Latest news with #WaldenPond
CBS News
a day ago
- General
- CBS News
Main beach at famous Massachusetts pond will be closed all summer over safety concerns
The main beach at Walden Pond will be closed for the 2025 summer season. The Department of Conservation and Recreation says construction work on a new bathhouse at the famous swimming spot in Concord, Massachusetts poses safety concerns to the public. "DCR has determined it cannot safely open the Main Beach to visitors for the 2025 summer season, while construction for the new bathhouse is ongoing," the agency said in a statement. The $6.1 million project involves demolishing a decades-old two-story bathhouse and replacing it with a new single-story building that is accessible to people with disabilities. Construction is expected to finish in the fall. The new bathhouse facility will have men's and women's bathrooms with changing areas, three family restrooms, a break room for lifeguards and a first aid station. Red Cross Beach at Walden Pond will remain open, but there will not be any lifeguards on duty. DCR is suggesting alternative swimming spots, including Ashland State Park, Cochituate State Park in Natick, Hopkinton State Park, Charles E. Shannon Jr. Memorial Beach in Winchester and public pools in the area. About 600,000 people visit Walden Pond State Reservation every year. The pond and surrounding woods famously serve as the setting for Henry David Thoreau's 1854 book, "Walden." Last year, Walden Pond landed on a list of the "11 Most Endangered Historic Places." Last summer, Walden Beach saw closures due to high bacteria levels, as well as heavy rain that kept parts of the beach underwater.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
DeKalb County destroys 4 more blighted properties
Blighted properties continue to be torn down in DeKalb County. Four condominiums in the Walden Pond community were demolished on Wednesday. The destruction is part of a plan to keep communities safe. 'What you see here is the result of decades of omission by those who were responsible for the upkeep of their property,' DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson told Channel 2. 'It's important that we remove these threats to public safety because it's our responsibility to provide for the welfare of our residents.' Leslie Johnson has owned her condo in the neighborhood for 26 years. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] 'This used to be a beautiful community, and we are in the process of trying to make it beautiful again,' Johnson said. The four units that were demolished on Wednesday were gutted by a fire four or five years ago. They were on the list to be torn down before the COVID-19 pandemic. 'This has been a long time coming with this coming down. But we're trying to bring the other buildings back up to code. A lot of the properties are being sold and they're being bought by, you know. Some people are buying multiple units… so we're hopeful that the people will use the money to make them better," Johnson said. Cochran-Johnson said she wants to work alongside homeowners like Johnson. Cochran-Johnson and Commissioner Robert Patrick will announce a blight tax on Thursday for commercial owners whose properties aren't up to code. 'You cannot allow your properties to reach a point of it is going to cost you in DeKalb if you are not upkeeping your properties,' Cochran-Johnson said. She said the county will work with individual homeowners in Walden Pond who want to continue owning their waterfront properties, but said quality of life and safety, and welfare of every citizen are her top priorities. TRENDING STORIES: Husband, wife from Buford drown near Destin resort 4 people shot at Southwest Atlanta gas station Double shooting leaves 16-year-old dead in Southwest Atlanta [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
