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.

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.

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.

Is that a bad thing? Hearst is an easy bus ride from many swaths of the city via the 96 bus. Seems like a plus to me. I love the cross-section of the city I see at the other outdoor pools!

Anonymous wrote:A better spot for an ourdoor pool for Ward 3 might be in the vicinity of Wilson/Deal, which is very central, with good parking and near public transportation.

No empty land over there that isn't federal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
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.

Have you seen a map of the outdoor pools in DC?

http://app.dpr.dc.gov/dprmap/index.asp?group=5&query=AND{%277%27.EX.%27Outdoor%20Pool%27}

All of the other neighborhoods have outdoor pools already. Why would you assume people will be coming from far corners to this facility? And I haven't seen many beyond those in the community at the spraygrounds at Macomb, Turtle Park, Lafayette or Livingston.

I think this would be fantastic for the community.

I assume that people will come from elsewhere in the city to a nice, brand-new facility because that's what happens. Especially the nannies, but also parents. I assume this because this has been my observation while living in CCDC for the past 15 years.

And.... could you define "the community" ? what would say the boundaries of "the community" are, for example?

i don't live in ward 3, but i pay taxes too and am just as entitled to use a pool that's at hearst. sorry you don't consider me part of your "community"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
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.

Have you seen a map of the outdoor pools in DC?

http://app.dpr.dc.gov/dprmap/index.asp?group=5&query=AND{%277%27.EX.%27Outdoor%20Pool%27}

All of the other neighborhoods have outdoor pools already. Why would you assume people will be coming from far corners to this facility? And I haven't seen many beyond those in the community at the spraygrounds at Macomb, Turtle Park, Lafayette or Livingston.

I think this would be fantastic for the community.

I assume that people will come from elsewhere in the city to a nice, brand-new facility because that's what happens. Especially the nannies, but also parents. I assume this because this has been my observation while living in CCDC for the past 15 years.

And.... could you define "the community" ? what would say the boundaries of "the community" are, for example?

Anonymous wrote:

This is one of the few full-sized fields around, and the tennis courts are heavily used. I don't see where the pool can go, unless these resources are thrown away. I agree that the upper portion is pretty tight, but is there anything else planned for where the temporary building is now? That could be "found space." The other question about a pool that is going to attract a lot of users is parking. The streets surrounding the park are parked full during the day and even on weekends the spots fill up with constant Stoddert soccer league games. I guess that the Hearst school parking lot could become the pool lot after school hours and in summer. There's no other spot on the parcel to add parking.

The pools around the city are only open during the summer. Usually there isn't school in session or Stoddert soccer taking place. As such, with the broad stretch of 37th Street, there really shouldn't be a parking issue. Plus, I would guess most of the heavy users will be the people who live in that immediate North Cleveland Park area. McLean Gardens has its own pool, as does Cleveland Park (Club).

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.

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.

Oh no, not the other wards! Thankfully ward three will do their best to make everyone, especially the brown people, feel unwelcome.

Anonymous wrote:A better spot for an ourdoor pool for Ward 3 might be in the vicinity of Wilson/Deal, which is very central, with good parking and near public transportation.

1) Where specifically? You can't just say "in the vicinity" because Hearst is a real place with a real budget and available DC controlled land.
2) There is already an indoor pool there.

Anonymous wrote:
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.

Have you seen a map of the outdoor pools in DC?

http://app.dpr.dc.gov/dprmap/index.asp?group=5&query=AND{%277%27.EX.%27Outdoor%20Pool%27}

All of the other neighborhoods have outdoor pools already. Why would you assume people will be coming from far corners to this facility? And I haven't seen many beyond those in the community at the spraygrounds at Macomb, Turtle Park, Lafayette or Livingston.

I think this would be fantastic for the community.

A better spot for an ourdoor pool for Ward 3 might be in the vicinity of Wilson/Deal, which is very central, with good parking and near public transportation.

Anonymous wrote:I don't know the details (and in fact the details are what will be worked out in this planning phase), but my understanding is that the work they are talking about will all be down on the "lower field" area. So, e.g., get rid of the tennis courts, or make the soccer field area smaller or something like that.

This is one of the few full-sized fields around, and the tennis courts are heavily used. I don't see where the pool can go, unless these resources are thrown away. I agree that the upper portion is pretty tight, but is there anything else planned for where the temporary building is now? That could be "found space." The other question about a pool that is going to attract a lot of users is parking. The streets surrounding the park are parked full during the day and even on weekends the spots fill up with constant Stoddert soccer league games. I guess that the Hearst school parking lot could become the pool lot after school hours and in summer. There's no other spot on the parcel to add parking.

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.

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.

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.

I don't know the details (and in fact the details are what will be worked out in this planning phase), but my understanding is that the work they are talking about will all be down on the "lower field" area. So, e.g., get rid of the tennis courts, or make the soccer field area smaller or something like that.

This post is as much about the Hearst rec center and Hearst school. This week's NW Current reports that DC Parks & Rec is planning a renovation of Hearst park, to include an outdoor pool and changing structure, renovation of the big field and tennis courts and even a dog park. The question is where they'll put the pool without moving it next to the Hearst playground area. The tennis courts and field cover a lot of the property, so it's hard to see where a pool would go. There would be pluses and minuses if they put the pool up next to the old park shelter where the portable classroom structure is located now. I suppose the school parking lot will double as parking for the pool, which would be most heavily used during the summer when school is out.