Karin Turer of Summer Street submitted this letter to the editor, addressed to Town Meeting members, but appealing to all residents.
My family has lived on Summer Street – in precinct 19 – for over 15 years. I love our neighborhood and our town, and I thank you for serving our precinct as a Town Meeting member.
There is an issue coming up in this year’s Town Meeting, and I wanted to make sure you have the appropriate information about it and also know the way I hope you will vote.
Long story short, the Hill’s Hill woods were deeded to the town over 50 years ago to be used for children’s recreation. Currently, they are an often-neglected patch of woods that serves mainly for underage drinking, trash and other antisocial uses. Due to the efforts of local kids who were trying to build trails during the early phase of the pandemic, the Recreation Department created a project to add a mountain bike park there. The Community Preservation Act Committee overwhelmingly approved on funding the park as a part of their funding for the year, and the Finance Committee and Select Board have also given their enthusiastic encouragement. Here is where you come in:
Vote yes in Article 49
I urge you to vote YES on Town Meeting Article 49 to approve funding for CPA projects, including the Hill’s Hill mountain bike park, as overwhelmingly recommended by the CPAC.
I am a parent to a sixth grader, and as my son has aged out of playgrounds, I have noticed that his recreation options are much more limited now – for example, Arlington has 15 baseball/softball fields of various sizes and 15 soccer fields of various sizes, but they are typically only available to paying members of organized sports teams. This is not an option for families without the time, inclination or finances for such a commitment.
Organized sports also don’t give kids the opportunity to play in the woods the way I was lucky to do as a child. When I see my sixth grader and his friend ride off into Turkey Hill on their bikes, it makes me so happy that they get a taste of the joy and freedom many of us associate with that age.
What I love about the bike-park proposal is that it gives our youth (particularly our tweens and teens) the chance to exercise, enjoy nature, and socialize with peers in a screen-free environment. There is a mental health crisis with our youth, and having a place like this bike park is a step in the right direction. Hill’s Hill is located next to the bike path, so kids from all over town will be able to bike there independently, rather than need to be driven.
Site known for negatives
Currently, Hill’s Hill is known for its negative aspects — as a teen party place with plenty of broken glass and trash. There are improvised trails that are eroded and many are too steep to be enjoyable by foot or bike. I have to walk sideways to avoid brushing against the poison ivy growing rampantly!
The Hill’s Hill bike-park plan calls for well-built, properly-draining low-impact trails through the space that can be used by hikers, joggers, dog walkers and cyclists. You may have heard about something called a pump track — this is a small space within the parcel (in a location has not been decided) that will be fun for ALL ages and most types of bikes.
I am 47 and sloooow, but going on a pump track makes me giggle like a kid! At other pump tracks in Massachusetts — there is one in Acton and one in Chelmsford — I have seen how they foster communication and cooperation between many types of people. I am all for adding more of both to our current climate.
People opposed to the project have warned of “development,” “clear-cutting” and even “asphalt” — none of these inflammatory phrases are true to the nature of the Hill’s Hill bike-park project. Just like any town project, once the funding is approved it will go through a rigorous public process. To ensure that we have a minimal environmental impact, the CPAC and Recreation Department have worked together to create some safeguards: for example, the project committee will include a representative from the Open Space Committee, and a full tree audit of the area will be completed.
Cleanup held April 8
I am happy to chat with you anytime, and answer any questions you may have. Some of our supporter’s group was the host for a much-needed cleanup at Hill’s Hill this Saturday, April 8, from 10 a.m. to noon. Please come say hello if you are around then, or we can set up an alternative time if you’d like for me to show you the area. All my contact information is below.
Thank you for your consideration of my concerns, and thank you again for your service to Arlington as a Town Meeting member.
Karin Turer, Tugboat 23 (617-599-8509, karin@tugboat23.com, www.tugboat23.com)
This letter was published Saturday, April 8, 2023.
A person once stated in a Parks and Rec meeting to “listen to the children” and I think those children have spoken here – and if that line was a sincere one, the views of the children, the young men and women, are very worth listening to. This plan presents a passive recreation option useable by children and adults, that will allow them to be in natural spaces. It gives the Hill’s Hill area some active stakeholders motivated to maintain area, as we’ve seen in the recent cleanup day. It promises funds to remove invasives and implement items like erosion control.
Also, some people prefer individual recreational options instead of the team sports that most of our fields are dedicated as those options can nurture and develop both physical and mental health.
I would encourage TM to maintain this item in the project list and respect the work of the Parks and Rec Commission and the CPA Committee that have developed and approved this program.
I feel compelled to clarify a statement in Ms. Turer’s blog. It is incorrect to state that the Hill’s Hill Bike Path received the Finance Committee’s “enthusiastic encouragement”. The Finance Committee voted to support the CPC’s entire FY2024 plan, which is comprised of many multiple parts, the Bike Path being but one. Various components of that plan received more scrutiny, and some more support, than others from members of the Committee. The Committee’s vote indicates that the plan as a whole was endorsed by a majority of its members. The ultimate approval rests with Town Meeting.