Lynn officials ponder park, playground skating

LYNN – Hockey on Lynn Common? Skating in Kiley and Gowdy playgrounds? Those winter pastimes could become realities if city officials have their way.Associate Public Works Commissioner Lisa Nerich said she is exploring the feasibility of pumping water onto the park’s flat surfaces during the coldest winter weather to create skating surfaces for local residents.”I’d rather see kids skating on a park than on a pond,” Nerich said.Nerich and City Clerk Mary Audley said they skated in local parks as children and Ward 4 City Councilor Richard Colucci said he skated as a kid on the Common.”That’s where I learned to skate backwards,” Colucci said.Retired Associate Public Works Commissioner George Potter recalled Public Works employees open fire hydrants on freezing nights and pumping water onto the rock-hard frozen surfaces of local parks.”It was very, very popular,” he said.Potter and Nerich said flooding residential backyards for skating is a common local practice. Once snow covers Gannon Municipal Golf Course, sledders flock to the hillside near the course entrance.Potter has fond and not so fond memories of park skating. He started skating on the Common near Shepard Street when he was 11. At the age of 12, Potter lost his left eye playing hockey on the Common when another player attempted to jump over him.Assistant Solicitor James Lamanna said municipalities face relatively little risk of lawsuits under state law if they open public spaces for recreation. But Potter wondered if enough skating fans live in the city today to make park skating a popular pastime.”I don’t know. It would be a shot in the dark,” he said.