image description — The Parks Commission reviews responses to a survey about a bike skills course in Springside Park.

Springside Pump Track Survey Shows Support for the Project

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
02:28AM / Thursday, January 21, 2021Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- A survey seeking community input on the proposed pump track and bike skills park in Springside Park generated about 96 responses in two weeks.

A good majority of the responses were positive, though there was an array of concerns about the project including safety, the pump track's impact on Springside Park, and maintenance.

At a special Jan. 5 Parks Commission meeting for the pump track proposal, it was decided that New England Mountain Bike Association and Berkshire chapter President Alison McGee would solicit community input through an online survey.

This survey looked at what the community thought this project would bring to Springside Park, any concerns they had, and dove into details such as project size, style, and provided space for any other questions.

City staff helped McGee develop the survey and published it publicly on the Pittsfield Parks and Recreation webpage. The survey was also published on Berkshire NEMBA's website and a page was made specifically for the proposed pump track and bike skills park.

"At this point, I'm confident that due diligence was performed and there's been a good cross section of those that have been reached out to from park stakeholders to the ward councilor and others involved in Springside park," Park, Open Space and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath said. "and I think we've got a good response rate."

McGee reported that she also reached out to city councilors who distributed it to their constituents, especially Ward 1 Councilor Helen Moon, so she could reach the people in the immediate area of the proposed project site.

McGee closed the survey so she was able to gather data for this meeting, but left hers and McGrath's emails on the page for further input.

The 96 responses received were from Pittsfield residents, elderly, youth, parents, and Berkshire residents from the larger surrounding area.

McGee said a majority of the feedback was positive and there weren't any specific rejections for the project as a whole in the survey. Right before the meeting, there was a letter of opposition submitted from a founding member of the Friends of Springside Park.

"Overall the questions were really thoughtful and many were related to overall park use and the facilities that surround the park in general," she added.

One question on the survey asked what community members feel this project will contribute to Pittsfield, Springside Park, and the Berkshires.

Ninety-six percent of responses were positive, while four expressed concern. McGee said that overall, 91 percent of survey takers voted in favor of the bike skills park.

People were happy that this project would provide outdoor recreation for all ages, many mentioned they were excited for youth to have a safe and wholesome activity as opposed to negative activities the park has housed in the past, and there were many comments about this project bringing the community together and attracting tourism.

"We're not just providing something that people want to do," McGee said. "We're providing something that people want to contribute to in an ongoing way."

The survey revealed concerns related to maintenance responsibilities, the pump track falling into disrepair, how it will affect the homeless population who reside in Springside Park, safety for riders and accessibility for emergency vehicles, and the environmental impact on its surroundings.

Other concerns were the lack of access to public bathrooms, if there would clear signage with park rules and etiquette posted, and if the project would be overlooked if not visible enough.

McGee noted that Berkshire NEMBA would have a memorandum of understanding with the city that leaves all maintenance in the group's hands.

The next step for this project is for Berkshire NEMBA, Berkshire Mountain Bike Training Series, and the Shire Shredders to work with the city to help respond to survey queries. McGee said she and her team are dedicated to addressing all of the community's concerns and answering any questions.

An official Facebook page was made for the bike skills park where all of the information pertaining to it can be centralized.

Tags: biking, Springside Park,

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PCTV Turns 40, Anniversary Celebration This Friday

By Breanna SteeleiBekshires Staff
03:30PM / Monday, September 14, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Community Television is turning 40 this week, and it's celebrating with its viewers and listeners.

This Friday, Sept. 18, PCTV will celebrate at the Berkshire Hills Country Club. Ryan Peterson, WTEN News10 ABC anchor and Pittsfield High School graduate, will give the keynote address.

Executive Director Shawn Serre, who has been with the station for over 32 years, said it's their chance to celebrate all they have been able to bring to the community.

"It's a chance to reflect on everything that the organization has done over those years, all the people that have been involved. From board members to volunteers to producers to crew people to staff members, and all the different programs that we've produced," he said. "Everything from public programming to education, sports, graduations, parades, government meetings and forums, and election night coverage, and all kinds of other things that just year upon year of history that we've been able to create and document here for the Pittsfield community over those years."

Serre took over as executive director about nine years ago. Originally a volunteer fresh out of college.

The original board included former mayor Edward Reilly, Dan Dillon, Diane Morgenstern, Bernard Avalle, and John Fukes of the Berkshire Athenaeum. The operation was all-volunteer until PCTV hired the first executive director in January 1989.

PCTV has operated out of its station on Federico Drive since 1999. But originally they worked out of a basement.

"The first location that we ever had, we had all of our equipment stored in cardboard boxes in the basement of the Berkshire Athenaeum, because the Berkshire Athenaeum at the time was very gracious and allowed us to have some space while we sort of got our feet on the ground and sort of got things organized," he said. "But we had no location. We had no studio. We just had this equipment that was ordered with the money that we had from the original cable franchise grant."

"So that lasted a couple of years, and then we signed and got a lease over in our first studio location, which was over on Fourth Street in Pittsfield," Serre continued. "That was around the time that I first got involved, just before we moved to Fourth Street. So I was there in the basement of the library, opening those boxes up and seeing what we had for equipment. So we stayed there at Fourth Street for about 10 years, and then this building that we're currently in now, over on Federico Drive, was constructed in 1998. It was built kind of custom-made for the cable company and for us and for one other company."

Serre said one of their proudest moments was saving the radio station WTBR-FM back in 2018. PCTV made space for them so they could continue operation.

"We carved out some space here in our facility for that, and we've been operating that radio station ever since. So those are some of the big milestones of growth of the organization over the years, and the things that we've done," he said.

They have also invested in advanced technology to keep their programming accessible to all.

"Technologically, there's another whole series of things that we've gone through," he said. "We've started out with a single cable TV channel. We grew to three cable TV channels. We started out as standard definition on videotape, and we grew to digital, and then to high definition, and then everything went to the internet. So we're able to offer video on demand and live streams and video on social media. And then with the radio station, we also have a live stream there and podcasting. So we've seen a lot of technological change and tried to roll with that over the years."

Serre said that PCTV strives to keep people informed while also allowing space for people to create their own media.

"The whole idea behind PEG [Public Education and Government Access]...the whole idea behind that back in the 70s and 80s was that people could be left behind with the technology that's available to the big corporations," he said. "So, if you had a cable system at the time, ordinary people maybe they had camcorders at home, but they didn't have access to a TV studio; they didn't have access to the kind of technology that we had to allow them to create programs and share it with the community. So we filled that gap, and that was one of the main things that we did. And then also to be able to create programming for viewers and for the city, so that the municipal meetings can be shown, and so school committee meetings can be shown, and it really brings people in and involved."

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