Improvements to Landry Park set for this summer

Waltham’s beloved Landry Park is set to receive a makeover this summer under the direction of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The park is a part of the Charles River Reservation and is located on Landry Way off of Moody Street. This project will be the first major improvement made to the park since its construction in 1978.

The project was discussed at length during the March 13 meeting of the Conservation Commission, which was attended by Andrew Keel, a representative of Hatch, and Elizabeth Walsh, DCR project manager. 

There are a variety of issues addressed in the design plans, one of which is the state of the park’s lawn. Both human park patrons and geese have done a number on the lawn’s condition through mechanical erosion. Desire paths, a phenomenon where unplanned tangential shortcuts arise through lawns in addition to prescribed pathways, are going to be taken into consideration during the renovation.

“In a project like this with lawn restoration, it becomes really imperative to try and work with those desire lines as much as we can to prevent future erosion,” said Keel.

A woodland seed mix is set to be applied to some sparser areas of the lawn to try to bolster native plant life. Additional native plantings will also be installed, including nine new native trees that will provide much-needed shade. A permanent irrigation system for the lawn is in the works as well.

The Landry Park improvement plan features new benches and signage to create a more comfortable park experience. Additionally, basins for stormwater collection will be added to help keep soil erosion to a minimum.

One concern mentioned during discussion of the plan was park maintenance. The improvements scheduled for this summer need to take place due to a lack of consistent maintenance of the park in the past, and Conservation Commission members expressed concern about future maintenance as well.

“We have reached out to the [Charles River] Museum of Industry and some folks from the Waltham Land Trust who lead tours throughout Landry Park. We had the indication that there might be some interest in park cleanups, some assistance with our maintenance and we would like to cultivate that. But we can’t necessarily rely on that,” said Walsh.

Another concern brought up was the blocking of access to the Charles River Museum of Industry, which is often accessed by visitors through Landry Park. Walsh noted that there would be a detour available directing people to walk along the south side of the river, over Moody Street and down through the fire lane to access the museum.

While there is no set start date, the Landry Park improvements will take place this summer with additional native planting work taking place during the fall.