Overhaul Planned for Bedford Village Memorial Park

A master plan for Bedford Village Memorial Park calls for an overhaul around the playground area.

The master plan was presented to the Bedford Town Board at its June 18 meeting, according to video of the occasion, by William Heidepriem, who is superintendent for Recreation & Parks for the town.

The changes, Heidepriem explained, include consolidating the playground sections for 2-5 year olds and 5-12 year olds into one area, which will be near the tennis courts. The sections will be separated by landscaping and ground-level decking that could be traversed, he said. Meanwhile, a pathway that goes from the entrance on Greenwich Road and through a parking lot would be redirected to go in front of the tennis courts, past the playground and to the ballfields. Heidepriem explained that safety is the reason for diverting the pathway.

Currently, the two playgrounds are spread out by about the length of a football field, Heidpriem said, and the change is “just a better setup having the two playgrounds together.”

The origin of the proposal comes from a 2008 study, Heidpriem told the town board. He added that in 2011, the town board gave $80,000 in funding, which is in addition to about $20,000 in private money pledged by the Bedford Village Chowder & Marching Club.

Other elements of the master plan, Heidpriem explained, include adding trees, a swing set, fencing around much of the playground, having a 5-foot-wide pedestrian pathway around the playground, expanding patio seating and offsetting an existing pathway toward the pavilion to make it more gradual and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. A slope in the seating area will also be terraced, Heidpriem said, and a ramp will be added to connect the playground to the restroom area.

Board members, in response, gave their support for the work. Heidpriem told the board that he intends to return to it in about two weeks. The intended timeline, which covers the new playground equipment portion of the plan, involves getting board authorization to go out to bid, awarding bids by August, site preparation in September and construction in October. The current timeline calls for completion of the new playground by late October. Heidpriem added that he is hopeful money can be saved by using in-house labor for the project.