Save Maplewood Park: Stop the proposed parking lot construction and protect our community
Save Maplewood Park: Stop the proposed parking lot construction and protect our community
La causa
For over 60 years, Maplewood Park has been the beating heart of our community. It is where children take their first steps on the grass, where families gather for summer picnics, where teenagers play pickup basketball on warm evenings, and where older residents walk their dogs and breathe fresh air. It is one of the last remaining green spaces in our increasingly dense urban neighborhood — and now the city wants to pave it over for a 200-car parking lot to serve a proposed big-box retail development.
We, the undersigned residents of Maplewood and the surrounding area, strongly oppose the City Council's Plan B-7 proposal to demolish 4.2 acres of Maplewood Park in order to construct a surface-level asphalt parking lot. This plan was quietly approved in a 6am committee session with no public notice, no environmental impact study, and no community input. That is not how democracy works.
The environmental consequences alone should give every council member pause. Maplewood Park contains 112 mature trees — some over 80 years old — that provide shade, absorb stormwater runoff, reduce urban heat, and sequester carbon. The city's own climate action plan, adopted just 18 months ago, commits to increasing urban tree canopy by 15% by 2030. Destroying this park would single-handedly erase years of progress toward that goal.
There are also serious public health concerns. Studies consistently show that access to green space reduces stress, lowers rates of childhood obesity, and improves mental health outcomes — especially in lower-income neighborhoods like ours, where residents cannot afford private gym memberships or weekend trips to the countryside. The park is not a luxury. For thousands of families in this zip code, it is the only nature they have.
We are asking the Mayor and City Council to immediately halt Plan B-7, commission a transparent environmental and community impact review, and hold a public hearing before any further decisions are made. We also call on the city to explore the vacant commercial lots on Birch Ave and Route 9 as alternative parking sites — options that were never seriously considered.
Maplewood Park belongs to the people. Please stand with us.
La causa
For over 60 years, Maplewood Park has been the beating heart of our community. It is where children take their first steps on the grass, where families gather for summer picnics, where teenagers play pickup basketball on warm evenings, and where older residents walk their dogs and breathe fresh air. It is one of the last remaining green spaces in our increasingly dense urban neighborhood — and now the city wants to pave it over for a 200-car parking lot to serve a proposed big-box retail development.
We, the undersigned residents of Maplewood and the surrounding area, strongly oppose the City Council's Plan B-7 proposal to demolish 4.2 acres of Maplewood Park in order to construct a surface-level asphalt parking lot. This plan was quietly approved in a 6am committee session with no public notice, no environmental impact study, and no community input. That is not how democracy works.
The environmental consequences alone should give every council member pause. Maplewood Park contains 112 mature trees — some over 80 years old — that provide shade, absorb stormwater runoff, reduce urban heat, and sequester carbon. The city's own climate action plan, adopted just 18 months ago, commits to increasing urban tree canopy by 15% by 2030. Destroying this park would single-handedly erase years of progress toward that goal.
There are also serious public health concerns. Studies consistently show that access to green space reduces stress, lowers rates of childhood obesity, and improves mental health outcomes — especially in lower-income neighborhoods like ours, where residents cannot afford private gym memberships or weekend trips to the countryside. The park is not a luxury. For thousands of families in this zip code, it is the only nature they have.
We are asking the Mayor and City Council to immediately halt Plan B-7, commission a transparent environmental and community impact review, and hold a public hearing before any further decisions are made. We also call on the city to explore the vacant commercial lots on Birch Ave and Route 9 as alternative parking sites — options that were never seriously considered.
Maplewood Park belongs to the people. Please stand with us.
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Petición creada en 22 de junio de 2026