City seeks $600,000 to expand 'All Wheels Welcome' wheeled-recreation upgrades

City of Lowell design planner Jess Wilson told the Community Preservation Committee the 'All Wheels Welcome' proposal seeks $600,000 from Community Preservation Act funds to design a multi‑park project and complete initial upgrades at three existing sites.

"All Wheels Welcome is a project promoting wheeled recreation in Lowell, that has been in the works for a couple of years now," Wilson said, describing plans to improve Rotary Club Park (also known as Whipple Skate Park), Hadley Park and Kumancales Park. The request would fund designers and initial construction work to renovate skate‑park features, explore adding a pump track at Kumancales Park and create traffic‑playground elements that teach bike safety for children.

Wilson said the city removed a defunct skate park at Roberto Clemente Park this year after a major $1.8 million renovation to the park and is now seeking to mitigate lost skate capacity by improving remaining parks. The project objectives Wilson listed include improving safety and multimodal connections to Lowell High School, reducing conflicts among different wheeled‑recreation users, and expanding access for youth and disabled athletes.

Wilson described an overall concept budget near $4 million for full build‑out; the committee packet lists a first‑phase CPA ask of $600,000 to complete design and implement upgrades at the three parks. Committee members raised no substantive technical questions during the brief Q&A and thanked Wilson for a thorough presentation.

The committee did not vote on funding at this meeting; deliberation of CPA funding recommendations is scheduled for Jan. 29.