Community Corner

Final Touches Being Made on Plans for Park Behind Watertown Police Station

A hard court, children's play structure and gazebo will be added to the former school playground.

The park behind the Watertown Police Station will include a children’s playground, a multi-use hard court and a water spray park.

Plans to upgrade the area have been under discussion since October 2010, after the completion of the new police station. The final plans for park behind the Watertown Police Station will be revealed at a community meeting Tuesday night, said Recreation Director Peter Centola.

Most of the additions actually replicate what has been at the location in the past when 552 Main St. was home to a school, Centola said.

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“This used to be the Browne School,” Centola said. “They used to have 400 kids there. There was always a tot-lot there, and always a hardtop surface with a basketball court.”

Centola describes the blacktop as a “hard court” because it will be used for much more than just basketball.

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“We want people to be able to use it for basketball, street hockey, maybe dodgeball,” Centola said. “And if a grandmother want to take her grandchild for a first lesson in riding a bicycle she could do it there.”

The spray park would be the only one on the Westside of town. The town has places for children to splash in water at Arsenal Park and Filippello Park, Centola said.

The plan also includes a gazebo and benches, Centola said, and some trees and bushes will be planted.

Having a park in close proximity to the Police Station will create opportunities, Centola said.

“There is going to be informal as well as formal activities with the members of the  police department,” Centola said.

When plans are finalized, Centola will make a recommendation to Town Manager Michael Driscoll and the Town Council.

The community meeting will be held Tuesday, Dec. 4 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Community Room at the Watertown Police Department, 552 Main St. 


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