At Frog Pond, Janey Eyes More Places To Cool Off

She played in the Frog Pond as a kid in the 1970s and later brought her daughter and grandchildren there to cool off. On Thursday, Mayor Kim Janey unbuckled her heeled sandals and hopped back into the pond on Boston Common with dozens of youngsters after officially opening its spray pool for another summer season.

The mayor said that as climate change brings hotter weather to Boston, it's important to adapt by offering more spaces like the Frog Pond where residents can take a break from the summer heat. She said she wants to see future park renovations around the city include built-in sprinklers "as a standard" and also plans to open the city's cooling stations earlier.

"We are a northern city as we all know, we are in the Northeast. And still, we see an increase of 90-degree weather. And so we need more access to open space, we need more access to places where we can cool off, and we have to keep doing the work in terms of ensuring we are protecting our climate, our planet, from climate change," Janey said before jogging into the water.

But please be responsible, she urged.

"Alcohol does not contribute to safety, it makes us less safe," Janey said in response to a question about South Boston beaches where there have been concerns this summer about bayside alcohol deliveries. "This is a beautiful hot day and we need to be able to cool off but we also have to prioritize safety."

Janey also said she was "not going to second-guess at this point" the Department of Conservation and Recreation's decision to scale back bathroom hours at Carson Beach after incidents among teens there, but wants to keep talking with DCR about "how we balance access to the beach and safety."

The splash pad at Frog Pond is open for the summer, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.