Salem Common Set For $50K In Accessibility Upgrades, Repairs

SALEM, MA — Salem Common will be getting some upgrades thanks to a $50,000 state grant.

The newly formed Friends of Salem Common, along with State Sen. Joan Lovely, State Rep. Paul Tucker and Mayor Kim Driscoll, secured the grant to help make recommended accessibility improvements and repair park benches.

"This urban oasis offers relaxing green spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy, and I am confident that these state dollars will make the Common an even more wonderful resource for our city," Lovely said.

The state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development provided the grant that will be used to implement the recommendations of the city's Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan of 2019 and a private Friends of Salem Common study, as well as help fix the benches.

The funds are in addition to the $3.3 million in local and grant-funded improvements over the next several years from the Signature Park Initiative. The improvements include preserving the bandstand, fence, landscaping, lighting and the completion of the McIntire Arch ahead of the park's 400th anniversary in 2026.

"Salem is blessed with dozens of parks and open spaces, but the Common is among the most special and visible," Driscoll said. "Building on the important work done with our ADA Transition Plan and the existing partnerships with groups the Friends and the SCNA, I know that the future of the Salem Common will be one of greater accessibility and enjoyment for all Salem residents and visitors."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)