Access Stairs Planned at Pontoosuc Lake
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is planning to enhance access to Pontoosuc Lake's south shoreline with a staircase from the boardwalk and a couple of stair sets to the water.
Last week, the Conservation Commission was updated on work on the park's southern section off Hancock Road, which last year saw a new boardwalk and access stairs from the parking lot.
Pittsfield plans to build a set of stairs from the end of the boardwalk to the grassy area near the shoreline and is seeking additional feet of bank stabilization. The city's request for an amendment to the project's order of conditions was continued to July 23, as there were some explanatory presentation slides missing.
"I've already got permissions from the original notice of intent, orders of condition, to bring a stair set off of the boardwalk down to this grassy area," Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath told the commission.
"So, when you're on the boardwalk, if you want to utilize this stair set, which we're proposing, you come down the boardwalk stair set, onto the grass, over to the bank, into the water."
Two sets of stairs are proposed for shoreline access, supported by $12,000 in Community Preservation Act funds, along with additional feet of bank stabilization.
Last year, community members argued that erosion control plantings impeded access at Pontoosuc Lake; four easy access points were proposed, and a site visit with the Conservation Commission revealed that some of the bank erosion was worse than they believed.
Stairs were then proposed for that area instead. They will be about 3 1/2 feet wide.
Commissioners and city staff have recognized additional areas of bank erosion. The amendment proposes an additional 105 feet of bank stabilization to the west of the boardwalk.
"I think this was recognized at the site visit in the fall. It was recognized just yesterday out there with the agent that this area, immediately at the end of the boardwalk, westerly, and where my pointer is, here, there is some really severe bank erosion," McGrath said to the commission.
He reported that the installed brush layering, red osier dogwood, has been stabilizing the bank with each passing week.
Abutter John Dickson, during public comment, said he comes to this area almost daily and sees people swimming in the area of the channel.
"They're going into areas that you want to protect," he added. "If you have these stairways in, you're going to channel those people who want to go in away from those areas, and I believe you're going to be able to protect the broader shoreline better."
Pontoosuc Lake Park was acquired by the city in 1913 and has not received substantial improvements since the 1960s. Historic pictures of the park show beach facilities, ferry boats, and large slides.
The improvements are part of a long-range open space and recreation plan for the city that was developed in the early 2000s and a master plan that was endorsed by the commission in 2022.
The north side of the park is being eyed for swimming, with plans for a beach to replace the concrete wall where people commonly swim, and the south side is targeted for passive recreation, recognizing that boats travel through a narrow channel to reach the ramp.
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