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A wish for parklands

Email|Link|Comments (4) Posted by bdaley August 4, 2008 07:44 AM

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

By now, Massachusetts' residents have gotten used to neglected parks and beaches: There are toilets that don't work, buildings that need paint and garden plots filled with more weeds than flowering buds.

But does it have to be like that? I just got back from Chicago where the greater metropolitan area is flush with well-maintained parks, gardens, bike trails and jogging paths. There are even areas of the beach on Lake Michigan set aside for dogs. A dog beach!

Massachusetts' park system, the sixth largest in the nation, was once celebrated for its parklands. But in the last 15 years, the state has accumulated a backlog of maintenance problems that will cost $1.2 billion to fix. Environmentalists say parks across the state are plagued with crumbling infrastructure, trash buildup, and insufficient staffing.

But let’s pretend here. If Massachusetts had the political will and money to fix all the crumbling infrastructure and spruce up parklands, what would you like to see in them?

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4 comments so far...

I'd like to see our parks reclaimed as places for people and not for regional traffic speeding along. I'd like to see some small cafes in our parks, so that people have a place to sit and get something to eat or drink. I'd also like to see some restrooms so that if you're out along the Charles, for example, you don't have to try to find a business nearby and beg to use their restroom.

Posted by Charlie D. August 4, 08 11:29 AM

Dog beaches! Glad you mentioned this. You may have noticed in Chicago, Beth, that the dog beach was full of happy people, as dog beaches bring together dog lovers from the entire region.

The people need to exercise their dogs, and dogs just love the water. Allowing dogs on certain sections of beaches is a legitimate recreational need.

Posted by Stephanie August 4, 08 01:29 PM

I would like to see people volunteer to care for their favorite park. Investing their time would inspire others to help too.

I would like to see less people drop their trash thoughtlessly as they finish their snack or newspaper. The garbage problem in this city is hard to believe.

Posted by bob August 4, 08 02:42 PM

I want play parks for children. I don't mean playgrounds. I mean areas where kids can get dirty, climb trees, mess around in the stream, and do all that stuff that you used to be able to do in the bit of woods behind your house, if you were lucky enough to grow up with that. Examples can be found, but they are few and far between. Evidence builds showing that unstructured, outdoor, dirty, messy, undirected play is the healthiest thing for kids. Let's give them some places to do it.

Posted by Sylvia August 4, 08 03:08 PM