Conservation Commission Unanimously Extends DCR's McDonald Park Permit Three Years

MEDFORD -- December 6, 2023, Medford Conservation Commission extends DCR's McDonald Park improvement permit through January 2027. The commission voted unanimously 5-0 at its December 6 meeting to grant the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation a three-year extension of an order of conditions, DEP file 215-0206, covering the McDonald Park Improvements Project, which has been active since 2016. Lauren Block of Park Corporation told the commission that most approved work is complete but a playground in the park's northeast corner remains unbuilt, pending a funding source, with construction targeted at no earlier than fiscal year 2025. Ruth Pellefield of GCR confirmed that over a hundred mature ash trees have been lost to disease and that DCR has engaged Shadley Associates to update a vegetation management plan prioritizing tree replacement, with planting targeted for spring 2024. The commission also received an informal heads-up that a new filing for a pedestrian pathway beneath Route 28 connecting McDonald Park to Station Landing is expected in early 2024.