Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Parks, Buildings, and Recreation Management (PBRM) Director Tom Ashe and team, Department of Capital Asset Constriction Director Pete Garvey and team, city and state officials, and neighborhood council representatives joined on Thursday morning at Gurdon Bill Park for the grand opening of the new Springfield Bike & Skate Park.
Gurdon Bill Park, located at the corner of Liberty Street and Genesee Street in the Lower Liberty Heights neighborhood, has been transformed into an age-friendly inclusive community park that includes a splash pad, swings, and a 12,000 square foot skate and bike park for wheeled recreation like skateboards, BMX bikes, inline & roller skates, scooters and accessibility equipment. Motorized equipment is prohibited. Mayor Sarno, city, state, and local officials were thrilled to come together to unveil Springfield’s first public skate and bike park.
State Representative Carlos Gonzalez, City Council President Mike Fenton, City Councilor Kateri Walsh, City Councilor Tim Allen, Matthew McAndrew from Congressman Neal’s Office, Lamari Jackson on behalf of State Senator Adam Gomez, Lower Liberty Heights Neighborhood Council President Gladys Rivera, longtime Lower Liberty Heights Neighborhood Council member Teofilo ‘Teddy’ Alvarado, Robert McCarroll, Juanita Martinez and members of the Community Preservation Committee, Deborah Huber from WalkBike Springfield, Springfield skate and bike community advocate and CPC member Yolanda Cancel, representatives from Theory Skate Shop, GZA contractors who worked on the park design, Mass West Construction who helped build the park, and Pillar Design Studio who worked on the bike & skate park elements design, along with many supporters all joined on Thursday morning at the park for the special ribbon cutting ceremony.
Mayor Sarno states, “Youth development is very near and dear to my heart, emanating from my days as Executive Director of the old South End Community Center. I am proud to state that no administration has done more for youth development and education than my team. Between nearly $1 billion of newly built and rehabbed schools – the most in the Commonwealth, to well over $110 million invested in our parks system, financial support for our community centers and non-profits, to a new South End Community Center, new East Forest Park Library, 5 new athletic turf fields, a new ECOS Center, new spray-scapes, a new Camp Star Angelina, and now a new state of the art Bike and Skate Park. Thank you to my city team, and those who assisted and advocated with my administration to ‘get the job done!’ We are very excited to unveil the new Skate & Bike Park, and hey maybe we have the next Tony Hawk in our midst too!”
The development of Gurdon Bill Park has been a collaborative project between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts/National Park Service Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant program and the City of Springfield. The Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant program is a federal National Park Service grant that is administered by the State’s Office Energy & Environmental Affairs.
The Springfield Park Commission unanimously approved a feasibility study to determine the location of the Skate and Bike Park project which was conducted with input from the Springfield community. An $80,000 grant from the Community Preservation Act funded the study, and initial design grant of $18,500 from Community Development Block Grant program helped secure a major Land and Water Conservation Fund grant. The City of Springfield matched the $1 million LWCF grant, with the total project cost just above $2 million.
Mayor Sarno continued, “Thank you to our dedicated city team for your continued efforts in enhancing and improving the quality of life throughout our city with park and pedestrian safety projects taking place in nearly every neighborhood. Projects such as this are made possible thanks to the collaboration of many departments. Thank you to our PBRM team previously under Director Patrick Sullivan who was instrumental in working with our neighborhoods to apply for and secure the grants for this project, and now under Director Tom Ashe, along with City Forester Alex Sherman, and thank you to our Department of Capital Asst Constriction led by Pete Garvey, Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan, Deputy Director Tina Quagliato Sullivan, DPW Director Chris Cignoli and team, and also a shout out and thank you to the Community Preservation Committee for funding the study, the Park Commission, who voted unanimously to pursue this project and funding, and to our dedicated neighborhood councils and community organizations WalkBike Springfield, ReGreen Springfield, the Lower Liberty Neighborhood Council, and Springfield’s skate and bike community. We are also grateful to the Healey-Driscoll administration for their continued belief and investment in our parks and to Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Rebecca Tepper and team for selecting our Springfield project. I also want to thank Congressman Richard Neal – once a mayor always the heart of a mayor – as well as the National Park Service for their support of our city through this grant assistance program.”
As a component of the LWCF grant, redevelopment of Gurdon Bill Park aims to help mitigate heat island effects for city residents and to incorporate climate resilient design elements where appropriate.
Congressman Richard Neal stated, “This year marks 60 years since Lyndon Johnson signed the Land and Water Conservation Act into law. One of many landmark legislative achievements of the Great Society, it underscored the importance of investing in green spaces, particularly in urban living. Having been an ardent supporter of the Great American Outdoors Act, which permanently authorized funding for the LWCF, I am pleased that this project received $1 million in federal funding. I applaud Mayor Sarno, Springfield Parks Director Tom Ashe, and the entire team at the Parks Department for being great stewards of our city’s green spaces. This is a terrific addition to the Springfield parks system and a fitting tribute to the Bill family and those who laid the foundation for our city’s magnificent 200-year-old park system.”
Director of Parks, Buildings, and Recreation Management Tom Ashe states, “Thanks to the leadership and support of Mayor Sarno, we have now invested over $110 million dollars in our parks over the past 17 years. This Bike and Skate Park project here at Gurdon Bill Park has been part of the Mayor’s and Park Department’s vision for many years and we are thrilled to share that it is complete and ready for skaters and bikers to come and utilize. Not only have we constructed the city’s first public skate park, Gurdon Bill now offers accessibility and pedestrian improvements, a splash pad, swings, tree ID tags in the Arboretum area, and improved parking, making it a great family park. Thank you to Mayor Sarno, Congressman Neal, our Park Commissioners, my Parks team, our residents, and to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the National Park Service for your support of this project and our parks system.”
