To the editor:
Those who are dedicated to green space and open public lands have a worthy goal. I’m certainly not in the camp of those who want to “pave paradise and put up a parking lot.”
But we of the Marblehead Housing Coalition feel that the need for more moderately priced housing in town for seniors, town workers, young people, teachers and veterans, and the corresponding need for modest development to add to the town’s tax base has become over the past few years much more pressing than the laudable goal of adding more green space.
Today I happened to walk past a sign for Steer Swamp, and saw “48 acres,” and started wondering just how much of the town is currently marked for conservation land, parks, recreation and other green space open to the public.
My new best friend ChatGPT gave me some estimates but directed me to the Marblehead Open Space and Recreation Plan. It’s a bit dated, but it revealed an astounding number of public spaces for a densely populated town of this size. The sites on which they listed the acreage — Audubon Sanctuary, Chandler Hovey, Crocker Park, Fort Sewall, Forest River, Wyman Woods, Steer Swamp, the Rail Trail and many others added up to over 325 acres. And their list didn’t include acreage for Old Burial Hill, Fountain Park, Waterside Cemetery, Fort Beach, Riverhead Beach, Grace Oliver’s Beach, Redd’s Pond, Crowninshield Island, Gerry Island, Castle Rock, the several publicly accessible small beaches on the Neck, and several of the playgrounds. With these last additions, Marblehead’s acreage would surely be 500–550 acres and would support ChatGPT’s estimate that between 18-20% of the town’s 2771 acres are currently dedicated to green/open/public space.
The percentage in neighboring towns, admittedly a guestimate, is Swampscott at 10-13%, Salem at 12-15% and Beverly at 15-18%. And none of these towns is as densely populated as Marblehead. Marblehead has approximately 25 acres of open space per 1,000 residents. Salem and Swampscott are far behind at 10–15 acres per 1,000 residents.
We all want the best for Marblehead, but we also want to preserve the unique character, part of which in the past has come from the variety of the population. Lobstermen can chat with college professors at the Driftwood! Many residents have lived here for generations and want their children to be able to afford to live here. I for one would hate to see it become a place only millionaires can afford.
Ruth Sigler
Front Street
