The city held a ribbon cutting for the playground at Fallon Field this morning during the Mayor’s Neighborhood Coffee Hour. We were happy to have been included in the program, giving us a chance to thank the many people who came together to make the playground renovation happen. This playground has kept the city’s social media teams busy: check out a few of their posts on a few platforms below!
There’s not much left for us to say about the Fallon Field playground, but now that it is open we have plenty of photos to share. Thank you to everyone who has visited already – this weekend has felt like a celebration to us. Continue reading
If you’ve been at the corner of Walter and Walworth, you are undoubtedly aware of the new slide looming above the soon-to-open playground at Fallon Field. It’s a big slide, possibly the highest in the Boston area. We hear a lot of feedback about both that slide and the whole playground design. While the majority of the comments are extremely positive, we also hear some questions about safety. Balancing safety and risk in playgrounds is an important discussion that is happening across the country; in this post we weigh in with our thoughts on risk and why we advocated for such challenging elements at this playground. Continue reading
It’s been a while since our last update, but there was a whole lot going on behind the scenes all summer. Continue reading
Over the past few weeks we have been in frequent contact with representatives from the Parks Department about a few projects in Roslindale. Between those conversations and today’s release of the city’s FY17 recommended budget we have a few updates on some projects we have been advocating for. Continue reading
At a community meeting held Thursday night, representatives from the Parks Department and Spurr Design Studio presented further revisions to the design for the playground at Fallon Field. The changes since the previous presentation are significant, and include several updates that are closely aligned with suggestions made by the community during and after the last community meeting. Download the presentation from the meeting here, or keep reading for an overview of the new design. Continue reading
Yesterday’s neighborhood coffee hour at Fallon Field gave us a great chance to acknowledge the city’s response to our advocacy and to think about what we still have left to do.
Progress continues on the playground renovation at Fallon Field, with some possible modifications to the design under consideration. The results of the geological survey have revealed that the elevation change from the top of the embankment to the bottom is larger than expected. To us, this is welcome news, as we had previously suggested that the proposed four foot embankment would limit opportunities for challenging play features. We are expecting a fourth public meeting, likely at the end of June, to discuss modifications to the design made in response to both community feedback and the results of the survey. Continue reading
Today the Mayor’s office released its FY16 recommended budget. As the first budget primarily developed under Mayor Walsh as well as the first budget since Chris Cook was named Parks Commissioner, this recommendation provides us a unique glimpse into the city’s plans for the future of its park system. Most important to our efforts are the updated capital plan, which covers the five year span from 2016 to 2020, and the Parks Department’s capital budget. Here’s what is planned for Roslindale’s playgrounds, as well as a little bit of insight into how the Parks Department will operate over the next five years. Continue reading
The proposed design for Fallon Field’s playground is clearly a step forward from the existing playground. Its use of an embankment to add play value and the water feature’s thoughtful design will be welcome additions to the neighborhood. It is also clear that the designers have incorporated community feedback into the design, and are mindful of both our need for better play options and the (primarily budgetary) constraints under which they are working.
With that said, this playground renovation – along with the upcoming renovation to Healy Field – is an opportunity to improve the neighborhood that we likely won’t see again for as many as 15 years. Continue reading
At a community meeting held on March 3rd, the Parks Department and Weston & Sampson presented their current preferred design for the upcoming renovation to the Fallon Field playground. This design was based on community feedback from the design alternatives presented in February, the design team’s professional opinions and experience, and budget considerations. Please note that this is not the final design for the playground; it is the currently preferred design, and it can still be changed based on community feedback or other factors. As always, you can (and should!) send additional feedback to Cathy Baker-Eclipse at cathy.baker-eclipse@cityofboston.gov. You can also view the meeting presentation and read the feedback captured by the parks department. Continue reading
