The city is looking for input into the Chelsea Open Space and Recreation Plan.
The plan is a city document that is updated every seven years that identifies priorities for parks, recreation, and open space in Chelsea. A link to the survey is available online at the city’s website at chelseama.gov.
“We are very proactive in developing these plans,” said City Manager Fidel Maltez. “We developed the open space and recreation plan a few years ago and it highlighted essentially the needs we have in the community that we needed to renovate.”
Maltez said that plan informed the series of renovations the city has done in the last several years, including at the Williams School, Quigley Park, Bosson Park, and some other playgrounds in the area.
The development of the five year master plan for parks and recreation space will inform the city on what needs to happen in the coming years.
“Recreation and open space is a big focus of the city council right now, and the goal is to really expand on open spaces in the city for athletics and for sports and recreation,” said Maltez. “We fully renovated Highland Park, which is our only soccer field in the city … and the goal is to fully inform our recreation opportunities we offer to residents.”
The survey asks how important parks and recreation are to residents, how often they visit parks in Chelsea, and what prevents access to parks.
There are also open-ended questions about what residents like about the parks they visit, and how the city could improve accessibility to parks and open space.