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Bruce Monroe Park Survey Finally Online – Open until November 29th!

November 11, 2019

Neighbors discussing the future of the park at the September meeting.Two months following the public engagement meeting seeking comments on what a new, permanent park at Georgia Avenue and Columbia Road could look like, the Departments of Parks and Recreation (DPR) & General Services (DGS) have released an online survey to continue gathering community feedback and input. Participation is desired and encouraged. The results from the survey and community input will help guide the discussions moving forward on both design and amenities for the new park.

The Project Survey is at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BruceMonroeSurvey

Please share the survey link with your neighbors and anyone who may have an interest in the Bruce Monroe Park Project. The survey will remain open until 11:59 PM on November 29th.

DPR has stated that they will share the results of the survey with the community at their next community meeting, which is currently planned for mid-December. They are also working to provide and collect paper surveys throughout the community (though I currently do not have details on that effort).

For more information, please visit the project website to view the presentation from our previous meeting: https://dgs.dc.gov/page/bruce-monroe-park

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Report from First Bruce Monroe Permanent Park Meeting

September 11, 2019

On the evening of September 10th, the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) hosted a meeting to kick-off the community process to create a new, permanent 1-acre park at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Columbia Road. The meeting consisted of a brief overview of the Park Morton development (of which this is a part), and an overview of the site, the potential activities that could be programmed on the site, and a community activity to begin gathering information.

One process issue that arose was meeting location. Last night’s meeting was at the Bruce-Monroe at Park View School. DPR is working to schedule future meetings at the Cesar Chavez school on Kenyon Street.

(Neighbors in the cafeteria of the Park View School at the beginning of the park presentation.)

Following the presentation, neighbors were encouraged to review two park program boards and place stickers next to various programs to help guide the design process. To help gather greater input, DPR will also be distributing the survey electronically and plan to create paper versions for distribution. The goal is to get as much feedback as possible. Once collected, the information will be used to help prepare for the next meeting in the series.

Each person at the meeting got four stickers, one each of green, blue, yellow, and red. The colors indicated each persons first choice (green), second choice (blue), third choice (yellow), and least favorite (red). I’ve posted the results of that process below.

Thus far, two things pop out immediately. The first is that those who were at the meeting generally don’t want a tennis court. The second is that people either love or hate a dog park as most of the stickers were red or green.

It will be interesting to see how the input from the online and paper surveys add to these selections.

Categories: Parks and Green spaces
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Heads Up! Kick Off Bruce Monroe Park Meeting is Tuesday, September 10, at 6:30 pm!

September 9, 2019

Tomorrow at 6:30 pm, the Department of Parks and Recreation will host their first community meeting to begin the conversation on what a permanent, 1-acre park could look like on the Bruce Monroe site located at Columbia Road and Georgia Avenue, NW. A 1-acre permanent park was one of the components agreed to as part of the overall effort to rebuild the Park Morton community which identified the Bruce Monroe site as the first phase of construction.

The build-first phase of Park Morton was challenged in court, and while the case was heard in February 2019, we are still waiting for a decision to be handed down. While that has delayed the timeline for construction of the build-first structure, other aspects of the project continue to move forward — like the permanent park.

See the flyer below for details, and I will post a report of the meeting later this week for those unable to attend.

Categories: Parks and Green spaces
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DDOT to Begin Work on New Bioretention Facility at Park Road Park Today

March 11, 2019

Work is scheduled to begin on March 11th for a new bioretention area at the Park Road Park.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is scheduled to begin work today on a new bioretention facility at the western corner of the Park Road Park located at Park Road, Sherman Avenue, and New Hampshire Avenue. The work is part of the LeDroit Park Green Infrastructure Project. The purpose of the bioretention facilities is to filter pollutants and sediment from runoff.

Parking will be restricted during construction from 7 am to 5 pm.

Construction is expected to take approximately 4 weeks to complete, dependent on weather. In total, the bioretention area will be 1,567 sq. ft. in size.

Throughout the construction area, at least one lane of traffic will be open per direction. Curbside parking will be restricted at the site during construction hours which are 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, Monday through Saturday.

Below are some construction drawing details shared from DDOT.

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ANC1A Kicking Off Committee to Focus on Parks & Public Spaces on Thursday, April 5th

April 4, 2018

ANC1A is kicking off a new ad hoc committee focused on parks and public spaces on Thursday, April 5th, starting at 7 pm. The meeting will be held in the office of District Bridges which is located above Meridian Pint. The entrance is on 11th Street at the rear of Meridian Pint next to the Good Silver (3400 11th Street, NW).

This is an open meeting and all are invited and welcome to participate.

Over the past few years, ANC1A has received a growing number of concerns related to effective long-term management and vision as it relates to community parks and public spaces. The goal is for the committee to meet on a monthly basis, develop a comprehensive approach to long-term management and  growth of our public spaces, and make recommendations to ANC1A for action. Specifically, some of the focus areas of this committee will be to:

  • Identify community priorities related to public and community serving spaces;
  • Identify challenges to long-term maintenance;
  • Prioritize long-term improvements; and,
  • Bring all stakeholders together to better understand roles, responsibilities, and identify efforts already underway

Please share this information with others who may be interested.

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Meeting on Columbia Heights Dog Park Scheduled for Wednesday

January 29, 2018

Last week, it was learned that the Metro property at 11th and Park Rd, NW — which has been used as an unofficial dog park for years — was one of several properties WMATA would be considering to sell. This has caused great concern among neighbors who regularly use the site. In response to concerns expressed to WMATA and Councilmembers, Metro has postponed their discussion on the 11th and Park site, though still plans to consider it.

Newly elected ANC1A06 Commissioner Angelica Castañon has scheduled a meeting on Wednesday night beginning at 7 pm for the community to discuss the future of the property and potential solutions. The meeting will be at the Raymond Recreation Center.

Flyer with details below.

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DMPED Signs Bruce Monroe Redevelopment Land Disposition Agreement

October 11, 2017

Here is some news from the October New Communities Initiative E-Newsletter that I thought people should be aware of. Last month, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) signed the Bruce Monroe Land Disposition Agreement (LDA).

Additionally, the newsletter stated that the community design process for the new park on the Bruce Monroe site will be co-lead by the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and the Department of General Services (DGS), which will kick off later this year.

(Rendering of approved building and park at the Bruce Monroe property.)

Categories: Development, Housing, Parks and Green spaces
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Park View Community Partners Green Space Survey Released at Park Morton Steering Committee Meeting

March 30, 2016

At the Park Morton Steering Committee meeting held on March 24th, Park View Community Partners (the development team) walked through the results of the Green Space Survey that they’d conducted between January 29th and February 8th. The slide deck from that presentation is available on the Park View Engage Web site and also available here.

Overall, 201  people participated in the survey (with one caveat, it is possible that one person took the survey 36 times as the IP address was the same as were the responses). The purpose of the survey was to solicit feedback on the desired programming of the park elements at both the Park Morton and Bruce-Monroe sites. That can best be illustrated in the following two charts.

Question four focused on green space elements at the Park Morton site:

Park Morton Green Space chart

Question five focused on green space elements at the Bruce-Monroe site:

Bruce Monroe survey use

At the meeting, I offered two suggestions to the development team to gather information to help them better understand what park uses would meet community expectations. With the warmer weather, I suggested that the team visit the Bruce-Monroe site on several occasions to engage those who visit the site and learn about the activities (both existing and absent) that people would like to have at the site. I also suggested that the team visit the parks, playgrounds, and community gardens surrounding the Bruce-Monroe site and ask similar questions.

Overall, it would be both interesting and helpful to the planning process to develop a broad understanding of the recreational activities that currently exist in the community as well as activities that people would like to have in the area that aren’t currently available. It would also be useful to know why people choose to visit some greenspaces and not others — for example, are roads like Georgia Avenue, Park Place, or Sherman Avenue considered barriers to some?

Whether these suggestions are acted upon or not, it is clear to me that more work is needed to understand what the programming needs are for our local greenspaces than can be achieved through an online survey.

 

Categories: Parks and Green spaces, Sports leisure and entertainment
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Where do you take your dog to walk, run, socialized with other dogs, and just have a good time being a dog?

October 13, 2015
The area at Bruce Monroe Park closed to dogs recently.

The area at Bruce Monroe Park closed to dogs recently.

Last week, dogs were barred from the fenced in area of Bruce Monroe Park near the community garden and the gates were locked.  According to the Department of Parks and Recreation, the area was chained off because it was not a legitimate dog park and is, instead, officially designated as a stormwater management area for the community garden. Borderstan has a good overview of the story and members of the community who want access restored have started a Facebook page called “Save The Bruce Monroe Community Park Dog Run.”

ANC 1A10 Commissioner Rashida Brown is working to schedule a community meeting to sort this out, and I certainly support her efforts. While the short term outcome may indeed be to restore access to the fenced in area, that won’t solve the problem in the long-term.

This all leads me to ask, whether at Bruce Monroe Park or elsewhere — Where do you take your dog to walk, run, socialized with other dogs, and just have a good time being a dog? I’ve seen dogs playing at Wangari Gardens, at the triangle park at Rock Creek Church Road and Park Place, and at the unofficial dog park at 11th Street and Park Road. However, with no official dog parks in the northeastern corner of Ward 1, what spaces have you found that provide a safe environment for your dog to exercise and play with other dogs?

 

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New Seasonal Park on K Street — Could this Work on Georgia Avenue?

July 16, 2015
The ParKIT sign expalin

The ParKIT sign explaining the concept.

On Tuesday, a new Parklet was opened on K Street in front of the Gensler building at 2020 K Street NW. The seasonal park takes the place of two parking spaces. As I checked it out (and I know others in the community have also been thinking along these lines too), I wondered if a seasonal, temporary park would be something that could be done on Georgia Avenue. More-so, I wondered if a parklet could be paired with a bike corral in an area like DC Reynolds, Looking Glass Lounge, and Walters.

One of the issues with Georgia Avenue is that the sidewalks are too narrow to accommodate outdoor cafe space. Furthermore, in an area like the 3600 block of Georgia, on a popular night their just aren’t enough bike racks to accommodate cyclists. If we could identify an area where three parking spaces aren’t needed, or, where the benefit of removing them for a seasonal park and bike corral would outweigh the loss of three spaces, we might be able to create the outdoor vibrancy that is definitely needed on Georgia.

Parklet(The new parklet on K Street, NW.)

While the parklet on K Street is a great place to sit, read, and relax, these aren’t the only activities that could be accommodated. As the photo below shows, the space could also be configured as an outdoor cafe or summer garden. This is precisely the type of activity that would help enliven Georgia Avenue but that we can’t accommodate with our current sidewalks.

San Francisco parklet(1300 Fulton Street Parklet (Hosted by Cafe Abir) Photo By: SF Planning (AS))

So the questions become: 1) Would the community be interesting in swapping out a few parking spaces for some type of seasonal park? 2) What activities should this park support? and 3) Ideally, where should this park be located?

Categories: Streets and Trees, streetscape
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