LINCOLN PARK: SOME PROGRESS, SOME SKEPTICS

Somerville, MA, September 24 2014 – Lincoln Park renovations were back on the agenda again, almost a year after the previous meeting and two years after the City announced it would be revamping the park.

In his presentation at a September 15 meeting, Director of Parks and Open Space Arn Franzen told the almost 100 parents, students and coaches present that the city was getting ready to hire a landscape architect.

“I can’t provide a schedule for you to say that things are going to happen on a set timeline. I can tell you: the city is working on those things,” Franzen told the crowd.

Back in 2012, the city announced it was revamping the park and would be building an ice rink. Neighbors and coaches were outraged, the plans were scraped and officials started the process all over again.

Neighbors, parents and others participated in several “listening sessions” with Franzen and other officials last year to share their opinions on how the park and playing fields should be upgraded.

The park is home of one of the city’s 18 playing fields. The Lincoln Park field has the highest usage in the city. The surface is uneven, drains poorly, and the soil contains glass shards and other dangerous objects and parents, teachers and neighbors have been complaining about it for years.

At the meeting, Franzen announced that some teams, including perhaps Somerville High School teams, might soon have to start practicing on other fields. He named Dilboy Auxiliary and a park area called “Draw 7,” by the Mystic River behind Assembly Square. That area is not yet laid out as a soccer field.

Soccer parent Todd Easton was among the many parents present who were frustrated at the meeting.

“At some point we’d like to [hear], ‘There’s a realistic time line, a realistic budget, and we want to see this happen.’ But right now, again, it seems like we’re just talking speculation and a lot of it’s contingent on getting access to things that might take years to get,” he said.

Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston urged people not to lose patience.

“This park is going to get done,” she promised. “This is a jewel. This has function. I mean, I think even Todd, people who want to use it for an athletic field, want to see this thing get done sooner rather than later, so it’s up to the City to figure out how they meet the needs of their citizens. And the needs of the citizens in this neck of the woods is, we’re waiting for that park to happen.”

Alderman-at-Large Mary Jo Rossetti was also at the meeting. She told Somerville Neighborhood News she was pleased at the participation during the meeting, even though many people expressed worry and even skepticism.

“I thought there was great conversation tonight. Everybody should be entitled to weigh their feelings and their opinion and I think Arn listened to them very well,” she said.

Franzen said that the city would soon issue its Request for Proposals (RFP) for a landscape architect, but he could not give a definite date.

Hueston admitted that the park renovation discussion has been going on “for a long time,” but said she was optimistic that finally the City was talking about hiring the landscape architect.

“Once the landscape architect is chosen, [the firm will] come back to the community and… work with the community. How many meetings? Three, four, five, seven, whatever it takes to take all those ideas that have already been accumulated and then to see how they fit into a design,” she told SNN.

More SNN coverage of this issue:

1) Playing Field Challenges – http://www.scatvsomerville.org/snn/playing-field-challenges/

2) Lincoln Park November 2013 “listening session” coverage – http://youtu.be/4sZ9fQhhcsc?list=PLoFyRgrTeiKjjT0QWCrA8dSg_ZxDk_V1M