Hearst Playground story in Current

[Anonymous]

I thought that DC Parks & Rec pools stayed open through Labor Day. In fact, the vast majority will close by the third week in August, and a number are closing this weekend. The Hearst complex seems like a lot of $ and disruption to a small park for a facility that will barely be open for 2 1/2 months out of the year.

https://dc.curbed.com/2019/5/21/18634015/dc-public-pools-locations-hours-swimming-dpr

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Speaking of lights, they should install lights for the field at Hearst so it can be used into the evening.

That would really piss off the neighborhood.

Why? One one of the 4 sides of the park borders on homes and that side is below grade from the street so the lights would not be noticeable and there is plenty of on-street parking around the school.

There is an acute shortage of field time in DC especially on weeknights so lights here would really serve a need.

Lots of other DPR facilities have lights so if there is a need this one should too.

Having said that you'd really need a turf field if the lights were being installed to facilitate soccer as the extra use would quickly obliterate a grass field.

The main reason the neighbors would object is because they'd lose their illegal dogpark if the field were more intensely used and we know from this 200 page thread that the immediate neighbors think this is their own Gramercy Park and not a public resource.

That field is probably among the most intensely used fields in the city. Why isn't walking a dog a legit use? There is such a thing as light pollution. Mary Cheh is willing to band leaf blowers in the entire city because one constituent complained a noisy neighbor I would think she would appreciate the many concerns about destroying Hearst from hundreds of citizens. The only reason there is no pool on the field is because corrupt Cheh is tight with the Stoddert soccer crowd, where she was once an official and they said they needed the field.

In fact, there are homes directly on three sides of the park: Quebec on the south, Idaho on the southeast, and Springland Lane on the east.

No it is not one of the most intensely used fields in the city. The intensely used fields all have turf on them. I'm 12 years into being a soccer parent in DC with one kid playing travel in his 4th year now and trust me Hearst is not intensely used. Just in NW DC Palisades, Jelleff and Deal's fields are much more intensely used and if you want to see intense you should spend a Saturday at Carter Barron.

And dogs are not allowed on turf fields in DC at all - not on a leash or off a leash so no dog walking on a DPR field in fact is not only not legit it is actually illegal.

Of course had the neighbors of the park been constructively engaged in this process they probably could have gotten a dog park incorporated into the renovation but they were too busy making a$$es of themselves screaming about prison lights.

And though my youngest only rarely has practice at Hearst when the field is re-done next year if I see someone allowing their dog to run off leash on the new turf I will call the police.

You should call the police. Off-leash dogs do not belong on playgrounds and playing fields. It's the law.

There's also a free DC-run dog park two or three blocks away in McLean Gardens (not to mention a members-only conservancy park that allows dogs during certain times in Cleveland Park). It is tough enough to fit a pool into Hearst Park without also jamming a dog park in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
You should call the police. Off-leash dogs do not belong on playgrounds and playing fields. It's the law.

On-leash dogs don't belong on fields or playgrounds either. That's the law too.

What's tricky at Hearst as it's currently configured is what the boundaries of the playing field are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought that DC Parks & Rec pools stayed open through Labor Day. In fact, the vast majority will close by the third week in August, and a number are closing this weekend. The Hearst complex seems like a lot of $ and disruption to a small park for a facility that will barely be open for 2 1/2 months out of the year.

https://dc.curbed.com/2019/5/21/18634015/dc-public-pools-locations-hours-swimming-dpr

Why would DC be closing most of its public swimming pools before Labor Day?! Is there a budget issue? If so the question becomes how well they are able to afford to maintain this and other swimming pools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You should call the police. Off-leash dogs do not belong on playgrounds and playing fields. It's the law.


On-leash dogs don't belong on fields or playgrounds either. That's the law too.

What's tricky at Hearst as it's currently configured is what the boundaries of the playing field are

Cops have a lot better things to do. Hearst should be a dog park. it would attract way, way, way more people than the pool. And it would be used YEAR ROUNd. That would be far the best use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:

You should call the police. Off-leash dogs do not belong on playgrounds and playing fields. It's the law.


On-leash dogs don't belong on fields or playgrounds either. That's the law too.

What's tricky at Hearst as it's currently configured is what the boundaries of the playing field are

Cops have a lot better things to do. Hearst should be a dog park. it would attract way, way, way more people than the pool. And it would be used YEAR ROUNd. That would be far the best use.

Sure, if you don’t mind your kids sliding in dog shit.

[Anonymous]

Yuck, no thanks. Not everyone is a dog person or wants to play soccer in your dog's fecal matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yuck, no thanks. Not everyone is a dog person or wants to play soccer in your dog's fecal matter.

DC needs a real dog park. It's one of the few cities its size that doesn't have a proper place for dogs to run freely. Hopefully, they will let dogs swim in the pool once a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yuck, no thanks. Not everyone is a dog person or wants to play soccer in your dog's fecal matter.

DC needs a real dog park. It's one of the few cities its size that doesn't have a proper place for dogs to run freely. Hopefully, they will let dogs swim in the pool once a week.

Take your dog to soapstone valley, Rock Creek or the Potomac River if you want them to swim somewhere and run free. There are plenty of holes all through Rock Creek where tons of people take their dogs.

[Anonymous]

You can call 311 to report it if you feel it's not at the level of 911. I call 311 for wellness checks on homeless people all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:

You should call the police. Off-leash dogs do not belong on playgrounds and playing fields. It's the law.


On-leash dogs don't belong on fields or playgrounds either. That's the law too.

What's tricky at Hearst as it's currently configured is what the boundaries of the playing field are

Cops have a lot better things to do. Hearst should be a dog park. it would attract way, way, way more people than the pool. And it would be used YEAR ROUNd. That would be far the best use.

DPR has its own police force, called Urban Rangers, who literally have nothing better to do, patrolling parks is their whole job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:

You should call the police. Off-leash dogs do not belong on playgrounds and playing fields. It's the law.


On-leash dogs don't belong on fields or playgrounds either. That's the law too.

What's tricky at Hearst as it's currently configured is what the boundaries of the playing field are

Cops have a lot better things to do. Hearst should be a dog park. it would attract way, way, way more people than the pool. And it would be used YEAR ROUNd. That would be far the best use.

DPR has its own police force, called Urban Rangers, who literally have nothing better to do, patrolling parks is their whole job.

They don't have the power to arrest people or issue citations and would just have to call the police. But maybe they could effectively shoo people away - a lot of the abusers of the leash law at my NW DC park actually drive in from MD so maybe they'd be deterred.

[Anonymous]

They cut down all the trees on the Quebec side of Hearst park. It’s awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They cut down all the trees on the Quebec side of Hearst park. It’s awful.

The cleared out the scrub trees and weeds on the Quebec Street side of Hearst Park. It is SOOOOOO much better.

[Anonymous]

I just walked by the other day. A ton of trees came down. Dont minimize at least be honest. I can see why the neighbors are upset - changes the view and will impact parking and noise.