Hearst Playground story in Current

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Forest Hills Park is fairly central and walking distance to all those apartment buildings which lack pools.

What? It's a 30 minute walk at least from Mclean Gardens to FH Park. Do you have to walk for 30 minutes to take your kid to a playground?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Consternation, no. But definitely strong concern about losing a large sports field, tennis courts and very mature trees to a pool and surrounding concrete decks. And puzzlement about where people will park on non-arterial streets zoned for RPP and school use during the week, unless Hearst E.S. makes its adjacent parking lot available.

Most of the time the pool would be open, neither Hearst nor Sidwell would be in session. There is a huge stretch of 37th Street which is unzoned where people who would drive could park very easily. Parking is a non-issue. And if the concern is non-RPP, then that is a on-issue. Most other areas have their own pool - people would need to go out of ward to swim. However, those in the ward would be limited by parking on Wisconsin Avenue or other areas that don't require RPP.

Maybe if the neighbors had worked collaboratively with Sidwell, the school would allow visitors to use the huge, empty in the summer garage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The whole "Ward 3 has no pool" logic makes no sense. It's not like there are border crossings we have to go through to change wards.

Why should every other neighborhood and ward in the city have multiple outdoor pool options while Ward 3 has non? We pay taxes too and should have the same convenient amenities as other residents city wide.

Isn't the solution obvious here??? Co-locate the new homeless shelters with outdoor pools! Every outdoor pool in DC gets a homeless shelter. That'll bring new meaning to giving each Ward some "skin in the game"!

[Anonymous]

The other wards have both homeless shelters and pools. Ward 3 has neither, but I suppose will soon have both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Consternation, no. But definitely strong concern about losing a large sports field, tennis courts and very mature trees to a pool and surrounding concrete decks. And puzzlement about where people will park on non-arterial streets zoned for RPP and school use during the week, unless Hearst E.S. makes its adjacent parking lot available.

Most of the time the pool would be open, neither Hearst nor Sidwell would be in session. There is a huge stretch of 37th Street which is unzoned where people who would drive could park very easily. Parking is a non-issue. And if the concern is non-RPP, then that is a on-issue. Most other areas have their own pool - people would need to go out of ward to swim. However, those in the ward would be limited by parking on Wisconsin Avenue or other areas that don't require RPP.

Maybe if the neighbors had worked collaboratively with Sidwell, the school would allow visitors to use the huge, empty in the summer garage.

In fact, the relationship between the neighborhood and Sidwell has been very positive collaborative. Sidwell basically agreed to implement the traffic and parking mitigation measures requested by the neighborhood in connection with its campus expansion. As a result, not one party testified against Sidwell's application at the zoning board, which is pretty unheard of for an institution seeking a special exception.

That said, the Sidwell parking garage is used for programs throughout the summer and its placement along Wisconsin avenue means that the public would have to exit up and garage ramps and walk around the outside of the campus to reach Hearst Park. Hearst School itself has a parking lot that is next to the park. As public property, that presumably will be available to park users after school and in the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The other wards have both homeless shelters and pools. Ward 3 has neither, but I suppose will soon have both.

...on sites chosen personally by Mary Cheh, basically in her sole discretion and without the pesky bother of public hearings. Ward 3 is so lucky to have an omniscient nanny, excuse me, council member, who always knows what is best for us!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The other wards have both homeless shelters and pools. Ward 3 has neither, but I suppose will soon have both.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Ward 3 already has some homeless shelters. A few examples.

http://www.shelterlistings.org/details/30375/
http://www.shelterlistings.org/details/31462/
http://www.shelterlistings.org/details/24476/
http://www.shelterlistings.org/details/25746/
http://www.shelterlistings.org/details/31462/
https://www.google.com/search?num=30&espv=2&q=homeless%20shelter%20washington%20(20016%20OR%2020008%20OR%2020007)&npsic=0&rflfq=1&rlha=0&rllag=38937148,-77077116,1647&tbm=lcl&ved=0ahUKEwjCoKD3oYrNAhVVTlIKHfQtDEMQjGoINA&tbs=lf:1,lf_ui:2&biw=1280&bih=939&rlfi=hd:;si:
https://friendshipplace.org/shelter/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The whole "Ward 3 has no pool" logic makes no sense. It's not like there are border crossings we have to go through to change wards.

Why should every other neighborhood and ward in the city have multiple outdoor pool options while Ward 3 has non? We pay taxes too and should have the same convenient amenities as other residents city wide.

Isn't the solution obvious here??? Co-locate the new homeless shelters with outdoor pools! Every outdoor pool in DC gets a homeless shelter. That'll bring new meaning to giving each Ward some "skin in the game"!

Or at least "skin in the pool."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Forest Hills Park is fairly central and walking distance to all those apartment buildings which lack pools.

What? It's a 30 minute walk at least from Mclean Gardens to FH Park. Do you have to walk for 30 minutes to take your kid to a playground?

McLean Gardens has its own swimming pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The whole "Ward 3 has no pool" logic makes no sense. It's not like there are border crossings we have to go through to change wards.

Why should every other neighborhood and ward in the city have multiple outdoor pool options while Ward 3 has non? We pay taxes too and should have the same convenient amenities as other residents city wide.

Isn't the solution obvious here??? Co-locate the new homeless shelters with outdoor pools! Every outdoor pool in DC gets a homeless shelter. That'll bring new meaning to giving each Ward some "skin in the game"!

Doesn't DC already have Redskins in the game?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Cleveland Park, McLean Gardens and Vaughan Place, all neighborhoods or major housing areas very near the Hearst site, all have their own swimming pools.

The former is a private club and the latter require residency. Not a solution for the rest of us.

The point being that there isn't much pool demand for much of the local area closest to Hearst park (Cleveland Park to south and east) McLean Gardens/Vaughan Place to west and southwest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



Cleveland Park already has a community pool, at the Cleveland Park Club which is relatively inexpensive to join compared to most private pools.

The boundary for those who can join that pool and club is very small and exclusive. This is a public pool that would be open to the rest of us riff-raff.

The CPC pool is tiny.

How the the boundary "exclusive"? It includes McLean Gardens (which itself has a pool) as well as the apartment buildings along Connecticut and Wisconsin Aves. in the Cleveland Park area.

It may not be exclusive but it is not large. I live in Van Ness and cannot join the club, whereas I could certainly go to a public pool at Hearst.

Hey y'all, exclusive means that it excludes.some people. It excludes.people outside a certain boundary.

[Anonymous]

What about at the UDC campus? It's on the Red Line which is sort of the central axis of Ward 3. There's space, all on DC land, particularly closer to International Dr. There's plenty of parking along Van Ness between Conn. and Reno, which has no homes, as well as on Conn. Ave. Ward 3 gets so little benefit from UDC, so it would be nice if the ward were able to avail itself of the campus more. The pool would also be available to UDC students, as to all District residents, when open during the summer. Construction of the pool might have to wait until Murch's swing space use is over, but pool construction at any site is several years off anyway. This could be a win-win.

[Anonymous]

Pool construction would probably start after the winter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pool construction would probably start after the winter.

You mean after this upcoming winter? No, sir. There's no way that plans and blueprints can be drawn and environmental reviews completed that fast, even if Cheh succeeds in foisting a pool on top of Hearst Park.