LYNN — The recently opened splash pads at Barry Park marked the first of many upgrades coming to the park as part of a long, multi-phase renovation project that could bring bleacher removal, renovated playground equipment, and upgraded lighting in the months ahead.
Ward 7 Councilor Jay Walsh said that he hopes to see American Rescue Plan Act funding approved for playground renovation, as the splash pad, he said, now appears to be one nice feature of an otherwise run-down park.
“Trying to expand, or I should say, rehab, a park that’s connected to a rail trail really creates access for everybody, so they really like to put money into those types of projects. We applied … about a month ago but we’re looking for another $500,000 to do the playground equipment over,” Walsh said in an interview Monday afternoon. “If you’ve been to the splash pad at all, you realize how nice the job was done there, and how much it really looks great, but then you realize how bad everything else looked.”
The city has already secured grant funding for the removal of the park’s bleachers, which Walsh said are no longer useful, in September via the state’s Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities program.
“We’re looking to knock down the old cement bleachers that have been there for a long, long time. They just really outlived their usefulness. There’s a lot of graffiti that ends up over there from the neighbors. It’s always a problem, and people kind of hide behind the stairs and they’re doing things they probably shouldn’t be doing there, which kind of laps with part of the history of West Lynn, to be honest with you, because I think everybody probably did that behind those bleachers at some point,” Walsh said. “It’s time, we’ve got the funding and in September, we’re looking to have them knock those bleachers out of there, make it more of an open space so it’s more inviting to people, and really make more use of that park, put some spotlights on it.”
With a second round of ARPA funding set to be distributed in the fall, Walsh said that he hopes to see upgraded park lighting for enhanced security.
“I’m hoping to see some money from ARPA funds that we’ve approved to put into parks. I would like to upgrade the lighting down there. Part of the problem with Barry is it’s pretty dark there sometimes and people like to hide in the dark, so we would like to see some upgrades for the lighting. Even for just night lighting, security lighting, those are some of the things we’re going to look at,” Walsh said.
Walsh said that no individual person can take credit for the Barry Park renovation project, as it was the combined work of many local and state officials who came together to ensure that everyone can have access to a clean, safe park.
“Everybody deserves a safe, clean park. No matter your background, no matter what, you deserve that. So that’s something where we’re trying to get in and get done, and Barry just happens to be the one that we were able to fight for and we will continue to fight for it,” Walsh said. “I really want to stress how important it is that everyone worked together. I can’t say that enough … it really takes a village. I know everybody wants to be the person banging the drum saying ‘look what I did’ but it’s not one person at all, it takes everybody.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected].
