuznitz/SHNS
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