In coming weeks, Windham Parks and Recreation will hold two public forums to receive input from residents about the possibility of a new “community park” and gather ideas for outdoor recreation in general in Windham.
On Jan. 19, the first public forum will take place at 7 p.m. in the Manchester School. On Feb. 7, a second forum will be held at the same time in the Primary School.
New Parks and Rec Director Brian Ross brought the idea of creating a “community park” before the Town Council back in October. Centered around the popular Windham Skate Park on Route 202 near the public safety building, possibilities for the park include a picnic area, playground, basketball court, BMX bicycle track, community garden and walking path encircling a town-owned 12.8 acres of land.
“Since we have a piece of property with this potential, it’s important to look at the whole property and what we can do with it,” Ross told councilors last fall.
The idea for the community park arose from demand for a BMX bicycle course next to the skate park. Ross began looking into ways to expand the existing skate park into a community park that would include both the bike track and recreation opportunities for all ages.
Windham is home to miles of town-owned hiking trails and hundreds of acres of preserved land such as the Lowell Preserve (300 acres off Falmouth Road), Chaffin Pond (123 acres off Route 302), Black Brook Preserve (part of the 105 acres off Windham Center Road owned by the Windham Land Trust). However, the only formal park in Windham is the seasonal Dundee Park bordering the Presumpscot River.
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