Councilors press for parking and lighting data on Kennedy Park plan

During questions on the Kennedy Park master plan, councilors raised safety and data concerns about proposed parking and lighting. Lisa Lazarus asked how lighting decisions are made; Helen Rubino Turco said most town parks are dawn-to-dusk and that Kennedy Park currently has lighting for the basketball and tennis courts and some baseball fields but not for the soccer field. "So this park would not have, lighting, for example," Rubino Turco said, describing the town’s current practice.

Dr. Jason Wang asked whether objective utilization metrics support more parking. Rubino Turco and the consultants said practical observations and photographs show consistent overflow parking on busy weekends and that current capacity is about 64 spots. Consultants noted the preferred plan supplies approximately 180 spaces and leaves flexibility to scale parking during phased implementation. Town staff said decisions about any change to lighting or parking will be made in later phases and in consultation with the council.

"So all of our parks are are are, dawn to dusk," Helen Rubino Turco said when explaining the existing policy on lighting. Dr. Jason Wang asked, "Do we have objective data supporting that we need more parking?" and staff responded that they have photographs and on-the-ground evidence of parking overflow.