Parks-Recreation Board institutes new safety rules for 200 Trapelo Road

The Parks-Recreation Board rolled out new policies for the park and universal playground at 200 Trapelo Road, due to problems caused by high attendance.

Visits to the park will be limited to two hours.

“On Saturdays and Sundays we’re getting approximately 1,000 people per day coming to the park,” said Kim Hebert, Director of Recreation, at last Wednesday’s meeting.

Hebert said large crowds have caused the site’s 100-space parking lot to fill up fast, leading visitors to illegally park their cars in the surrounding neighborhood.

Hebert explained that the Recreation Department tried to limit visits to three hours, but this increased traffic in the area and resulted in even more illegal parking.

Parking over the weekend will now be available only by reservation, which can be made on the department’s web page free of charge.

Thomas Creonte, a member of the board, asked if additional parking spaces could be added.

Hebert said that the department initially added more parking spaces, but this led to overcrowding at the park and an increase in vandalism and aggressive behavior from patrons.

Other new rules include: 

• A policy requiring pets to be leashed at all times and a ban on pets on the playground, spray park and minigolf sections.
• A ban on motorized scooters and bikes at the site’s recreation areas including the spray park, athletic fields and playground.
• A ban on smoking, drug and alcohol use on park premises.

The department’s park rangers and other staff will be working with the police to enforce the new rules.

The department also posted a reminder that any trespassing incidents will be reported to the police and that field trips to the park must be approved by the board beforehand.

All of these rules, Hebert said, are a direct result of the newly opened park’s massive popularity and are being put in place to keep visitors safe and to respect residents of the surrounding neighborhood.

In other news

• Improvements to the Logan and McKenna playgrounds have reached phase two. This phase involves the department working with site designers to demolish buildings on the property.
• A 4th of July celebration will be held at Prospect Hill Park. Trolley service to the event will be offered at 500 Trapelo Road