Sunday, February 8, 2015

Play Ball! (Or Frisbee)

North Amherst playing field (left)

Back when I was growing up in our sleepy little college town, w-a-y back, before the Southwest high rise towers or W.E.B. Du Bois Library first poked the sky, a playing field in Amherst pretty much meant baseball and football.

Soccer or Ultimate Frisbee were as foreign as a place called Vietnam.

These days God's green earth must be multipurposed, to keep all the outdoor sports enthusiasts happy.

And while Amherst has more Conservation open space than you can shake a hiking stick at, the number of playing fields for organized sports have failed to keep up with demand.

The old "cow field" in North Amherst, formerly the playground attached to the now retired North Amherst School, will get a $50,000 makeover with Community Preservation Act money assuming the CPA Committee forwards the request to Town Meeting for the final approval.



A fence along the border with Sunderland Road will certainly make it safer, and parking for 15 cars at the north end of the field will keep users from having to cross Sunderland Road.

The renovations would take place during the fall of 2015 and spring of 2016, and be ready for use later that summer.

In this age where youngsters are all too occupied by smart phones, computers and tablets, it's nice to see the return of an old fashioned playing field for team sports.

Or just a soft quiet place to lay down late on a hot summer night, to gaze up at the wonder of the universe.

8 comments:

DaveMB said...

In the summer months that field has been used for cricket fairly regularly.

Anonymous said...

The new parking lot is a nitwit idea, especially there in the 200' riverfront where it should be banned anyway - just paint a crosswalk to the parking areas north of the library (or invest in speed tables there).

- I'm not a nitwit

Anonymous said...

Youngsters and old timers alike are all too occupied with smart phones, computers and tablets.

Anonymous said...

This is super. I live in N. Amherst and it is good to see some care taken with our resources. The parking is a great idea, it prevents people from having to cross Sunderland Road with all its traffic.

I hope the field is a success

And continues to be used for cricket games!!!

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:59: What are "speed tables" please?

Larry Kelley said...

"Traffic calming" speed bumps.

Anonymous said...

i hate speed tables/bumps. most aggravating things in the world

Anonymous said...

Let's build some new fields--and start taking good care of the existing ones. Amherst has some of the worst playing fields around.