Work begins on renovations to downtown Chicopee's Wisniowski Park

Date: 11/21/2014

CHICOPEE – Wisniowski Park in the middle of the downtown neighborhood is receiving a major facelift.   

Carolyn Porter, superintendent of Parks and Recreation Department, explained to Reminder Publications that work stated on Nov. 18 and the first phase will be completed by the end of next month in order to qualify for state reimbursement. The project will cost $250,000 with the state reimbursing $200,000 of that budget. Mountain View Landscaping of Chicopee is the contracting company.

Porter said a major part of the renovations would be the replacement of the existing wading pool and the installation of a spray park. The wading pool was built in 1965 and has been the subject of vandalism in recent years. Porter said people have broken bottles into the pool causing the Parks and Recreation Department to have to drain the pool in order to clean up the glass shards.

Each time the pool was drained, it cost the department additional funds, she added.

With a spray pad, there would be no standing water, Porter said, and any broken glass could be easily swept up with the surface hosed down. Another advantage of the spray pad is there is only water when someone presses the operational controls. She said a spray pad is “appropriate for all ages” and there would be seating installed around it.

“It’s very engaging,” she said.

The rest of the design of the park’s play area follows the new ideas in park design: naturalism. Porter said the fence between the pool and the rest of the park would be removed to create an open play space. There would be small boulders no larger than 48 inches in height that would be placed for children to play on as well as two small domed hills.

The trend she said is “more natural play experiences.”

The existing playscape and swing set will be dismantled and Poster said she is unsure if they would be re-used in the renovated park. As they are “out of date” with current park standards, the structures would have to be upgraded.

The ultimate goal for the park is to have a playground, picnic tables, a spray pad, improved lighting and a swing set, Porter said.

Porter said the design of the park has taken into account the sewer separation project that will be coming to the neighborhood in two years. She explained the area the will been to be excavated will not have any concrete or asphalt surface, making the uncovering of the pipes easy as well as the restoration of the area.

“We’ve been looking for ways to contain costs in the design phase; how can we be smart with every department’s money,” she said.