New Plan for Fairview Park Gets Council Nod

The model choo-choo offering rides to kids will lay extra track. A new bark park that will allow canines to run unleashed is in the works. And sensitive vernal pools and Native American archeological sites will be protected by fencing.

These are among the proposals outlined in Fairview Regional Park’s new master plan, which was approved Monday by the City Council after more than a decade of study and debate.

Though the changes are extensive, earlier calls for athletic fields and a golf course were scrapped in the planning process.

“I didn’t want to see this plan turn into another Disneyland, but I also didn’t want to leave it alone,” Councilwoman Heather K. Somers said. “I think it will serve many different interests in the city.”

Mayor Peter Buffa and Councilman Gary Monahan voted against part of plan, objecting to fencing that will be placed around vast portions of the park, at least temporarily.

Some residents said they didn’t want any changes at all.

“Nobody does a better job than Mother Nature. Let’s give her a hand, not the boot,” said Mark Willhoit, who mountain bikes and walks in the park.

Plans call for removing plants from the west side of the park and replacing them with native species, adding and removing pedestrian and bicycle trails, improving parking and disabled access and planting botanical gardens that represent different regions of the state.

Cost for the project is an estimated $9.2 million. Some of the work, such as the expansion of the model railroad and restoring ecologically sensitive vernal pools, will be paid for privately.

The city’s next step is “finding the money,” said Kristen Caspers Petros, a city planner.

“There is a master plan that has been approved and what the city does with that is apply for grants to pay for the park plan,” Caspers said.