Watertown Town Council Approves Park Project Despite Vocal Opposition from Neighbors

The park behind the new Police Station will have a multi-use hard court, a spray park and play structures for children.

Town Councilors approved plans to upgrade the park behind the new Watertown Police Station Tuesday night even as a group of neighbors pleaded to take out the hard court area included in the project. Discussions about the 552 Main Street Park, which used to be known as the Browne School Playground, started in October 2010, and plans have changed since then, said Recreation Director Peter Centola. Some features disappeared, such as a street hockey rink, while others were added, including the water spray area. The hard court area, which can be used for basketball and a number of other things, was added to the plan and made it to the final plan. Other additions include a gazebo, a picnic area, new landscaping and replacement of the fence on …

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Do You Like the Improvements Planned for the 552 Main Street Park?

Some neighbors oppose adding a hard court area and other things to the park behind the new police station.

Neighbors of the old Browne School Playground made what could be their final pleas to limit the number of changes to be made to the park behind the new Police Station at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting. The Recreation Department has plans to add a multi-purpose hard court, a children’s play structure and a water spray area to the park at 552 Main Street, said Recreation Director Peter Centola. He hopes to start work on the project this spring. Some neighbors, including those who attended the Town Council meeting, say the changes will ruin what is now a nice little piece of green space in their neighborhood. Candy Aulenbach, who lives near the park and has followed the process since it started, said that original plans were much more simple…

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Town Council Approves Whitney Hill Protection - Will it be For the Dogs, Too?

The largest remaining forested area of Watertown will remain a nature preserve.

  Nature lovers will be able to enjoy Watertown's largest remaining forested area for years to come after the Town Council approved a resolution to keep Whitney Hill as a nature preserve. Part of the wooded area above Victory Field already had protection as park land, but the Town Council learned in September 2012 that two smaller parcels belonged to the Public Works. Last Tuesday, the Town Council unanimously approved the resolution, which reads, in part, "Whitney Hill Park shall be preserved and maintained as natural wooded parkland for passive recreation and education purposes. ..." (See the whole resolution by clicking here.) The area will be taken care of by the Department of Public Works, said DPW Superintendent Gerald Mee. While the…

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Learn About Plans to Renovate Watertown's Casey Park

Also, Recreation Department has job openings - see them on Patch.

The following information was provided by the Watertown Recreation Department: Some big changes could be coming to Casey Park, and residents can find out more at a community meeting on Jan. 8. The large park on Watertown Street south of the river includes a little league baseball field, basketball courts, tennis courts and a children's play structure. Recently, Recreation Director Peter Centola presented potential upgrades to the Town Council, including: building an outdoor ice/street hockey rink, repairs to the tennis courts and upgrades to the baseball field. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 8, in the Lower Hearing Room in Town Hall. Along with Centola, project manager Glenn Howard of CDM Smith, will present the final …

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What Should Go at the Front Entrance of Filippello Park When the Recycling Center Moves?

The Conservation Commission has started talking about how the land where the recycling center now sits will be used after it moves.

Watertown has a rare opportunity to add something new to one of the largest recreation areas in town, and town officials want residents to share their ideas for what to put in area near the entrance to Filippello Park. Currently, there are basketball courts in the spot and the recycling center operates in the area, but that will soon move to Stanley Avenue on the West End of Watertown. With the space freeing up, the Conservation Commission and the Recreation Department seek ideas for how to use the property, which sits along the driveway into Filippello Park off Grove Street, said Watertown's Director of Recreation Peter Centola. "It's a matter of what the Conservation Commission recommends, what fits and what makes sense," Centola said. "…

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Council Wants to Unite 2 Whitney Hill Parcels into Protected Nature Area

The last wooded area in town does not fall under any one board, but town officials are discussing ways to protect it.

The Town Council learned Tuesday at the area known as Whitney Hill is actually made up of two parcels, one of which is protected recreation land and the other is designated as part of the Department of Public Works.  The area tucked in the middle of town is the last standing natural forest area in an urban suburb. A number of Town Councilors said they want to make sure both sections are protected for Watertown residents to enjoy as a natural area.  Town Councilor Susan Falkoff, who has been pushing to place the area under the protection of the Conservation Commission since she served on that board 10 years ago, said she wants to make sure the natural features of the wooded hillside is not disturbed. "When discussion started about turning …

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Watertown Freedom

5:15 pm on Sunday, September 30, 2012

Both parcels are owned by the town, but one part is owned specifically by the DPW. I am completely in favor of uniting the two parcels and preserving them for future generations.   more ›

A New Park May be in Watertown's Future

Town residents frequent Whitney Hill, but it is not officially part of Watertown's park system.

[Updated on Aug. 24 at 1:55 p.m.] Watertown residents may soon have a new park to enjoy.  Town Councilor Susan Falkoff let out a "Woo-hoo!" when Town Council President announced that the council would have a hearing to explore turning Whitney Hill into a town park at last week's Town Council Meeting. See pictures of Whitney Hill here.  "I've been working since I was on the Conservation Commission to make it a town park," said Falkoff, who is in her third term as an at-large councilor. Whitney Hill is the forested land above Victory Field and the Public Works Facility. The land is owned by the town, said Conservation Agent Chris Hayward, and the Conservation Commission is looking at protecting it in perpetuity.  It has a small network of …

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Watertown Rec. Dept. Wants an Outdoor Skating Rink at Casey Park

Area would be used for street hockey in warmer months. New lighting and repairs to the tennis court also planned.

Ice skates could be gliding on an outdoor sheet of ice if the Recreation Departement's plans become a reality. The rink would be used for skating during the winter and street hockey and other games during the warmer months, said Recreation Department Director Peter Centola. It is part of the plan for the renovation of Casey Park on Watertown Street. The ice would be surrounded by board with a chain-link fence on top, rather than plexiglas, said Glen Howard of design firm CDM presented the plans to the Town Council Tuesday night. "It would be about half the length and 75 percent the width of the rink used by the (NHL's Boston) Bruins," Howard said. Town Councilor Angeline Kounelis worried that people might get hurt if they hit the poles …

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Neighbors Object to Plans for Park Behind the New Police Station

The plans call for a multi-use court and a spray park at the former Browne School playground, along with a kids play structure and picnic area.

An architect revealed the latest plans for the renovation of the park behind the new Police Station to the Town Council Tuesday night, and neighbors were not happy with what they heard. The park at 552 Main Street used to be the playing fields at Browne School, but have been turned into a park since the Police Station was built in the site of the former school. The field at the park is used for T-ball games, and that will continue. The plans also call for a kiddie playground, or tot-lot, a spray park and a paved court, which can be used for a number of sports, said Glen Howard, of CDM Smith design firm. “Courts were eliminated and a play structure was eliminated as part of the construction of the Police Station,” Howard said. Along with …

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Patch Picks

Patch Picks: Playful Parks

Check out some of these green areas in Watertown and Waltham where you can relax and play.

Moxley Park: This space is located across from Watertown Middle School at 31 Westminster Ave. Kiddies and teens are covered, with playgrounds and a jungle gym for the little ones, basketball and soccer spaces for others. Saltonstall Park: Located next to the Watertown Town Hall at 149 Main St., you’ll find courts and fields for all of your sporting needs. You just might catch a summer concert on their accompanying stage. Peter Gilmore Playground: You’re welcome to walk leashed dogs at 90 Hall St. in Waltham. There are playgrounds and basketball courts to keep the kids busy, too. Lowell Field: Come cool off in the summer at 190 Grove St. in Waltham. You can get sprinkled with the field’s watering systems. If you stay after dark, there are …

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