Barrington resident: Build a better plan for Police Cove Park

Town manager: Plan awarded DEM grant is a work in progress

Posted 5/24/18

The glare off the seashells is blinding Andy Thompson.

The longtime Barrington resident squints behind his glasses as he looks out across Police Cove Park, trying to imagine some of the changes …

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Barrington resident: Build a better plan for Police Cove Park

Town manager: Plan awarded DEM grant is a work in progress

Posted

The glare off the seashells is blinding Andy Thompson.

The longtime Barrington resident squints behind his glasses as he looks out across Police Cove Park, trying to imagine some of the changes planned for the area. 

Earlier this month, officials from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management awarded Barrington two recreation grants. One grant promises nearly $100,000 for changes to Police Cove Park. The other grant is more than $200,000 dedicated to Latham Park alterations.

Most town officials (and many residents) greeted news of the DEM grants as a reason to celebrate. Not so for Mr. Thompson.

"I don't think they need to spend any more money on this (park)," he said. 

"They should clear this whole thing out and make it boat parking. What we need over here is a dock."

Mr. Thompson, who has lived in Barrington since 1963, said town officials would be wiser to rebuild Police Cove Park as a dedicated boat launch area, similar to the launch at Haines Park. He envisions sturdy docks lining either side of the boat launch and plenty of parking for trucks and trailers.

"This would be the ideal place," he added.

Currently, the park offers a ramp and about a half-dozen parking spaces for vehicles and trailers. However, there is no dock for the ramp, which can make the boat-launching exercise a bit more difficult. The park also has an open grassy field, a section of picnic tables sitting upon a bed of old shells, and a sculpture of people in a sailboat.

The plan submitted to DEM official with the grant application did not include a new dock for the ramp. It did, however, call for a new splash pad park, where periodic streams of water will be shot out of the ground, allowing children to run through them and cool off in warm weather. The splash pad will be installed where the sculpture is located.

Mr. Thompson said Police Cove Park is underutilized and he questions whether more people will come to the area for a splash pad park that is located a few feet from one of the busiest roads in Barrington — Route 114. He also pointed out that located directly above the proposed splash pad are utility wires, which often play host to pigeons.

"That's where all the birds are pooping," said Mr. Thompson. 

He points to the section of pavers which surround the sculpture — it is littered with bird droppings. Someone, likely town officials, installed a bird-chirping device nearby in an effort to scare away the pigeons, but the batteries have long since died.

Mr. Thompson said he had heard the chirper once when it was functioning.

"I thought it was a small animal being killed… While it was going off, the birds were still sitting on the wire," he said.

Mr. Thompson also questioned whether officials should install signs along the bike path, alerting bicyclists and pedestrians to Police Cove Park. 

"Everyone knows it's here," he said.

The grant application called for the installation of outdoor games tables at the park and a shade structure. Mr. Thompson has his doubts about the plan.

"They designed this," he said, pointing to the park "after a two-year study. A two-year study."

Mr. Thompson said the area that hosts Police Cove Park has never offered scenic vistas, like those found at Barrington Beach or Latham Park. The area is the former site of the old police station and, more recently, the staging area for the Barrington River Bridge construction project.

"This is not a placid place to sit and have lunch," he said.

Barrington Town Manager Jim Cunha said Mr. Thompson may want to share his concerns about Police Cove Park with members of the Barrington Parks and Recreation Committee, which is responsible for reviewing the plans for the park. 

"It's a work in progress," he said.

The town manager added that underutilization is the biggest reason officials applied for the DEM grant. He said he would like to see more people using the park. 

"I agree with him that the park isn't very effective, and that's what we're trying to change," Mr. Cunha said.

The town manager said he had earlier included money in his budget for a new dock at Police Cove Park, but later removed that funding. 

Town officials are planning to host a Jazz concert at the park this summer.

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