The Perry Park renovation may give Somerville the opportunity to establish a state-of-the-art off-leash recreational area.

Over fifteen residents met with Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston and representatives from the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Developemnt at the Lincoln Park Community School to discuss the renovation of Perry Park on Washington Street, between Dane and Leland Streets (see figure below, which is from the City of Somerville Open Space and Recreation Plan).

The team from OSPCD included Gerald Boyle, Director, Capital Projects Management Department; Carlene Campbell, Community Relations Manager; Arn Franzen, Project Manager; and Sherri Geldersma, Director of Urban Design. They began the meeting with a PowerPoint presentation comprising pictures of Perry Park. In response to a resident's question, they advised the group assembled that the city has budgeted $500,000 for the renovation of Perry Park.

After pictures of both the existing younger children's play area (the sandbox) and the existing older children's play area (the climber and swingset), several pictures of new playground equipment designs were shown. After the third such picture, Alderman Heuston expressed her concern that playground equipment may not cover the gamut of her constituents' open space needs. It was observed that, in the neighborhood, Lincoln Park and Palmacci Park include playgrounds and athletic fields for children. One resident worried that the new playground equipment would eat up a significant amount of the budget for the Perry Park renovation, leaving little for other amenities. Arn Franzen reassured the community that in upcoming meetings, residents would get to see the costs of different features and get to vote on the features that are most important to them.

Another resident recommended that rather than planning open space improvements on a park-by-park basis (which results in a bunch of cookie-cutter neighborhood playgrounds), the City would benefit from an an overall plan for open space that addresses the different needs of all potential park users.

Somerville's open space should welcome all residents: in addition to raising children, families in Somerville enjoy many different lifestyles and interests. Among other needs for open space in Somerville, there is a real need for places where residents can safely and legally allow our dogs to play with each other off-leash and where our dogs will not interfere in other park activities and other park users' enjoyment of the parks. Because all municipal parks are posted, "No Dogs Allowed," residents who own dogs are currently disenfranchised from enjoying Somerville's parks. Hearing neighbors say that the walking path gets a lot of use throughout the day by people walking their dogs, one resident suggested that perhaps one of the things the community would like to see in Perry Park is an off-leash recreational area. Several present expressed appreciation for this suggestion.

Neighbors agreed that, not only is the current layout of the park uninviting, but it is easy to drive and even walk past the park without realizing that there is a park there. The group was enthusiastic about signage--possibly an archway--that promotes the Park to Washington Street traffic. The community agreed that Perry Park is "a significant park in Somerville," and that we must advocate for the city to come up with a design that is the equal of the park?s significance. Perry Park's significance merits a design that will make it a "destination" for residents of other neighborhoods. Highlights of the discussion of the park on this scale include

• improving accessibility and making the park more inviting
• replacing a lot of the asphalt with grass and making the park more green, possibly integrating arboretum-like features, e.g. educational labels for the trees
• designing lighting that is a beautiful--not merely a functional asset to surveillance
• improving the walking path (running track)
• installing a fountain that accommodates water play
• including compatible uses, like an off-leash recreational area.

Heuston assured her constituents that the renovation is definitely going to happen. Gerald Boyle explained that construction may begin as early as Fall 2005 or Spring 2006. The City will receive proposals from landscape architects, and there will be at least two more meetings for the community to select its Preferred Plan. The next meeting will be at the end of November or the beginning of December.