Needham residents will get their second chance to weigh in on the design of a proposed action sports park and pickleball courts at Claxton Field when the Park and Recreation Commission holds a public meeting Thursday, July 30, at 7 p.m.

Design consultants from engineering firm Weston & Sampson and action sports specialists Pillar Design Studios will present updated plans at the Rosemary Recreation Complex, 178 Rosemary Street. The meeting is hybrid; residents can also join via Zoom.

Commission Chair Michelle Geddes and Director Stacey Mulroy are leading the session, which opens with a public comment period, according to the agenda posted by the Town Clerk's office on Monday, July 27.

What's on the table

The project would add five pickleball courts along Central Avenue and an "all wheels" action park in the quarry east of the softball fields, plus 23 new parking spaces.

At the first public forum on Thursday, May 21, Weston & Sampson and Pillar Design Studios showed two action park concepts. The first is a lower-cost, beginner-friendly layout built at grade with street-style elements and a pump track. The second is an above-grade circular design with transitions, stair sets, and a flip pyramid but no pump track. Both include shade structures and accessible parking, according to the Needham Observer's coverage of that meeting.

Skaters at the May 21 session favored the second design but asked for more technical features. Weston & Sampson and Pillar Design representatives told attendees they hoped to reach consensus on a design by mid-summer before bringing refined plans back to the community.

The pickleball design calls for a 10-foot vinyl chain-link fence around the courts, screened from the road by a landscape berm and tree plantings. A sound study was underway as of the May 21 forum, according to the Needham Observer.

What's next

The project will go before Town Meeting for a funding vote in May 2027, planners told the May 21 forum. A third public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 24, at 7 p.m., according to the town's civic alert posted Wednesday, July 22. No cost estimate has been released publicly.

Residents who want to attend in person Thursday should go to the Rosemary Recreation Complex at 178 Rosemary Street. The Zoom link is available on the town calendar at needhamma.gov.

Note: An earlier town civic alert listed the venue as the Memorial Park Fieldhouse at 92 Rosemary Street. The official agenda posted July 27 corrects the location to the Rosemary Recreation Complex at 178 Rosemary Street.