NAHANT — A joint meeting was held between the town and the Open Space and Recreation Committee to discuss the town’s Master Plan for the popular Flash Road Park, located at 40 Flash Road.
Back in 2022, the Annual Town Meeting approved a CPA grant (Community Preservation Act) of $11,000 for the town to design an improvement of the area. Combined with other grants, the town will utilize a total of $31,000 for the project.
Flash Road Park has several interesting elements to it. Some of the key features currently at the park are the playground, basketball court, soccer field, three baseball fields, a heritage trail, and a significant bulk of open space. The committee’s goal was to gauge the public’s perspective on a possible redevelopment of the area to help improve the enjoyment of open space while also promoting safe recreation.
According to the Community Preservation Committee’s grant application for the project, several key elements of the project were cited as the town’s priorities for the area. Some considerations the town would like to ponder would be moving the soccer field away from the golf course and closer to public restrooms by eliminating the old Babe Ruth baseball field seating and fencing.
It was noted that the Babe Ruth baseball field has not been used for years and that the dugouts have already been removed due to their deterioration, and its infield no longer exists.
Another element would be the possible installation of a Heritage Trail marker, which could expand throughout the area, according to the grant application. The town would also seek to expand the parking area to better accommodate cars, as well as additional ideas or desires from the public, which could be incorporated into the final result.
Town Administrator Tony Barletta took a moment to reflect on the background of the project. “The town was supported with CPC funding and town meeting approval to hire a consulting firm to help us with the master plan,” Barletta said. “There’s a lot of different people that will be interested in contributing to what this area will look like in the future.”
Bryan Jereb from Tighe and Bond, an engineering consulting firm, gave a presentation on the existing conditions of the area. “We’ve gotten great feedback, and we’re hoping to hear if some of the opportunities we have are worthwhile,” Jereb said.
“We didn’t feel a positive sense of arrival, and it didn’t feel very welcoming, and we should focus on that,” he added. “Right now, folks are coming in the fire lanes, where they have to make a U-turn around the side of the school and drop off their kids at the designated drop off point,” he said, citing the need for a more efficient method.
He continued, explaining further complexities with the project. “The Department of Public Works (DPW) yard is pretty large, and it divides the school and the open space, and people tend to walk right through it,” Jereb said. “There isn’t another defined pedestrian connection between the two, and that’s a big item to consider.”
Barletta took a moment to comment on the newly proposed greenhouse for Johnson Elementary School students. “They haven’t settled on a defined space for the greenhouse, but I believe they’re looking for it behind the library,” Bartletta said. “Close to where the gym is, I think that’s what they’re looking for.”
Jereb also spoke on potential opportunities for the area to help make it stand out more. “The DPW site is very prominent, so something we were thinking we could do is claim more space beside it and plant some trees and grass to make the DPW more of the background,” Jereb said.
“The school drop-off route goes through the fire lane, which is unsafe,” Jereb noted. “An idea was floated where we could make a new connection through Flash Road.” He added that they could change general circulation to make it function a little better.
More points that the committee focused on were improving the parking lot configuration and adding signage where it indicates public use. The committee would also look to maintain the fire lane for EMS access to play fields, remove the underutilized baseball field, and maintain a flexible open space for farmer’s markets and other uses.
“I think that there’s a lot of good work here, and that going forward, getting input from different groups is gonna be important before we take the next step,” Barletta said.
He continued, reflecting on the issue of the area not having sufficient parking spaces. “I wish we could do more with parking; maybe if the Fire Department relocated, you do do more and expand parking,” Barletta said. “But I think with the area now, we need to better define what’s for the park, what’s for the fire dept, what’s for the DPW TB.
It was noted during the meeting that the goal of the meeting’s discussion was to increase public discourse and gauge a response from the proposed ideas before it goes forward.
“As a first pass, to get people to see what opportunities are out there and the challenges we might face, I think this is a great first step,” Barletta said.
