Medford's Morrison Park Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Moved Due To Rain

MEDFORD, MA — The City of Medford's moved the Morrison Park Playground ribbon cutting ceremony to Tuesday, August 8 at 9 a.m.due to rain.

The new Morrison Park Playground is funded by a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) that totals just over $400K. The project brings a new preschool-aged play area to the playground, which includes a sandbox, swings, balance balls, and a new fishnet climber.

The entire site was also resurfaced with an accessible poured-in-place rubber surface and porous rubber surfacing was used to protect the roots of the large pine oak tree at the park.

“With so many families with young children living and moving to Medford, we need to make sure our public spaces are accessible, engaging and safe,” Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said in a statement. “Now that we’re opening the Morrison Park Playground, our community has a wonderful new facility that all can enjoy. Thank you to our Planning, Development and Sustainability Department, especially Director Alicia Hunt and Planner Amanda Centrella, as well as our Department of Public Works and Procurement Office for making this project happen.”

The city also recently broke ground on a $1.4 million renovation project at Gilis Park that includes a total redesign of the baseball field, a new outdoor exercise area, a loop walking path and accessibility improvements. In addition, new basketball and tennis courts at Hickey Park will be complete in approximately 5 weeks.

Other projects breaking ground over the next few months include phase 1 of Carr Park and water facility updates to Capen Park. This initial phase of the Carr Park project will include an accessible path that circles the entire park field, reconstruction of two baseball diamonds, a woodland area cleanup and invasive plant removal, fully dedicated pickleball courts, and more.

Community outreach to inform the design for phase 2 of Carr Park will commence this summer. This phase includes a four-season playground, obstacle course and fitness area, teen swings, two basketball courts, a shaded pavilion with seating, a skate park, additional invasive plant management, and more.

Funding for phase 2 of Carr Park comes from a $1.5 million federal earmark secured by Congresswoman Katherine Clark, as well as ARPA and additional grant funding.

To view a complete list of current and future parks projects in Medford, click here.