Hamden parks, playgrounds and fields reopened on Sept. 4, as a part of the town’s gradual reopening process amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Hamden has been very — almost extra — cautious,” said David DeMartino, Hamden’s recreation supervisor. “Basically, we’re just trying to follow the state guidelines as best we can and making sure we’re comfortable doing it.”
Surrounding towns opened up before Hamden, but DeMartino said this was because Hamden wanted to be as safe as can be.
“State’s opened up a little bit more, so we’re opening it up,” DeMartino said. “And then, we surveyed a few other area towns — Cheshire, North Haven, Branford — and got a feel for what they’ve already done, so we decided we should open them up.”
In order for this to be successful, signs will be placed in each park, playground and field to encourage social distancing and notify people that the equipment will not be sanitized. DeMartino said that unless a worker was stationed at every park, sanitizing would be “impossible.” Signs will be up by next week, according to DeMartino.
Because Hamden took longer to reopen its parks, playgrounds and fields, Lauren Weber, a Hamden resident and mother of one, took her 2-year-old daughter to other towns to play.
“I always thought that it was a pretty unsafe thing for us to be going around to other communities and potentially getting exposed to new populations, but it was something that I felt like we had to do because I couldn’t keep her in the house,” Weber said. “She needs to get out and climb and play. It’s just really not something that is possible to do without a playground structure.”
Weber is grateful that the Hamden parks reopened. She no longer has to drive out of town for her daughter to get some fresh air and time to play outside.
“I’m happy that they’re reopening,” Weber said. “I think that it’s way overdue and people are ready to get outside and let their kids play. I’m just happy that it’s finally happening.”