Fwd: New Community Garden Location

[RIVKA SIMMONS]

Hi Amanda, FYI: I sent this letter below to Medford Recreation Director Kevin Bailey requesting a reconsideration of the Parks Commission decision to locate the new community garden on College Ave. He said he’d put it on the agenda for the next Parks Commission meeting on Sept. 16 at 6pm. The letter argues the case for the neighborhood’s decision to locate the garden on Marston St. and against the Commission’s overruling of the neighbors’ wishes.

---------- Original Message ----------

From: RIVKA SIMMONS <jef...@comcast.net>

To: "Kba...@medford-ma.gov" <Kba...@medford-ma.gov>

Date: 09/05/2025 12:36 PM EDT

Subject: New Community Garden Location

 

 

Dear Kevin Bailey, 

I’m writing about the proposed community garden in Barry Park Medford. I request that the Parks Commission revisit the issue of the location of the proposed garden. We advocate that the Commission place the new community garden where the residents of the neighborhood and the Community Garden Committee decided it should be placed: along Marston St. in Barry Park. This conclusion agreed with the overwhelming rejection by seventy neighbors on the alternative College Ave. site when it was proposed several years ago.

Fifteen neighbors and the two leaders of the Community Garden Committee met on June 12th in Barry Park next to the children’s playground. The neighbors and the community garden leaders decided that the best place for a new community garden was in Barry Park proper across from the playground and along Marston St. We discussed the reasons the other proposed site for a community garden on College Ave. near Summer St. was not a good choice. 

During the next Parks Commission meeting after our Marston St. community meeting the wishes of the neighbors and the Community Garden Committee were overruled by the Parks Commission who offered two arguments for putting the garden back on College Ave. where we, the neighbors and the Community Garden Committee, did not want it. The two arguments for the Parks Commission preference of College Ave. are the desire to not impinge on the outskirts of the baseball field and an assertion that there is better access to water at College Ave.

The residents’ and Garden Committee’s reasons for preferring the garden in Barry Park proper on Marston St. are the following:

* The Marston St. Barry Park location is already a beautiful outdoor community gathering place for children, adults and athletic events, and has benches and tables for the community. A community garden would enhance the cultural activity that already occurs there. Being near the playground, it’s a perfect location to involve and educate young people in gardening and growing.

* There’s much more room on Marston Ave. than on College Ave.

* There is access to water at the Marston St. location as evidenced by the nearby fire hydrants, the old water fountain in the park, and its proximity to residences.

* A Marston St. garden would not interfere with the ball field as only children, “the tots”, now use that field for organized events.

*Marston St. has more parking than the already over crowded College Ave. Most every day from 6 pm to 8 am both sides of narrow College Ave. are lined bumper to bumper with parked vehicles. A garden would only increase the amount of cars.

* The narrow College Ave. street creates a major safety concern as emergency vehicles, such as fire engines, can’t get down the street and turn the corner onto Summer St. when both sides of the street are lined with vehicles, as is the case most every day.

* The garden committee leaders have noted that only one community garden in Medford had a rodent problem. But our College Ave. neighbors have had to meet to remedy our neighborhood’s rodent problem. Our near neignbor has had to forgo growing vegetables in his garden because of rodents and neighbors directly across from the proposed College Ave. location have had to deploy rat traps to stem the rodent problem.

The residents of the neighborhood and the heads of the Community Garden Committee believe that the superior Marston St. location in Barry Park should be the location of the new community garden instead of the multiply problematic College Ave. location. The wishes of the residents and the garden committee and our reasons for the Marston Garden should prevail and not be vetoed by the Parks Committee. I request that we revisit the decision regarding the garden’s location at the next Parks Commission meeting.

Sincerely, 

Jeff Meyerhoff

13 College Ave.

Medford, MA