Dozens of people rallied Saturday in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with many upset over drastic cuts to the city's open space schedule.
For the last three years, open space along Memorial Drive and the Charles River has been enjoyed on Saturdays and Sundays, but recently the Department of Conservation and Recreation cancelled access on Saturdays.
Saturday, protesters came out to voice their objection to the Riverbend Park open space being taken away on Saturdays. The public widely supports the open space and City Council voted 7-2 in favor of keeping it open, but community members have voiced concerns about having the open space near residential neighborhoods.
Protesters and some city councilors are hoping the decision can be reviewed and reversed.
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“I really think there’s a way that we can find the middle ground here where we can improve the conditions for the neighborhood but also improve the conditions for the greater community," Cambridge City Councilor Marc McGovern said. "I hope people are going to be willing to come to the table and have those discussions and be willing to compromise and to hear each other.”
“I just think this is an amazing community asset that people love and we have over 5,300 people that have signed a petition," a man at the event said. "Hundreds of people have written into the DCR asking for this stuff to work and to make this work for everyone so we really hope that they do it.”
Community groups in attendance Saturday met with transportation engineers on ways to have less impact on residential neighborhoods. They hope their findings, which have been submitted to the DCR and the governor, go toward reopening the space on Saturdays.
