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Date: 8/31/2022
CHICOPEE – Mayor John Vieau, Planning Director Lee Pouliot and Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Benjamin Strepka welcomed residents for a forum discussing the city’s Open Space and Recreation Plan on Aug. 24 at the Boys and Girls Club of Chicopee.
The city reworks the plan every seven years with a goal of fine-tuning to the public’s interest regarding the city’s parks and recreational offerings.
In an opening address, Vieau highlighted the importance of the city’s park spaces. He reflected on his frequent engagement with parks and recreation offerings, whether it was days growing up playing baseball at the Boys and Girls Club or his nightly dog walks at Sarah Jane Park.
“When I think of parks, I think about me and how vital they were to my youth when I was growing up. They still are to me today,” said Vieau.
The mayor shared that the city is placing extra emphasis on improving parks and recreational offerings across the city. Recently, Chicopee implemented major renovations at Lincoln Grove Park, Nash Park and Rivers Park as the city places a greater focus on extensive planning and development for parks and recreation.
“Frankly, that’s just the beginning of where we are heading. … Looking at planning park development is what we do now. We used to just add a piece of equipment or a bench. Now, it’s really a comprehensive look at what’s at a park and how we can improve it to benefit that particular neighborhood,” said Vieau.
Looking ahead, the city is planning to break ground on the Post-9/11 & Service Dog Memorial Park in September. The Westover park will honor members of the veteran community and include a plethora of unique features. Vieau also revealed that the city is preparing to implement a 2.3-mile bike path alongside the Connecticut River, with funding from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. After both are completed, the city will feature a total of 30 park spaces.
Pioneer Valley Planning Commission planner Mimi Kaplan, who is collaborating with city officials on the plan, revealed data from the city’s recent Open Space and Recreation Plan online survey. The questionnaire garnered over 3,500 resident responses and addressed several topics like park usage, potential areas of improvement and the city’s recreational activities.
Kaplan broke down the statistics behind each question. The city’s most active recreational activities were playgrounds, fitness, basketball, baseball and soccer, while the top passive recreation activities were walking, biking, trail walking, picnicking and fishing.
The most popular park spaces in Chicopee were Szot Park, Chicopee Memorial State Park, Ray Ash Park, Williams Park and Chicopee High School. For potential improvements, the survey results highlighted the importance of maintaining existing park facilities, upgrading existing park amenities and ensuring a safe and clean environment.
The city will release a full statistical breakdown of the survey results in the near future.
Community members and city leaders then engaged in collaborative group projects where participants envisioned what they want to see from park spaces. The public forum and survey results will serve as a guide as Chicopee defines its new Open Space and Recreation Plan.
Readers can learn more about the Open Space and Recreation Plan at http://chicopeema.gov/564/Open-Space-Recreation.