SALEM – The city of Salem has been awarded $50,000 in state funding to improve the accessibility of the Salem Common.
The state funds, provided through the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, will be used to carry out accessibility improvements recommended by the city’s Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan of 2019. A portion of the funds will also be used to replace damaged benches on the Common.
The funding was secured through the efforts of state Rep. Paul Tucker (D-Salem) and state Sen. Joan Lovely (D-Salem), with support from Mayor Kimberley Driscoll and the advocacy group, Friends of the Salem Common.
“I am enormously grateful to Representative Tucker and Senator Lovely for championing this funding and for their continual commitment to our city and to Salem Common,” said Driscoll. “Salem is blessed with dozens of parks and open spaces, but the Common is among the most special and visible.
“Building on the important work done with our ADA Transition Plan and the existing partnerships with groups the Friends and the SCNA, I know that the future of the Salem Common will be one of greater accessibility and enjoyment for all Salem residents and visitors.”
“I am pleased to work with Mayor Driscoll and city officials, along with so many great people like the Friends of the Salem Common, to keep this historic open space looking beautiful and welcoming for all,” added Tucker.
Salem Common has been earmarked as one of the city’s “signature parks” through its Signature Parks Initiative, and, as such will be receiving approximately $3.3 million in local and grant-funded improvements over the next several years, as the city approaches its quadricentennial in 2026.
The funding will go toward the historic preservation projects underway on the park’s bandstand and fence, upgrading the Common’s landscaping, including its trees, paths, lighting, benches, and the completion of the McIntire Arch. The city has worked closely for many years with the Salem Common Neighborhood Association on many of those elements, with a particular focus on the Arch.
“I proudly worked with Representative Paul Tucker, Mayor Driscoll, and the Friends of the Salem Common to secure funding from the Commonwealth to upgrade this beautiful and historic park,” said Lovely. “This urban oasis offers relaxing green spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy, and I am confident that these state dollars will make the Common an even more wonderful resource for our city.”
