LANESBOROUGH, Mass. —The Senior Park Committee, now the Age Friendly Park Committee, is making progress with a plan that supports recreation for all stages of life.

The panel has over $30,000 secured for the project at the underutilized Bridge Street Park which is estimated to cost as much as $250,000 to build.  Elements include pickle ball, shuffleboard, bocce, and a "shezebo."

"(The park) really just got forgotten about and abandoned and I looked at it and looked at it and looked at it and said it shouldn't be abandoned. Our senior population is increasing, we're getting older," Chair Linda Pruyne said.

"My whole concept behind this age-friendly park is that when we were kids and we didn't have jobs and responsibilities, we'd go to the park and hang out with friends, and now we're retired, don't have jobs, we should go back and hang out in the park with our friends."

The effort has secured $15,000 in free cash during the last annual town meeting, $15,000 from the New England Rural Health Association with the help of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, and $1,000 in private donations.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation will start a complete replacement of the bridge over the Town Brook next year.  Some of the park will be used as a staging area before the improvements are made but committee members want to establish it as a place to gather so that it is well known once the project is completed.

A design made by William Cook includes a variation of game courts, seating, a walking path, and maintains the baseball field.  Pruyne came up with the idea for a "shezebo," which is an all-season combination of a "she shed" and a gazebo.

While they have estimates for a couple of elements, there is not a price set on the full project just yet.

Members voted to rename themselves the Age Friendly Park Committee so that it is accessible to all.  

"We're building a place where we can all have a good time that is accessible to everybody and makes use of a block that is totally underutilized," Preston Repenning explained.

Laura Brennan, BRPC's assistant director & economic development program manager, suggested this as a more inclusive brand that will poise the project for future grant applicants and add to its appeal.

The committee started work about a year ago after Pruyne approached the Select Board with the idea.  They are currently looking to do an engineering and design plan for a park that is both accessible and maintenance-friendly.

"Isolation is a huge issue for the senior population, especially in a rural community," she explained.

"And we have been deemed through BRPC as a senior-friendly town so it seemed only logical to make the park a place where seniors can gather and live healthy lifestyles."

Pruyne also announced that on Sunday, Sept. 22 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. there will be an ice cream social, psychic tarot readings by Jess Kielman, and a book signing with local authors Gayle Andrew, Jess Kielman, and Erica Shay.

There will also be coffee from Jake's Java and a raffle.