image description — Children try out the new ADA-compliant picnic table installed at the Dalton Public Library. There is no fourth seat to allow for people using mobility devices.

Dalton Installs Seven Accessible Picnic Tables

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
06:17PM / Wednesday, June 26, 2024Print Story | Email Story

Six of the seven tables have been installed; the seventh is planned for the Pine Grove Park pavilion. The tables were purchased through a grant.

DALTON, Mass. — The Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant picnic tables have been installed at Greenridge, Pinegrove and Chamberland parks and at the library.

During the ADA Committee meeting last week, ADA coordinator Alyssa Maschino informed the committee that the seven ADA picnic tables from Massachusetts Correctional Industries had been installed.

They were purchased using a $6,414.31 Municipal ADA Improvement Grant.

The round metal tables have three seats with one open spot for wheelchair and mobility device users. There are two at Greenridge Park, two at Chamberland Park and one at the library.

One table has been installed at Pine Grove in the play area. After anti-theft measures have been implemented, another one will be installed under the pavilion.

The application for the fiscal 2025 Municipal ADA Improvement Grant has been submitted so the town can invest in ADA-accessible counters for the assessors, clerk, and tax collectors' offices in Town Hall.

The committee will know if it has been approved for the grant in September or October. If the grant is approved the deadline to complete the project is close to the Massachusetts Correctional Industries program's 35-week queue.

Committee members agreed to reserve a spot in the queue before being approved for the grant to ensure the counters arrive before the deadline.

The cost of the counters does not include the installation. However, committee Chair Patrick Pettit said he and committee member John Curro know a local carpenter who may be able to install them.

To cover the cost of the installation, the committee would have to utilize some funds from the building and grounds budget. Building Grounds Superintendent Jeff Burch is aware of this, Maschino said.

Massachusetts Correctional Industries sent plans for the counters, which were slightly off but could be resolved by moving the counter back. Pettit said this won't affect the price.

The committee originally proposed including ADA buttons for the assessors, clerk, and tax collectors' offices in the grant application, but the town did not receive a quote in time.

Tags: accessibility, ADA, picnic,

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Pittsfield Seeks CPA Funds for Bike Racks, AED

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
07:17PM / Sunday, October 25, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city plans to apply for Community Preservation Act funds for park bike racks and an AED machine at the pickleball fields.

On Tuesday, the Parks Commission endorsed Pittsfield’s applications for CPA funds.

"Both of those projects are certainly, relative to CPA funds, low cost but high benefit," Commissioner Anthony DeMartino said.

Through CPA, bike racks are proposed for a few city parks, and the Berkshire Mountain Pickleball league is looking to place an automatic external defibrillator at the Benedict Avenue pickleball fields.

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath and Recreation & Special Events Coordinator Jennifer VanBramer presented the two small project applications, which will go through an eligibility period before full consideration in the spring of 2027.

During the city’s free, six-week, summer playground program, it was observed that many kids access parks by bicycle. The plan is to buy between six and eight racks to be placed at Durant Park, the Common, and Clapp Park; other parks are being considered as well.

McGrath explained that the three parks hosting the playground program don’t have bike racks, and they wind up on the ground and sometimes become a distraction.

"The ancillary benefit to having bike racks is that it encourages that mode of transportation for folks that want to come to the park on their bike," he said.

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