By Gretchen Webster
WESTPORT–At the second public workshop held Tuesday on the Parks Master Plan, over 50 people gathered to hear about the project from a consultant, and many of them added their own opinions on what needs to be done to improve the town’s parks and recreational areas.
For each site that had previously been presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission on Sept. 19, Dominick Celtruda from BL Companies offered possible improvements or maintenance projects to enhance the use of that particular facility, also listed on the plan website.
Winslow Park
For Winslow Park, one of the town’s largest parks, these included dividing the park into two separate dog parks, possibly with one for larger dogs and one for smaller dogs. Or using one half the park as a spot to relocate the Community Gardens, and the other half as a dog park. He also identified traffic issues at the Compo Road intersection and Winslow Park that need to be addressed.
Other possible additions to Winslow Park might be a mini golf course, or a splash pad for young children, he said. An area for dogs to run off leash, should be kept in the park, he said.
Community Gardens
Another potential location for the Community Gardens he identified during the workshop was the Burr Farms property on Burr School Road, which many gardeners have supported. That property could become the new site for the gardens, or improved to become a multi-use athletic field, Celtruda said.
Veteran’s Park, across from Town Hall, is ripe for some improvements, he said, including removal of the chain link fences, and more historical signage. “It’s the center of town,” he said.
Town Hall
The athletic fields behind Town Hall, however, need more maintenance and upgrading including possibly adding restrooms and bleachers. The fields, which are underutilized, need leveling, he added. The Town Hall parking lot, however, has recently been improved including adding new traffic islands, which is an advantage for the fields there.
ADA / Beaches
Two more major projects mentioned at the workshop, in addition to Celtruda’s list of possible improvements at each site, were improving ADA handicapped accessibility at all parks and facilities, and beach restoration, according to Erik Barbieri, director of Parks and Recreations.
“A lot of town parks have ADA issues,” Barbieri said, and the town needs an ADA transition plan. Also needed is a 10-year beach restoration plan, restoring the level of sand on the town’s beaches.
The beach restoration is an expensive project, he added, and is part of the town’s 10-year capital plan. A restoration of Compo Beach alone would cost about $8 million, he said.
Elected official comments
RTM member Wendy Batteau of District 8 said, during public comment, that she was concerned about the “high cost of all these plans – they will cost millions.” That is why the series of workshops are being held, Barbieri responded. “We’re gathering feedback on what you want in the master plan.”
Another RTM member, Sal Liccione of District 9, said park maintenance was a concern of his. “The maintenance of the parks needs to be upgraded,” he said.
After the meeting, David Floyd, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission agreed. Much of the Parks Master Plan will involve facility maintenance, he said, but the purpose of the workshops is also to gather other possible improvements and ideas. “We’re very much in the drawing board stage. There are no deadlines on this project – as long as it takes to make this right.” A third workshop on the Master Parks Plan will be scheduled in November.
Sticky note comments
During Tuesday’s workshop, maps of each park were displayed around the room. The organizers invited participants to post their comments on them. A sample of the comments appears below.
For Jesup Green:
Just add a few basketball hoops.
For Baron’s South:
Perfect for mini-golf.
For Burr Farms Fields:
Only location that checks all the boxes for the gardens.
For Winslow Park:
There should be more room for kids. It’s not just for dogs.
Add a small playground.
There should be off-leash hours because young and old walkers can’t use Winslow Park with off-leash dogs.
Fencing the dogs together will make too much noise.
It’s a good site for the gardens.
The [proposed] garden site is too far from the parking.
A sledding hill should be added instead of the gardens.
For Grace K. Salmon Park:
It needs better maintenance.
It’s underutilized.
Shoreline restoration is critical here.
For Burying Hill Beach:
Enlarge the beach area
Minigolf at Winslow? Another playground? Splash pools? Turf, turf, turf.
I do realize this is early days in idea generation but some of the ideas remind me of the boardwalk at the Jersey Shore.
Every school has a playground, and there is spanking new state of the art playfield at Compo. I love watching kids ride sleds down the snowy hill at Winslow; please don’t muck it up with a bunch of ticky tacky.
There was no mention whatsoever of the new Long Lots athletic fields. The RTM moderator who was there tried to explain it away by saying those fields are already funded (an undisclosed amount of funds cloaked in the school rebuild budget). Those fields should still be part of the overall master plan, and there are many decisions to be deliberated there regarding size, turf, lights and other amenities.
I do hope more residents weigh in on these master plan ideas. I would err on the side of more natural open and green space, and no more artificial turf.
This all sounds like something a developer would come up with. I agree with Ms. Simonetti. We need to focus on natural, open green space, not new structures (and turf/plastic surfaces).
Open space is not a luxury. We are biologically wired to need time outdoors; it grounds and renews us.
You might recall that, at the start of the pandemic, hiking trails were hopping. Families strolled together, not simply for exercise, but for connection to the world.
Access to wide open spaces — larger than our yards or balcony gardens — help keep us mentally and emotionally healthy. Even driving by these places (think the lovely curve on Ford Road, by the river) lowers our stress levels.
As populations grow and we look to maximize every inch of common space, let’s remember that these properties are few and far between—and irreplaceable. Let’s commit to increasing and maintaining the number of spaces that everyone (not just dogs or kids or sports fans) can enjoy.