Kids & Family
Park Design to Go to Town Council
Barrington's Police Cove park design committee signed off on a proposal at its final meeting Wednesday evening; it only left undone coming up with a name for the park.
The Police Cove park design committee finished its work Wednesday night after meeting eight times over about 10 months.
The design for the vacant space at the junction of County Road and Mathewson Road just north of the Andreozzi Bridge and just west of the East Bay Bike Path now goes to the Barrington Town Council.
The plan will be presented in two versions: one with a cost of $500,000 and one with a cost of $700,000. Consultant Steve Derderian, a land-use specialist with Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. (VHB), will make the presentation at the March 12 meeting.
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The design includes a waterfront promenade with ornamental railings and benches, an open lawn for flexible use, a transient boat dock near the existing boat ramp, a parking area for food trucks near a dining area, parking for cars and boat trailers, several bike racks, and a portable toilet and storage space.
The final design presented Wednesday will be tweaked just a bit by Derderian before it goes before the councilors, said Town Planner Phil Hervey.
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The two versions to be presented to the Town Council will reflect the half-million dollars Barrington has on hand to build the park and a $700,000 version that includes a $200,000 grant from the state that still has to be approved.
The latter version is the park preferred by the design committee. But members of the committee will settle for the former if the state grant is not approved.
The design reflects unanimous approval by the design committee and incorporates feedback from the public. In short, it builds on the waterfront and makes sure the river is easily accessible, includes seating, creates space for food vendors and is designed to be as simple and manageable as possible.
There is one feature of the park that is still up in the air: its name.
The committee threw around the possibility of sponsoring a contest of some sort to name the park. No specific recommendation was made on how to name it. So naming the park remains a work in progress.
Forward any ideas to Hervey.
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