Boston’s spirit has always been shaped by its waterfront. Since our founding, it has been a place of commerce, resilience, and reinvention. From the patriots who emptied crates of tea into its waters in 1773 to the launch of the USS Constitution at the Charlestown Navy Yard, the harbor is not only our connection to the world but also a witness to some of our nation’s defining moments. It is impossible to separate Boston’s story from its shoreline.

But as Boston industrialized through the late 1800s and into the 20th century, its harbor became a dumping ground for waste, sewage, and runoff, cut off from residents by fences, concrete, and contamination.

The push to reconnect residents to the water drew strength from Massachusetts’s public trust doctrine, enshrined in Chapter 91 of state law. Originally enacted in 1866 and modernized in the 1960s and 70s, it affirms that the waterfront belongs to the public. That principle underpins every effort to ensure our shoreline remains open, accessible, and resilient.

The turning point came in the 1980s, when a lawsuit led by the Conservation Law Foundation, driven by citizen activists, forced the state to finally clean up Boston Harbor. Not just for access, but to make sure it was no longer a threat to public health. Around the same time, Mayor Raymond Flynn launched the Harborpark initiative, laying the groundwork for what would become the Harborwalk.

That vision took shape thanks to leaders like Vivien Li of the Boston Harbor Association, who championed public access and helped steward the Harborwalk from concept to reality. What began as an ambitious initiative, has grown into more than 40 miles of waterfront pathways. But while it’s connected neighborhoods in powerful ways, too many gaps, safety issues, and disjointed links remain.

One of those gaps sits at the Reserve Channel in the Seaport, where redevelopment plans are on the horizon. If we’re bold enough to ensure those plans include expanded waterfront access, we can finally connect this stretch of the Harborwalk and fulfill the public’s right, enshrined in Massachusetts law, to reach the shoreline.

That’s why I sponsored funding in our supplemental budget, working with the Massachusetts Port Authority and other partners to prioritize access. This effort will help fortify the Harborwalk for future generations.

It also reflects the broader responsibility that comes with representing one of the most coastal districts in the Commonwealth. Recently, I was reappointed to the Metropolitan Beaches Commission, which works to protect and invest in what is now the cleanest urban beach system in the country. Our work ensures that access to our waterfront across the metropolitan Boston area remains a priority of the Commonwealth.

We’ve come a long way from the days when the harbor was walled off and polluted. These waters have carried the weight of revolution, industry, and renewal. and now they carry our responsibility to the future. Let this be a moment we choose to further open Boston’s shoreline and complete the Harborwalk.

Not because it would be a privilege, but because it is the law.