About the Rebuiding Rounds Project Stoneham is a family town, with many kids and three public playgrounds. Like towns across the commonwealth, care of our public resources often depends on the effort and resources of publicly minded private residents and organizations. The A.P. Rounds Playground, at the corner of Broadway and MacArthur Road in the Farm Hill neighborhood of Stoneham, is such a public resource. Rounds is a great space! An acre of well located land with mature and well-positioned tree cover and lawn, making play comfortable during the intense heat of New England summer and offering a wind break against the cold breezes of winter. Rounds also features a pleasant mix of flat spaces and gentle hillscape. Rounds is also a part of local history, having been given to the town by A.P. Rounds, a local aviator and developer, who was an energetic and community-minded participant in building the fabric of Stoneham after World War II. Hundreds of children live within walking distance of Rounds. T-ball players and their parents daily use the baseball diamond on the playground’s north side, in season. Scores of children have also come to Rounds for summer activities sponsored by the Town over the years. Amenities at the site today are suffering. Rounds features a scattering of unrelated equipment and a shortage of landscaping. Only two pieces of equipment are useable by toddlers and their parents, and only one of these ? the swing set is usable year-round. Meanwhile, ot ... view more »
About the Rebuiding Rounds Project Stoneham is a family town, with many kids and three public playgrounds. Like towns across the commonwealth, care of our public resources often depends on the effort and resources of publicly minded private residents and organizations. The A.P. Rounds Playground, at the corner of Broadway and MacArthur Road in the Farm Hill neighborhood of Stoneham, is such a public resource. Rounds is a great space! An acre of well located land with mature and well-positioned tree cover and lawn, making play comfortable during the intense heat of New England summer and offering a wind break against the cold breezes of winter. Rounds also features a pleasant mix of flat spaces and gentle hillscape. Rounds is also a part of local history, having been given to the town by A.P. Rounds, a local aviator and developer, who was an energetic and community-minded participant in building the fabric of Stoneham after World War II. Hundreds of children live within walking distance of Rounds. T-ball players and their parents daily use the baseball diamond on the playground’s north side, in season. Scores of children have also come to Rounds for summer activities sponsored by the Town over the years. Amenities at the site today are suffering. Rounds features a scattering of unrelated equipment and a shortage of landscaping. Only two pieces of equipment are useable by toddlers and their parents, and only one of these ? the swing set is usable year-round. Meanwhile, other equipment is in need of repair and updating, and worse, simply fails to appeal to children. They do not find Rounds to be a desirable place to play. Overall, Rounds is an underperforming playground and an important community resource that is at risk of increasing decline. While periodic improvements have been made over time, significant renovation and re-conceptualization is needed to ensure Rounds viability for the next generation. The goal of the current project is a comprehensive response to these needs. The scope of work is substantial and estimated to cost approximately $50,000. The existing equipment will be evaluated for remaining lifespan and desirability. In the summer of 2011, we held a pair of public design sessions and gathered design ideas from kids and adults about what amenities they like best for Rounds.
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