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Lopez Avenue / Charles Street Pocket Park
What's Happening Now
Construction work should be substantially completed by the end of October, 2008 and an opening celebration was held on Saturday, October 25.
Community gardening will begin during the spring growing season next year. If you have any questions about the community gardening program, please contact Jennifer Wright, Director of the Cambridge Conservation Commission, at 617/349-4680 or jwright@cambridgema.gov.
Project Background
In 2000, the Beal Companies deeded to the City of Cambridge a 4,500-square-foot parcel of land at Lopez Avenue and Charles Street, across from Costa Lopez Taylor Park. Over several years, community members and Community Development Department staff discussed future open space uses for this site. Neighbors have expressed interest in having this be a passive-use open space with plantings and landscape improvements, tables and sitting areas. There was also interest from the neighborhood in incorporating community gardening plots.
In 2007, the East Cambridge Planning Team, with the support of the City of Cambridge, created a temporary “Painted Park” to designate the site as a future park. In the fall of 2007, the Community Development Department developed a design for the new park space with input from community members. The design was completed in early 2008 and construction on the new park began in July.
The new park space includes community garden plots in raised planting beds, along with tables, chairs, benches and sitting walls, and a sculptural entrance gate by artist Roberley Bell. The project also involved closing the section of Lopez Avenue adjacent to the new park site to connect it to the existing main park. Below is some information regarding the discontinuation of Lopez Avenue:
- The Fire Department has reviewed the plan and has approved that it will be suitable for emergency vehicle access.
- All new on-street parking on Charles Street and Lopez Avenue will be designated “Resident Permit Parking Only”.
- According to the Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department, the plan will result in a loss of about 3 on-street parking spaces on Lopez Avenue and a gain of about 4 or 5 parking spaces on Charles Street, resulting in no significant change to parking availability.
- There will be a 20-foot “No Parking Zone” at the end of Lopez Avenue to facilitate cars turning around, and to allow emergency vehicle access to the new fire lane.
- The Cambridge City Council officially approved the street discontinuance plan on May 12, 2008.
Resources
This file is in PDF format and requires use of the free Adobe Acrobat viewer.
- Final Design Drawing – January 2008 (1.2 MB)
- December 15, 2007 Meeting Flyer
- Preliminary Design Drawing – Plan View
- Presentation Board 1 (226 KB)
- Presentation Board 2 (162 KB)
- Presentation Board 3 (225 KB)
For More Information
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If you would like additional information please contact Jeff Roberts by phone
617/349-4639 or by email at jroberts@cambridgema.gov.
The Community Development Department TTY line is 617/349-4621.
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