Hearst Playground story in Current

[Anonymous]

On the most perfect days in April or May, you might see all three courts being used, but it isn't like they are being used, all three, from 7 A.M. to 8 P.M.


Even if they are, that is a maximum of 12 people per hour. You get that just watching basketball, much less playing soccer, which can have scores of people on both the upper and lower fields.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The Hearst Playground area is one of the few spaces in this area it could go, and the empty space would be better if put to use.

What is this "empty space" of which you speak? Most of the opposition seems to be centered around the fact that some existing users would be displaced.

There is no "empty space" at Hearst which would be sufficient for even a smallish pool, deck and pool house. Something's gotta' give, and that means at least a major portion of the soccer field, upland playground or tennis courts. The soccer filed is one of the most heavily used spaces for youth soccer in NW. I assume that putting the pool on the playground site would be unacceptable to many families, especially in the Hearst School community. Apart from the fact that the tennis courts are a much-used community recreational resource, the footprint of the current courts is under the drip line of the large, mature trees. That means that, with the excavation required for a pool and related infrastructure built at the tennis courts location, some number of trees would have to come down as part of construction.

[Anonymous]

There is an option that shows 2 tennis courts and a pool. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

It seems that if the outdoor pool advocates really feel that Ward 3 needs its own pool (notwithstanding an indoor pool in the center of the ward and several public outdoor pools on the ward's periphery), then they need to find a better site than Hearst.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems that if the outdoor pool advocates really feel that Ward 3 needs its own pool (notwithstanding an indoor pool in the center of the ward and several public outdoor pools on the ward's periphery), then they need to find a better site than Hearst.

What about at Lafayette? Isn't there a big space there where people walk dogs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you haven’t already, please fill out the survey (Each device is allowed one response) so if you want the pool, do what those opposed are doing and be sure to us multiple devices to game the results.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QHZJJ7K

Ah, now I understand how "everyone" supposedly wants their own Ward 3 piscine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that if the outdoor pool advocates really feel that Ward 3 needs its own pool (notwithstanding an indoor pool in the center of the ward and several public outdoor pools on the ward's periphery), then they need to find a better site than Hearst.

What about at Lafayette? Isn't there a big space there where people walk dogs?

Lafayette is totally unacceptable. It's technically not in ward 3, dontcha' know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is an option that shows 2 tennis courts and a pool. Problem solved.

All of the options show the soccer field dramatically reduced in size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is an option that shows 2 tennis courts and a pool. Problem solved.

How do they excavate a pool and a pool house foundation without having to cut down a lot of the really big trees? Problem exposed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that if the outdoor pool advocates really feel that Ward 3 needs its own pool (notwithstanding an indoor pool in the center of the ward and several public outdoor pools on the ward's periphery), then they need to find a better site than Hearst.

What about at Lafayette? Isn't there a big space there where people walk dogs?

As was noted upthread, if your goal is to actually bring a pool to people who don't have access currently -- as opposed to building a "Ward 3 Pool" -- the way to do that is one pool at Lafayette and one in AU Park. That's what the DPR master plan calls for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is an option that shows 2 tennis courts and a pool. Problem solved.

All of the options show the soccer field dramatically reduced in size.

That kind of sucks. Who needs another 'mini-me' field like on the upper playground?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that if the outdoor pool advocates really feel that Ward 3 needs its own pool (notwithstanding an indoor pool in the center of the ward and several public outdoor pools on the ward's periphery), then they need to find a better site than Hearst.

What about at Lafayette? Isn't there a big space there where people walk dogs?

As was noted upthread, if your goal is to actually bring a pool to people who don't have access currently -- as opposed to building a "Ward 3 Pool" -- the way to do that is one pool at Lafayette and one in AU Park. That's what the DPR master plan calls for.

Turtle Park in AU doesn't work because a pool might impinge on the expanded playground and the baseball fields.

[Anonymous]

Turtle Park is already very popular. Hearst isn't and has a lot of empty space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that if the outdoor pool advocates really feel that Ward 3 needs its own pool (notwithstanding an indoor pool in the center of the ward and several public outdoor pools on the ward's periphery), then they need to find a better site than Hearst.

What about at Lafayette? Isn't there a big space there where people walk dogs?

As was noted upthread, if your goal is to actually bring a pool to people who don't have access currently -- as opposed to building a "Ward 3 Pool" -- the way to do that is one pool at Lafayette and one in AU Park. That's what the DPR master plan calls for.

Turtle Park in AU doesn't work because a pool might impinge on the expanded playground and the baseball fields.

There are already 11 DPR baseball fields in Ward 3, compared to five DPR fields for all other sports. Considering that roughly five times as many kids in Ward 3 play soccer as baseball, DPR devotes far too much space to baseball already. If something needs to give it should be baseball fields.

[Anonymous]

The baseball mafia killed the pool at Turtle Park despite the strong support from the local residents. We understand the community value to having a proximate public pool and are dumbfounded as to the NIMBY opposition from the Hearst area residents.