CAMBRIDGE
Chomping at the bit for new park
Grass not greener at North Point, and opening's delayed again
By Peter DeMarco, Globe Correspondent | November 5, 2006
North Point Park on the banks of the Charles River looks as good as can be from James Haffner's 10th-floor office window. Bike paths wind through grass fields; street lamps line a waterfront boardwalk; new park benches dot the landscape.
Standing at ground level, though, the picture isn't as rosy: Would-be visitors are blocked by a huge metal construction fence that encircles the park, with large DO NOT ENTER signs posted at every turn.
"We play football in the fall on Fridays," said Haffner, who works in the EF Educational Tours building across from the park. "It'd be nice to have the games right here."
That won't be happening, at least not this year. Construction on North Point Park, which sits east of the Museum of Science and across the river from Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital , began two years ago as an open space component of the Big Dig. But the park's anticipated opening in the spring was pushed back to this fall, and now, because of construction delays, it's been pushed back to next spring.
Perhaps the biggest reason for the delays has been the grass. Park officials -- the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority is building the park; the state Department of Conservation and Recreation will oversee its management -- decided to plant grass seed instead of laying sod, and it takes two growing seasons for seeded grass to become strong enough to withstand heavy foot traffic, they say.
While the grass looks good -- and should last longer than sod -- it isn't durable yet.
"If we had opened the park in September, the grass would be dead now," said Karl Haglund, DCR's project manager for the New Charles River Basin Parks . "It was not well enough established to allow use of the open lawn areas."
The park's general contractor, construction giant Jay Cashman Inc., was also unable to plant several large trees that can only survive if planted during spring months. The trees are so large they will require trucks and possibly a crane to be driven across the park when they are eventually installed.
Also on the to-do list, concrete holes intended to support steel railings on small pedestrian bridges were improperly drilled and need to be repaired. And the steel railings themselves were improperly galvanized by another subcontractor and must be sent back.
"There are still several minor items to complete," said a written statement issued by Cashman Inc. "Primary among them, a small percentage of landscaping elements which failed to take root despite proper care, and a failed coating system on some handrailings. These items were driven, in the first instance, by Mother Nature, and in the second instance by the unfortunate bankruptcy of one of our subcontractors.
"We continue to work diligently with the MTA, DCR, and other project participants to expeditiously complete these items."
Haglund said that while such problems might seem insignificant to the average person, they must be rectified before the park opens.
"As long as the park is being built, the contractor is responsible. He basically owns the site until the work has been accepted," Haglund said. "You can't accept part of the work."
On that point, officials are in total agreement. The Turnpike Authority has already opened two Charles River Basin parks in conjunction with the Big Dig, Paul Revere Park in Charlestown and Nashua Street Park in Boston. But North Point Park is the biggest of the three, an 8.5-acre parcel that stands to be one of the largest parks in the new Central Artery greenway. The park's price tag is $27.3 million, of which $14 million was spent to remove contaminated soil.
"Obviously we want to get the amenities that are associated with the Central Artery Project open as quickly as possible," said Jon Carlisle, spokesman for the state's Executive Office of Transportation. "We know there's disappointment. But we need to get it done properly and not just expediently."
North Point Park is expected to draw thousands of East Cambridge residents, who have few parks to enjoy, as well as condominium dwellers from the Regatta Riverview complex. Although their construction has been stalled by a funding dispute, pedestrian bridges over the Charles River eventually will open up the park to Esplanade bicyclists and joggers as well.
The park is also expected to serve as a gateway to the Charles River Skatepark, a massive skateboarders' paradise slated to open in 2008 under the Zakim Bridge.
"It's very needed. We're the part of the city that's being overdeveloped," said Barbara Broussard, president of the East Cambridge Planning Team, a neighborhood civic group.
"To build community you really need open space. You need a place where people can meet. And gee, on a nice sunny day, wouldn't you want to take your kids there?"
