Middlebury park improvements under way

#MIDDLEBURY

Standing in Meadowview Park looking back toward the police station from the road leading to the pavilion, one can see the extent of the tree cutting done there thus far. Pine trees and other overgrowth have been removed. (Marjorie Needham photo)

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

Trees, bushes and vines are rapidly disappearing from some Middlebury parks and some areas along the Greenway as the Public Works Department crew tackles projects in the recently approved Capital Plan. We dropped by the Parks and Rec Department to get more information on this work from Parks and Rec Director Betty Proulx, who is in charge of these projects.

Proulx told us, “I’m thrilled this stuff is getting done. With the budget constraints we’ve had the past few years, we haven’t been able to do the repairs we are doing now.” She said when the work is complete, residents will be able to see parks as they were meant to be seen, without scrub pines and overgrowth mixed in with the other trees.

Proulx said work at Meadowview will include further clearing of overgrowth around the pond behind the police station. “You used to be able to walk all the way around that pond,” she said.

Once that area is cleaned up and the stumps have been removed, the pathway that leads from the parking lot by the police station past the ponds will be repaved, and a new walking bridge will be built over the brook. Proulx said of the project, “We’re making repairs and refreshing. We’re bringing it back so people can see the park.”

Improvements at Ledgewood Park will include repairs to the tennis courts, skate park and basketball court and cleaning up the area around the Veterans Memorial. Some trees that have been there since 1988 need to be cut down.

Trees, bushes and vines have been cleared from Volunteer Park at the corner of Regan and Middlebury Roads. Next, plants will be placed in the cleared area.

Proulx said the vegetation at that corner was cleared because it interfered with drivers’ sight lines as they approached the intersection. “Everything was little when they planted it,” she said.

Bristol Park on Middlebury Road will not undergo major renovations, Proulx said. It will, however, be cleaned up.

Some areas along the Greenway, particularly where dense growth may affect the safety of those using the Greenway, are also being cleaned up. Some of that work can be seen at the corner of Steinmann Avenue and Middlebury Road.

Proulx said the dense overgrowth there also interfered with drivers’ sight lines, and clearing out the overgrowth made the Greenway more visible and thus safer for those walking there. As you walk farther East, however, hills rise up on either side of the Greenway, and thus it tends to be darker there. Proulx said a solar light or two would be helpful there. If anyone wants to donate lights, please call Proulx at 203-758-2520.