Hearst Playground story in Current

[Anonymous]

Isn't it great that they are going to have professionals submit designs for it. I am sure they will understand what the space constraints are and submit great options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't it great that they are going to have professionals submit designs for it. I am sure they will understand what the space constraints are and submit great options.

Sarcasm will get you everywhere. But I fully agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Awesome news! We participated in some of the community surveys, and would LOVE an outdoor park in that space. And I think the "community" in this case is the community of residents of Washington DC, all of whom are entitled to use the city's pools. Easy bus access via H buses and the 96/X3/30 buses on Wisconsin.

I'd also like to see a dog park -- there are a ton of people who run their dogs off-leash in the park, and it's a nuisance, especially when they do it just at the same time kids are on their way to school. So it would be great to see a fenced-in safe area for dog-owners.

What are your thoughts on where to put the dog park, along with the outdoor pool, bath/changing facilities, tennis courts, soccer field, parking, Hearst playground? It gets complicated, no?

Well, to be clear, I don't want a dog park. I just want there to not be unleashed dogs on the rec field. And PP upthread pointed there actually is a dog park nearby.

And I don't particularly care if there's additional parking. Extra H buses would be nice, though. So my only question is how big the pool would be and how much of the soccer field would be impacted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't it great that they are going to have professionals submit designs for it. I am sure they will understand what the space constraints are and submit great options.

Sarcasm will get you everywhere. But I fully agree.[/quote

Unless they build the tennis courts on top of the pool or on top of Hearst playground, it's hard to figure out how they make the real estate bigger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Awesome news! We participated in some of the community surveys, and would LOVE an outdoor park in that space. And I think the "community" in this case is the community of residents of Washington DC, all of whom are entitled to use the city's pools. Easy bus access via H buses and the 96/X3/30 buses on Wisconsin.

I'd also like to see a dog park -- there are a ton of people who run their dogs off-leash in the park, and it's a nuisance, especially when they do it just at the same time kids are on their way to school. So it would be great to see a fenced-in safe area for dog-owners.

What are your thoughts on where to put the dog park, along with the outdoor pool, bath/changing facilities, tennis courts, soccer field, parking, Hearst playground? It gets complicated, no?

Well, to be clear, I don't want a dog park. I just want there to not be unleashed dogs on the rec field. And PP upthread pointed there actually is a dog park nearby.

And I don't particularly care if there's additional parking. Extra H buses would be nice, though. So my only question is how big the pool would be and how much of the soccer field would be impacted.

I looked at it today. They could probably squeeze a pool in between the soccer field and the Hearst school playground, basically just like they did with the Beauvoir pool at St Albans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Awesome news! We participated in some of the community surveys, and would LOVE an outdoor park in that space. And I think the "community" in this case is the community of residents of Washington DC, all of whom are entitled to use the city's pools. Easy bus access via H buses and the 96/X3/30 buses on Wisconsin.

I'd also like to see a dog park -- there are a ton of people who run their dogs off-leash in the park, and it's a nuisance, especially when they do it just at the same time kids are on their way to school. So it would be great to see a fenced-in safe area for dog-owners.

What are your thoughts on where to put the dog park, along with the outdoor pool, bath/changing facilities, tennis courts, soccer field, parking, Hearst playground? It gets complicated, no?

Well, to be clear, I don't want a dog park. I just want there to not be unleashed dogs on the rec field. And PP upthread pointed there actually is a dog park nearby.

And I don't particularly care if there's additional parking. Extra H buses would be nice, though. So my only question is how big the pool would be and how much of the soccer field would be impacted.

I looked at it today. They could probably squeeze a pool in between the soccer field and the Hearst school playground, basically just like they did with the Beauvoir pool at St Albans.

I think the area is RPP zoned for 2 hours (except Ward 3), so that reduces somewhat parking demand.

[Anonymous]

The site is very tight. But if they have to jettison anything, it will have to be the dog park. It's hard to imagine locating it next to the playground or the pool, or anywhere kids would be.

[Anonymous]

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 is private. Also, look at the map. No outdoor public pool anywhere near there, especially to the North.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The site is very tight. But if they have to jettison anything, it will have to be the dog park. It's hard to imagine locating it next to the playground or the pool, or anywhere kids would be.

DC runs a public dog park nearby in McLean Gardens. There's also a private conservancy in Cleveland Park which allows dogs at certain times. However dogs have to be registered (cost $100) and wear a tag to use that park.

[Anonymous]

Install an artificial year round turf field on the lower field and keep it full size with lines to play smaller perpendicular fields within it. Use organic fill rather than rubber crumb to keep,field cool during the summer. Take up the tennis courts and install pool with an adjacent pool house and small number of parking spots, with a community room part of pool house. Place new tennis courts running adjacent to the soccer field running north south. Place a dog park in the gulley that is the Idaho Ave area that is not a road, keep it more natural rather than the gravel parks. Keep all the healthy big trees and retain as much nature as possible, and get Casey Trees to come in and plant where needed. Casey is already planting the re-landscaped area around the school. Will be interesting t see what is put in the area of the rear trailers that will be removed eventually, but not really room for a pool there. Will be a great community asset if done with transparent public input and patience, just like the school that is now great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There isn't room for a pool on the upper area so I wouldn't worry about that. An outdoor pool down below would be a great asset for the community.[/quote]

Make no mistake, any pool will immediately turn into a draw for visitors from all Wards. Just like the spray parks at Livingston and Lafayette.

I've been in Ward 6 for 6 years and have never gone to the spray parks at Livingston and Lafayette. I don't even know where they are. Are they better than the sprays at Canal and Yards Park?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Install an artificial year round turf field on the lower field and keep it full size with lines to play smaller perpendicular fields within it. Use organic fill rather than rubber crumb to keep,field cool during the summer. Take up the tennis courts and install pool with an adjacent pool house and small number of parking spots, with a community room part of pool house. Place new tennis courts running adjacent to the soccer field running north south. Place a dog park in the gulley that is the Idaho Ave area that is not a road, keep it more natural rather than the gravel parks. Keep all the healthy big trees and retain as much nature as possible, and get Casey Trees to come in and plant where needed. Casey is already planting the re-landscaped area around the school. Will be interesting t see what is put in the area of the rear trailers that will be removed eventually, but not really room for a pool there. Will be a great community asset if done with transparent public input and patience, just like the school that is now great.

This post nails it. Tremendous opportunity that will be a community treasure for generation to come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Install an artificial year round turf field on the lower field and keep it full size with lines to play smaller perpendicular fields within it. Use organic fill rather than rubber crumb to keep,field cool during the summer. Take up the tennis courts and install pool with an adjacent pool house and small number of parking spots, with a community room part of pool house. Place new tennis courts running adjacent to the soccer field running north south. Place a dog park in the gulley that is the Idaho Ave area that is not a road, keep it more natural rather than the gravel parks. Keep all the healthy big trees and retain as much nature as possible, and get Casey Trees to come in and plant where needed. Casey is already planting the re-landscaped area around the school. Will be interesting t see what is put in the area of the rear trailers that will be removed eventually, but not really room for a pool there. Will be a great community asset if done with transparent public input and patience, just like the school that is now great.

This post nails it. Tremendous opportunity that will be a community treasure for generation to come.

The post is thoughtful, although they would have to excavate the hill running along 37th St and take down all the trees to relocate the tennis courts. There might be an opportunity to build a parking lot off of Springland La though, with direct access to Reno Rd.

[Anonymous]

Looking at Google maps, they could also relocate the Hearst playground away from the street and put it back by where the portable classroom building is. That might be closer and safer for the kids. Then the pool could be built at the top of the slope where the mini-field is, and take advantage of the Hearst parking in the summer.

[Anonymous]

I think there is going to be an amphitheater where the portables are now.