By Harry Kane

On Wednesday the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development held a groundbreaking ceremony for the renovation of Morse-Kelley and Dickerman Playgrounds. “These Parks are part of a long string of new dynamic open spaces that we have built, renovated, designed, or have been under construction since 2004 that reflect and meet a variety of needs,” Mayor Curtatone stated.

Morse-Kelley Playground will be the first park in Somerville designed with skateboarding elements consisting of rails, benches, steps, and a ‘Pier 7’ pad.  A toddler play structure, community garden, and climbing wall are just a few of the planned new additions to the park.

The Dickerman Playground is separated into two sections. The first section combines several play areas with new rubber surfaces on the ground. The second section of the park is green lawn with a tai chi/yoga area and bocce court.

Arn Fanzen, Director of Parks and Open Space, explained, “this project was actually started in conjunction with the Alderman (Thomas Taylor) and the residents of the area. There were lots of representatives from Save Our Somerville (SOS) and youths in the community advocating for skateboarding elements at Morse-Kelley Park.”

Groundbreaking ceremony for the renovation of Morse-Kelley and Dickerman Playgrounds. ~Photo by Harry Kane

Adam Rich, a volunteer with SOS, was present at the groundbreaking along with two of the skateboarders who initially voiced their desire for the skateboarding element at the park. “We started out with a vision that these guys conceived”, Rich said.  After many petitions and community meetings their dream has finally entered the beginning stages of reality.  “Skateboarding is one of the new big sports that really hasn’t been accommodated for in this city. We’re always trying to look out for youth issues,” Rich noted.

Terry Dolson, 19, was one of the skateboarders who desperately wanted skate-able features at Morse-Kelley Park. He explained why it was so necessary to make this addition to the playground. “It’s tough for younger kids that are 13 or 14 years old because they don’t have a license and its tough to skate to places like Arlington or Lexington that actually have skate parks.”

The Principal Architect at CBA Landscape Architects, Denis J. Chagnon, a.k.a DJ, was really proud of the innovative park designs. “The process has been really terrific. We’ve really been fortunate to have a great deal of enthusiastic community involvement. They defined their priorities, which then gave us a challenging but interesting mix of stuff to fit into both of the parks,” DJ recounted.

“The playgrounds will be closed for the summer and fall during the reconstruction. If everything goes according to plan we hope to re-open in the fall”,  said Franzen. “If not in the fall early in the spring of next year.”

The Mayor declared, “We made a commitment that Somerville will have the most dynamic, flexible, unique and best open spaces in the metropolitan core and we’re well on our way.”