Opinion: The South Side of Gar eld Park Needs Fixing by Robert Krughoff

/ Opinion /

THE SOUTH SIDE OF GARFIELD PARK NEEDS FIXING

by Robert Krughoff

Garfield Park is a great asset for the Capitol Hill neighborhood and for all of DC. But the southern edge of the park and the area a small distance south of the park are in very bad shape as a result of long deterioration and then serious damage during the CSX tunnel construction that began in 2015.

Fortunately, this can be fixed and greatly improved. Councilmember Charles Allen got $1 million put into the DC budget available as of the fiscal year beginning in October 2018 to fund needed work. But, unfortunately, District Department of Transportation (DDOT), which is responsible for planning the work and making needed infrastructure fixes, has gotten virtually nothing done.

Though $900,000 has recently been allocated to the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to make some improvements throughout Garfield Park, the Friends of Garfield Park, of which I am a long-time Board member, wants to push DDOT and other agencies to fix all of the deterioted elements in the park which are important for recreation, safety and basic enjoyment of the park.

Big Improvements That Are Needed

1. The basketball court that was there for more than 25 years and heavily used has been ruined—one upright and backboard removed, lines removed, holes and cracks in court surface, and a pile of more than 20 concrete blocks, most weighing hundreds of pounds each, is sitting in the middle of the court. 2. The skateboard park that was built by users starting about 2010 has been mostly removed and was never as good as many other skateboard parks in other cities and a few in DC. It should be rebuilt to standard. 3. There is no good route under the Freeway for people to walk through Garfield Park toward or from Yards Park, the increasing number of residences south of the freeway, the Whole Foods store, etc. Allen’s plan called for an ADA-appropriate walkway dealing with ups and downs of curbs and walls and a gradual path from the underpass up a hill into the park. But DDOT has not made that happen. There were many complaints from neighbors, for example, that on the steep steps into the Park from New Jersey Ave. there was no handrail. When the government did nothing about this problem, some neighbors finally purchased a rail from an iron-works company and worked with that company to install it. 4. There is a stretch of Virginia Ave., going from the skatepark west all the way to the New Jersey Ave. bridge, that has been closed to traffic for years because of security concerns of the Architect of the Capitol. And good news is that DDOT has now stated that there will be no parking or use by ordinary vehicles on that stretch. This has made the stretch available to, and frequently used by, pickleball players. Some of these players have painted lines for four pickleball courts and purchased a steel cabinet with a padlock that can be shared. And they have stocked it with paddles, balls, a leaf blower, and portable nets that players can easily set up and take down. And they have spread the word on court availability to the public, resulting in hundreds of court users. A major plus is that the pickleball courts are on an otherwise abandoned strip of road and don’t take up any of the space that has been so valuable in the main grassy area of Garfield Park.

So, what needs to be done? Repair cracks in the pavement/courts and make a smooth surface, put good courts in place, make an exciting skateboard park, add lights under the freeway in the areas where the freeway serves as a ceiling and add 10 or more Washington Standard light posts in the area not under the Freeway and set the lights to stay on for usability and safety until shutting off automatically at roughly midnight as the lights in Garfield’s existing tennis courts can do. Figure out and implement a strategy for processing water that comes down out of the park and brings mud and debris (possibly by putting in pipes under some surface arFROM TOP TO BOTTOM: eas, a few rain-gardens in the park, a few walls, Pickleball being played on and some slopes or road Virginia Ave. by neighbors who installed the makeshift court. contours that will move water into non-probUnusable basketball courtfull of concrete blocks. lematic areas). All this is feasible at manage- Water accumulated at the edge of the park at the underpass.able cost.

Some of the work Where water is eroding the park that should be on a new on its way to the underpass. list of what the agencies Neighbors finally had to buy contract for include inand install this railing on steep steps in Garfield Park. stallation of at least one