SAUGUS — It’s a smoother walk in the town’s center with 400 feet of new sidewalk skirting Evans Park, completed as part of a $637,000 renovation project.
The latest town park to get a makeover, the Evans work includes, according to a description provided by the town, granite curbing, two new regulation-sized basketball courts, improved parking and drainage and installing security cameras and lighting.
The sidewalks are parallel to Central Street and Winter Street and, in Town Manager Scott Crabtree’s words, are “the safest and most reliable space to walk through the center of town.”
But Evans’ restoration hasn’t come without controversy. Winter Street resident Stephen McKinney protested in September the town’s decision to remove a 19-inch maple tree and take an 8-foot-wide swath of his property.
A land survey in preparation for the park work determined the town property line was 8 feet closer to McKinney’s property than previously recorded.
The park work started in the summer and is slated for completion later this fall. Evans is the most recent town park and playground to be renovated.
Veterans Memorial Elementary School playground was renovated in 2016 with a new play area, wheelchair-accessible inclusive playground equipment, new swings and a newly designed updated basketball court. Bristow Park’s 2017 renovations included a large, handicapped-accessible play area with swings, slides, a seesaw, shade trees, seating, and a nearby water bubbler.
The existing field was irrigated and now includes a 10-foot tall, 30-foot long lacrosse wall, and the tee-ball field has been rehabilitated with a new infield, backstop, bleachers, and players’ benches.
The park has new LED lights and security cameras to increase safety and security and a new basketball court, a bathroom, storage shed, and concession stand.
Bristow also features a series of workout stations from playground equipment company Landscape Structures, according to the statement provided by the town.
The town parks project in 2017 also replaced the old tennis courts at Belmonte Middle School with an expanded facility and regulation-sized courts to accommodate tournament play, including five tennis courts with one overlapping pickleball court, and wind screens.
Stackpole Field got a makeover with 11,000 square feet of new, softer sod installed.
“I would like to thank the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, Town Meeting, and residents of Saugus for their continued support of these important community initiatives,” Crabtree stated.
