ATHOL — Fisherman’s Point Miller’s Woods and River Bend is unsafe and off limits to the public for the foreseeable future.
Marilyn Cohen, community manager at Hometown America Miller’s Woods and River Bend, a private, 55-plus community at 739 Daniel Shays Highway, said the slope inside the park commonly known as Fisherman’s Point is unsafe.
The area has been roped off, and the public is restricted from that area, especially during the annual River Rat Race planned for Saturday, April 14.
“It has been fine in the past, but it is now off limits for safety reasons,” said Cohen.
The steps have shifted, making it unsafe, she said. It will take an excavator to fix the eroded slope, as well as the installment of a new stairway and railing, before it is reopened to the public.
“I’d like to get it back to the way it was,” said Cohen, but it will take an unknown amount of money to repair, she added.
“The owner, 35 to 40 years ago, had grandfathered it in to allow use by the public,” she said. “But, the area is deteriorating …”
One resident on a walk slipped on the mossy steps and rolled down the hill, badly bruised themselves, she said. The area has been roped off as a “point of danger.”
Cohen said there are three roads within the community that should be addressed before the slope is repaired.
“We have some major road damage,” she said. “It will take $100,000 to fix the potholes. If there is money left over in the budget this year, then we will talk to the town about fixing Fisherman’s Point. The potholes are a priority.”
Cohen has spoken with the police chief and hired a four-hour police detail to screen people driving in on River Rat Race day, when many people usually flock to the area and crowd the riverbank, sometimes walking over people’s property to get to the river.
The chief recommended she also put out a sign stating, “RIVER RAT VIEWING NOT ACCESSIBLE IN HERE.”
“If something happens, it’s still a liability,” she said, adding “I would love to be able to reopen it.”