They locked all the parks and put them in a park museum?

This week's theme: I love this city, but I hate the way it's run.

Today's gripe? Our parks.

"They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
Then they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go,
That you don't know what you've got
'Til it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot"

-"Big Yellow Taxi," by Joni Mitchell

That seems to be the City's response to public use of our parks. Lock up the parking lots, restrict permit use to a select few, and tear down the pools. Dog parks? Never! Soccer? It might damage the turf! Festivals with beer vendors? No fun and games here!

Specifically, every lot at Beaver Brook Park has been locked up tight since January. Why? Unauthorized vehicles parking in the Mann Street Lot, illegal dumping on Mayfield Street, and the ongoing 2 day a week yard waste collection in the main Chandler Street lot creates a knee jerk reaction that the lots must be closed to prevent misuse.

Here's my solution to the 'misuse.' 

-Call up Pat's Towing and tow any vehicles from the Mann Street lot that are misusing the lot on Mann Street (which is a free, public lot- not sure where the misuse comes from.) I'm sure Pat's has some extra time on their hands now.

-Close off one end of the main Chandler Street lot for the permanent location of the yard waste. Leave the other end open for vehicles. People drop yard waste at the entrance of the lot seven days a week. Locking the gates just creates the Great Wall of Trash.

-Have Parks do a regular check of Mayfield Street for illegal dumping. Maybe the occasional presence of a cruiser or a camera to catch illegal dumping might cut down on the mess. The lot on Chandler Street used to be an ideal late night spot for the WPD, back when the lot was open and we had more officers.

-Lastly, trust the people who use the parks to help keep them clean. You already do. The City hasn't bought rock dust or mowed the little league fields in Beaver Brook for over a decade. Ted Williams Little League maintains those fields and is responsible for unlocking the lots when we have games. We would much rather work with the City about illegal dumping then have to rush over with a key every time someone has a practice. We've worked with the City on tagging in the park, and now have a wonderful commitment from one of our team sponsors, Herb Duggan Painting. Herb has repainted our shed, bathrooms and field house, and he and his employees keep a vigilant eye out for any tagging and have it cleaned up before we even have the chance to say anything. Thank you Herb!

On a final note before I get off my soap box, a dog park would be wonderful, please shake down find some corporate sponsors for a pool in every park,  and let the soccer players play.

If we want to be a world class city, we need parks and green spaces. 

Foley Stadium

I was down at Beaver Brook Park this past Tuesday afternoon.  Chandler Street was packed with parked cars due to multiple high school games at Foley Stadium.  (I can't call Foley by any other name, just like I still use Great Woods and the Centrum instead of their current corporate sponsor names.)

 As I drew closer, I realized the Beaver Brook/Foley parking lot was locked and empty.

I know the School department employees at Foley have a key to the lot.  They are supposed to unlock it during games to prevent traffic backups on Chandler Street, which is one of the heaviest traveled roads in the city.  In the past the upper lot has been left locked to prevent people from dumping yard waste and trash in the lot when the DPW crews aren't there.  It doesn't work.  Instead, we get a wall of yard waste at the gate like this:

It was far worse last week- the Great Wall of Beaver Brook extended the whole length of the wood fence and covered most of the gate.  This 'little' pile accumulated on Sunday and Monday.  I volunteer at Ted Williams Little League, and after numerous complaints, we received a key for the upper lot because our parking on Mayfield Street always fills up like this: 

 

 The few times our parents have parked on Chandler Street, they were ticketed.  I didn't see any WPD out ticketing the Foley crowd.  Hopefully this won't happen again!

266 Chandler Street and 346 Chandler Street.

I came back from vacation to find a whole bunch of equipment lined up at 266 Chandler Street.  I still don't know what's going on here.  The only information I have heard is that the property was recently purchased by some local lawyers and the sign on the property is offering it for lease or sale.

 It would be nice to know what is going in here.  After all, it's right next to Ted Williams Little League field, and no one has contacted our board to let us know anything.  Am I surprised?  We weren't contacted when the City decided to re-design the park a few years back.

-----

I also noticed that 346 Chandler Street is getting renovated.  That building had been fenced in and falling down for a few years now, and with the exception of an abandoned car next to it, nothing had changed.