To some, it would fence kids out. To others, it would fence them in — and keep them safe.
Those two views of a fence emerged Wednesday night as neighbors resumed planning for the revival of a park by the Quinnipiac River. The Friends of Dover Beach held the meeting at the Quinnipiac Terrace community room.
At previous meetings, David Moser, the landscape architect with the Department of Parks, Recreation and Trees, led discussions eliciting a general community consensus on the priorities and schedule for improvements at Dover Beach Park.
These included improvements to the seawall, which would be the first item of business this fall, state Department of Environmental Protection permits permitting.
Then would come a splash pad, two separate age-appropriate playgrounds, and other improvements, including a garden in the area near Peck Street, and plantings of shade trees and other vegetation along the Front Street pathway.
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However, Carla Johnson, president of the Quinnipiac Terrace Tenants Residents Council (pictured with Fair Haven Alderman Joey Rodriguez), raised again to Moser the question of the well-being of Q‑Terrace kids who play along the river.
“I’m just concerned,” she said, “about safety. That kids won’t go over there. Or if they do, and if they can’t swim, there could be problems. Could there be a fence put up?”
Moser (pictured with QT tenant Shirley Hampton) reminded her that the consensus at previous meetings was that only the chain link fence at the south end of the park would be replaced. Open access to the river, which has always been one of the park’s chief features, would be marred by erecting fence in the main area of the park, he argued.
“Plus,” he added, “a fence would be very expensive.”
“Of the two age-appropriate playgrounds,” explained Pat Bissel, Friends of Dover Beach’s founder, “the one for the little kids will be fenced. But not along the river.”
Then Bissell added: “Won’t the kids who go over by the river be supervised by adults?”
The city also promised to put up signs, Bissell recalled, along with recommendations for water safety instruction to be provided by the city as well.
That might start on Aug. 15, the day participants decided would be this season’s Dover Beach festival. “We’re going to have a climbing wall,” said Bissell, “and municipal park rangers will be present too.”
The meeting broke up into various groups (Friends’ founder Bissell is pictured with QT resident Jessica Frazier) to discuss whether the plantings along the pathway should be maples, and whether the park area near Peck Street might be conceived of as a butterfly and bird-attracting garden. Everyone liked that idea.
Johnson was still concerned.
Several constituencies have differing agendas for the park and the water. For the kids of Q Terrace, the proximity of Dover Beach makes it very much their front yard, or it could be, he said. A fence, or its absence, might make all the difference.
Moser, Johnson, and Demtria McMillan, Q Terrace’s family support manager, agreed to meet together to discuss the matter further.
Moser said he hoped permits for the sea wall improvements would be forthcoming from Department of Environmental Protection soon, releasing use of the $600,000 left over in the HOPE VI development treasury for park improvements.
Moser reported, in addition, that $125,000 is set aside for Dover Beach in the city budget approved on Tuesday. “However, that funding,” he said, in an email Thursday morning, “was specifically for repair of the seawall, not for park improvements”
He added that a request will be made in next year’s budget for park improvements such as the splash pad, play areas, and walkways.
The deployment of a fence, or other non-fence means to enhance safety and security measures for kids who meander along the water front remains under discussion.
Beginning next week, every Tuesday from six to eight, the Dover Beach crew will also be working with Greenspace to begin a program of plantings in the park.
