Somerville High freshman Daishawn Ulysse shows his stuff at the city’s first skateboard-friendly public park, which officially opened on Saturday. In the background is Community Police Officer Bill Carr. – Photo by Elizabeth Sheeran

Park makeovers include skateboard space

By Elizabeth Sheeran

When the sun finally came out to stay last weekend, city dwellers went out to play. And West Somerville residents had not one but two new parks to enjoy.

City officials cut ribbons Saturday on the new and improved Morse-Kelley and Dickerman Playgrounds, both on Craigie Street between Summer Street and Somerville Avenue. And the twin projects breathed new life into neighborhood spaces that by most accounts had fallen into disrepair and disuse.

“Each park is a stand-alone project, but by renovating both spaces at the same time we’ve really created a full array of new passive, creative and active recreation areas within a one-block radius,” said Mayor Joseph Curtatone to the crowd gathered at the unveiling of the latest installment in the city’s ongoing effort to add or upgrade open spaces.

The Craigie Street renovations, which were 60 percent paid-for with state grants, involved a lot more than simply upgrading surfaces, repairing or replacing worn equipment, and adding safety features like LED lighting and traffic-calming sidewalk bump-outs. The city worked with the neighborhood to completely re-design both parks to create open spaces that meet the community’s long-term needs.

The worn tarmac that once covered the upper level of the Dickerman Playground was removed to make way for picnic-worthy green space, with new greenery that includes a gingko to replace the Solimini family tree displaced during Conway Park renovations. The Dickerman’s landmark mural by local artist Joe Barillaro now overlooks a bocce court, and the mural’s pastel color palette is reflected in the toddler-focused play space on the park’s lower level.

Genia Kozorovitskiy, who has two children under the age of two, had high praise for the park’s new play structure.  “Not all structures are equal, and this one has a lot of features that are good for young children,” she said.

~Photo by Jackie Roossetti

And Kozorovitskiy wasn’t just pleased with the Dickerman makeover. She was also looking down the road to when her kids are older, and up the street to the Morse-Kelley Playground, whose features now include a climbing wall, community gardens, basketball courts and a skateboarding circuit. “These two parks are a really nice complement, because I feel that park is more oriented toward bigger kids,” said Kozorovitskiy. “So between these two parks you basically have all age ranges covered completely.”

Parks director Arn Franzen said that’s exactly what planners had in mind when they looked at how the two neighboring spaces could work together for kids of all ages. “Younger kids always look up to older kids, and if we have positive activities and positive role models, hopefully kids will stay invested in the parks and they won’t age out of the park system in the neighborhood,” said Franzen.

He said the city’s first-ever skateboard-friendly park at Morse-Kelley is an important part of that mix, because it gives youth something they’ve been asking for. “There was a sense of youth in the community feeling disenfranchised and not having a place in the community where they were recognized,” said Franzen.

By building wheel-worthy ramps, rails and benches into the Morse-Kelley redesign, the city addressed a real problem with a positive solution, said Ward Three Community Police Officer Bill Carr.

“It gets the skateboarders off the streets and off other people’s properties,” said Carr, who watched Saturday as a succession of kids sailed down a sloped concrete slab and took flight, or executed intricate maneuvers on the edge of the ramp, showing off a mix of balance and dexterity. “It gives them another avenue to express themselves.”

Somerville High freshman Jules Cleophat said it was good not to have to worry about getting in trouble for doing something he loved. “Instead of going to other spots were we can get kicked out or arrested or fined, we can come here now,” said Cleophat. “I don’t look at skateboarding as a crime. It’s just another sport.”

Six-year-old Elijah Helsinger observed intently as Cleophat flew past him along a curved metal rail raised a few feet off the ground. Then he turned and joined his twin sister Nadia in navigating the park’s colorful climbing wall.

“It was really run down before,” said their father Aaron Helsinger of the Morse-Kelley redesign. “This is a lot warmer, more welcoming, and the mix of different activities is really nice.”