Published in the March 8, 2021 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — The old tennis courts near Veterans Field and the Hartshorne House will be getting a long-awaited expansion and upgrade this spring and summer to include pickleball courts. As part of that project, the DPW will also upgrade the path the runs from Church Street through the Floral Way and down to the tennis courts. Improvements will also be made to the drainage system to reduce erosion and filter runoff of harmful chemicals before it reaches the Lake.
Town Engineer Bill Renault appeared before the Conservation Commission recently to explain the project and get their approval.
Renault said that the project started as a reconstruction of the old tennis courts but when interest was expressed in providing outdoor pickleball courts, those were added as well. The current courts take up just over 10,000 square feet, Renault explained. Adding two pickleball courts will increase the footprint by about 3,700 square feet.
As part of the planning for the project, Renault explained, the DPW identified a couple of other issues impacting the nearby Lake, so those were added to the project.
One of the issues was the erosion of the stone path through the Floral Way. To address the constant erosion, the path will be paved and regraded with drainage rerouted to new swale and then into a bioretention area where suspended solids and harmful chemicals like phosphorus and nitrogen will be substantially removed before the runoff enters the Lake. Phosphorus and nitrogen are known to contribute to the harmful algae blooms that turn the lake water a deep green most summers.
Paving the gravel path will also make it more accessible to those with handicaps, Renault said, and reduce the pools of muddy water that frequently mar the path and the surrounding area.
Renault said that the project will be going out to bid in the next month or so and work will likely run through the spring and summer. The new tennis and pickleball courts probably won’t be available until the fall as the entire area will be off-limits until the contractor completes the overall project.
The new swale next to the paved path will direct runoff into a structure and eventually into a bioretention area adjacent to the lake. The bioretention area will be created by removing present invasive species and reseeding with a mix of native vegetation that will contribute to removing the phosphorus and nitrogen from the runoff. An existing pipe running from a storm drain on Church Street will be partially removed and then capped.
Renault said that total suspended solids as well as phosphorus and nitrogen will be removed from runoff at a rate of 90 percent. He noted that similar methodology has been used to successfully treat runoff at the head of the Lake and is also planned for along the Main Street side of the Lake.
Before the Conservation Commission closed the hearing, Renault answered questions from members about erosion controls during construction.
