In a little over a month’s time the annual drawdown of Bare Hill Pond will be under way. Like most years, this points to the end of boating on the pond for the season. Sailboats and motorboats have to be pulled from their moorings and taken out before the level of the pond makes it impossible to use the ramp.
This fall, in addition to the drawdown, construction will be taking place in and around the boat launch area. Over the course of the last three years, the Bare Hill Pond Watershed Management Committee has been working to improve the quality of the water in the pond. Through a series of state grants, Community Preservation funds, and Town Meeting votes, the Bare Hill Pond Committee has planned and constructed a number of passive water runoff treatment projects, which have been tremendously successful in preventing a large amount of roadway runoff and pollutants from reaching the pond.
Now they are preparing to construct the final treatment project. This project has been going through study and design with public input for the last two years in public meetings with the Bare Hill Pond Watershed Management Committee, the Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Conservation Commission. It has gone through numerous configurations, design options, and refinements. The outcome is a plan that addresses all the concerns and needs of all the committees and the people that use the pond for all types of recreation.
The major components of this project that will be most noticeable will be the repaving and regrading of the lower parking lot. The regrading of the area will allow for the collection and control of the parking lot runoff, directing it into a detention area that will be constructed where the canoe and kayak racks are currently located. Some of the racks will be displaced and relocated to the area under the trees where vehicles and boats trailers are currently causing a tremendous amount of erosion. This area will be regraded and landscaped for the racks and protected by traffic barriers.
There will still be space for canoe and kayak racks to be stored near the water’s edge where they are currently located. The same number of racks will be available.
Another noticeable feature will be a stone berm with some plantings to better define and control the edge of the beach. The purpose of this berm is to prevent the sand from the beach from being blown and washed off the beach area into the parking area and the pond. This sand eventually ends up burying the launch ramp and filling in the area.
The parking area will be altered ever so slightly and will be managed in much the same way as it is currently. That is, it will be open for residents to use to park for a short period of time to launch a boat or just to view and enjoy the pond. The ramp to launch boats will be made twice as wide as it is now to make it easier to launch boats off trailers. The number of parking spaces will be marked and will be decreased slightly. This is also to allow for easier trailer movement and boat launching.
The parking spaces will also designate several spots for handicapped parking and access to the beach. The few spaces that will be lost in the lower lot will easily be accommodated by the upper lot at most times of the day, and during the few times when more space is needed, the parking lot at the school is available.
The Parks and Recreation Commission has been monitoring the need for parking this season and will continue to do so next year. If there is a real need for more space for parking, there is land along Pond Road that can be developed.
It is unfortunate that these changes and reasons for them have not been heard and understood by everyone that uses the pond. The goal of the project is not to impair any existing uses. The meetings and hearings have all been attended by the public, and their input has been helpful in refining the plans. Details of the construction schedule will be available on the Parks and Rec website.
Ayer Road resident John Lee is a member of the Harvard Parks and Recreation Commission.
