Parks Commissioners Take Input from Condon Park Neighbors

In what has been several years in the making, Parks and Recreation commissioners presented a plan for a fully handicapped accessible playground at Condon Park this week.

Commissioners have created three plans for the park, and told abutters that they will take their input to form a revised plan, commissioner Jim Maher said.

“The handicapped accessible part was key,” commissioner Dan Hart said.

Mother Brook Community Group founder Charlie Krueger said he was “impressed” and that the playground is a “huge positive impact for our community.”

Bernadette Chirokas, a Dedham resident and mother of a 4-year-old child with cerebral palsy, was on the verge of tears when she said she was “blown away” by the design and pleased that the town brought it “so far forward.” 

In the past she said she drove more than 45 minutes to a playground suitable for her child.

Dedham resident Jonathan Diamond said he brings his daughter to the park, and the late morning sun often makes the equipment too hot to play on. Diamond asked members for shade for the playground.

Mary Nadaff, a Dedham resident, said they should incorporate basketball courts, which chairman John Maida said he also favored the idea.

“It’s a great design. I’ve waiting 30 years for this,” resident Pam Wong said at the meeting.