Fw FYI: Ringer Playground - IN PERSON Design Meeting #2 Tuesday Sept 19, 6:00pm

[Joan Pasquale]

Hello Everyone,

Below and attached please find information re: the Parks Dept.'s sponsored September 19^th In-Person Meeting at the Jackson Mann Community Center at 6:00p.m. to present and discuss the proposed Ringer Park renovations. 

Also attached is the 8/23 Harvard Medicine Magazine article on the health benefits of green space.

Please consider attending this meeting as it's an opportunity to voice your opinion re: the proposed designs will affect Ringer Park's renovations and future park use. 

Examples: 

* The proposed Decorative Tall Grasses and a Pollinator Meadow on the rolling hills facing the Softball Field area will eliminate popular flat grass park-user areas where people sit/lie on the grass, relax, and socialize. The proposed plantings will also affect Winter use/Snow sledding re: snow doesn't fall flat on plantings as it does on dormant grass. These items could be planted elsewhere in the park to prevent/eliminate ongoing soil erosion problems. 

* The flat Shade Tree area next to the Softball Field, another popular park-user area, is designated to become a Dog Park. Outside of Ringer Park's Wooded Area this is the only open, easily accessible Shade Tree area for our wheelchaired neighbors to socialize/use. It's also a popular picnic and meeting area. This location also abuts multiple houses versus the Zoom Meeting suggestions of the empty Gordon St. Entrance area, and there's a large, empty, grassy area on the opposite side of the Softball Field where a Dog Park could be established. 

* Paving the Urban Wilds Wooded Area Pathway from the Allston St. to Gordon St. entrance with a cement or gravel walkway versus compacted dirt/soil, as was done previously to level the path at the Allston St. entrance area. 

Please consider attending this meeting as it's an opportunity to voice your opinion re: all the proposed park designs.

A neighborhood park should be considered as everyone's backyard, recreation, relaxation, inclusive community use space, a Peoples' Park, versus becoming an expensively renovated Walk-Thru Park with athletic amenities and a dog park. The Ringer Park Design Zoom Meetings and Notes can be viewed at: www.boston.gov/ringer-playground 

Thank you for your consideration,

Joan Pasquale 

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From: B Chatfield <abigail....@boston.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, September 5, 2023 4:37 PM

Cc: Kyle Zick <kz...@kylezick.com>
Subject: Ringer Playground - IN PERSON Design Meeting #2 Tuesday Sept 19, 6:00pm

 

Dear Friend,

In our first community meeting for Phase 1, we reviewed some key points from the comprehensive plan, and described the work that our Phase 1 project will address. We have some design ideas for these areas to share, are eager to hear feedback and ideas from the community.

The information for this first meeting is below. 

Ringer Playground Design Meeting #2

Date: Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Time: 6:00pm

LOCATION: Jackson Mann Community Center

Project page: boston.gov/ringer-playground

Community members requested an in-person meeting, so we are happy that the Community Center can accommodate our group. We do not film our in-person meetings, so if you are not able to attend, please refer to the minutes that we will post to the project page approximately 1 week after. We will also upload the presentation to the project page. 

Please share, tell your neighbors, and I hope to see you at our meeting.

Many thanks!

B

--

B Chatfield (she/her) Project Manager Boston Parks and Recreation Department 617-504-7709(c), 617-635-3256(f) Follow us @BostonParksDept and Like us on Facebook

[Joan Pasquale]

Hello Everyone,

Below and attached please find information re: the Parks Dept.'s sponsored September 19^th In-Person Meeting at the Jackson Mann Community Center at 6:00p.m. to present and discuss the proposed Ringer Park renovations. 

Also attached is the 8/23 Harvard Medicine Magazine article on the health benefits of green space.

Please consider attending this meeting as it's an opportunity to voice your opinion re: the proposed designs will affect Ringer Park's renovations and future park use. 

Examples: 

* The proposed Decorative Tall Grasses and a Pollinator Meadow on the rolling hills facing the Softball Field area will eliminate popular flat grass park-user areas where people sit/lie on the grass, relax, and socialize. The proposed plantings will also affect Winter use/Snow sledding re: snow doesn't fall flat on plantings as it does on dormant grass. These items could be planted elsewhere in the park to prevent/eliminate ongoing soil erosion problems. 

* The flat Shade Tree area next to the Softball Field, another popular park-user area, is designated to become a Dog Park. Outside of Ringer Park's Wooded Area this is the only open, easily accessible Shade Tree area for our wheelchaired neighbors to socialize/use. It's also a popular picnic and meeting area. This location also abuts multiple houses versus the Zoom Meeting suggestions of the empty Gordon St. Entrance area, and there's a large, empty, grassy area on the opposite side of the Softball Field where a Dog Park could be established. 

* Paving the Urban Wilds Wooded Area Pathway from the Allston St. to Gordon St. entrance with a cement or gravel walkway versus compacted soil, as was done previously to level the path at the Allston St. entrance area. 

Please consider attending this meeting as it's an opportunity to voice your opinion re: all the proposed park designs. A neighborhood park should be considered as everyone's backyard, recreation, relaxation, inclusive community use space, a Peoples' Park, versus becoming an expensively renovated Walk-Thru Park with athletic and dog park amenities. Ringer Park is a 4-Season used park, and is Allston-Brighton's largest City of Boston owned green space.

Allston-Brighton is overwhelmed with multiple new hi-rise housing development projects resulting in more community residents, so preserving passive recreational green space areas for residents to enjoy is crucial.

You may not live in Allston, but you understand the importance of preserving existing parkland, and the need for thoughtfully designed park renovations. 

The Ringer Park Design Zoom Meetings and Notes can be viewed at: www.boston.gov/ringer-playground 

Thank you for your consideration,

Joan Pasquale 

www.facebook.com/RingerParkAllstonMass