The $200 Park goes LARGE

The former electrical substation before Stormaggedon.

When the City of Alexandria purchased 3550 Commonwealth Avenue from Dominion Power, they had Open Space funding available and a goal of expanding park space, but they didn't really have a plan for it. What happened next though was something really magical.

Neighborhood volunteers teamed with City staff to forge ahead even in the face of economic troubles and budget crises. For just $200 it started to resemble a park, using only cast-off garden plants donated by neighbors and mulch ground up from cut-down, unhealthy, storm-battered trees formerly used to screen the old substation. For regular readers of The Arlandrian this is not news. We documented the progress along the way with our stories: "Where Did THAT Garden Come From?" and "New Park Uncovered At Spring for Alexandria". The tale of a community coming together is something that we are really amazed by and, frankly, more than a little proud.

And that gamble by citizens, that investment out of pocket and in blood, sweat and tears, didn't go unrewarded. Today they get their return. Dominion Power, already supporters of the Four Mile Run Farmers & Artisans Market through their Dominion Green outreach program, have stepped up to assist at the Reed Avenue Park as well.  Here's their press release:

Dominion volunteers will work with City of Alexandria Department Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities and community volunteers to turn a former substation into a beautiful community park. Alexandria community volunteers began to create the neighborhood park by adding flower beds and a walking path. Dominion volunteers will help continue the transformation by replacing shrubs and trees that have signs of decay and rotting with new trees that will provide shade for park users expand the walking path and plant additional flowers in the garden.

The Dominion Foundation donated $2,500.00 to help with the project and more than 20 employees will spend part of the day volunteering. Thursday, October 27, 2011 8am–1pm.

When The Arlandrian stopped by early this morning, the Dominion team was already well along. Throughout the day, despite the rain, the volunteers reestablished the paths and garden started by community members last year. And with help from City crews, fresh mulch was laid from the last of the broken trees (the victims of all of the weather events over the last year or so). The City also matched the Dominion dollar contribution with additional plantings. All in all, 4 new maples, 3 crepe myrtles, and 12 arborvitae have now made the community gardening project into a bona fide pocket park. The boost by Dominion and the City was exactly what the project needed to get the park to a place where community members can continue to build on and maintain. Mayor Euille rushed to the neighborhood between official duties to express the community's gratitude and appreciation to the crew during their lunch break. Still a work in progress, a story that is still unfolding, the Reed Avenue Park at 3550 Commonwealth Avenue is an incredible neighborhood accomplishment that continues to reflect the community pride.

New Park Uncovered At Spring for Alexandria

Before and After

When the City of Alexandria purchased 3550 Commonwealth Ave from Dominion Power, they had Open Space funding available and a goal of expanding park space, but they didn't really have a plan for it. That wasn't a bad thing -- just removing the blighted, out-of-use electrical substation on the property and planting grass in its place was an aesthetic improvement -- but it left a blighted, vacant lot.

While various options for the park remain open (in previous posts we discussed a fenced in dog park), in the interim, a team of volunteers decided last year to start the process of turning the property around by installing a large garden on one corner. For just $200, using garden cast-off plants donated by neighbors and mulch from cut-down, unhealthy, storm-battered trees formerly used to screen the old substation, it started to resemble a park.

A hot summer wiped out a few of the transplanted shrubs and flowers, but thanks to an on-site water supply and diligent work by volunteers, most of the garden made it through the first year.  And fortunately, a team of a dozen or so Alexandria parole officers and one air quality specialist volunteered their time during Spring for Alexandria to recover the garden out from under a truckload of weeds. The team even managed to plant a small donated maple tree, which will hopefully be the first of numerous trees taking root.  View a slide show of the volunteer clean-up day below (NOTE: if you're reading this as email, you may need to click the link to the article to see the slide show):

Throughout the clean-up visitors and onlookers made several commitments to the park. Parks staff, seeing the derelict state of the remaining evergreen trees, said the City would remove the rest...and mow the site more regularly since the garden is being hidden behind an 18" wall of grass and weeds. The outgoing City Manager and his interim replacement said they would find a little money in the budget to come up with a landscaping plan. I guarantee that would not have happened if neighbors hadn't devoted time and energy trying to make something of the site. The City sees and appreciates the effort and wants to leverage the volunteer support with a little funding.

View of former electrical sub-station that became the park.

It shouldn't be forgotten that without these volunteer efforts, the stalled park improvement might have continued the decline into blight. We know that cleaning up the site has already improved safety:  Last year, when volunteers were removing some of the trees on the site and thinning out the bottom branches of others, a woman expressed her gratitude for making the area feel more secure. She relayed the story of having her purse stolen by an assailant who had hidden among the trees and attacked her when she was waiting for the bus.

So thank you, Spring for Alexandria team. With your help, we'll make a park of this otherwise unplanned site, yet!

Where Did THAT Garden Come From?

New garden goes in at the yet-to-be-named park

Why, your friendly neighborhood volunteers installed it, of course.

Last Saturday, a team of over a dozen volunteers from Arlandria and surrounding neighborhoods came together and got started on a host of projects. This was the 2nd annual Arlandria Spring Clean-Up and Gardening Day!

The number one initiative was to install a large garden at the open space property at the corner of West Reed and Commonwealth Avenues, acquired by the City just last year. The garden came together using plants gleaned from backyard gardens, generously donated by local residents. In total, our generous neighbors contributed 13 shrubs, dozens of perennials, a sapling, and ornamental grasses... and there's at least one ornamental tree and a bunch of liriope yet to plant! So, for this coincidentally Earth Day weekend event, volunteers used donated plants, composted leaves from last Fall's leaf pick-up, and mulch from shredded Christmas trees. And all of it was hauled to the site in borrowed trucks. Sod removed from the site was used by some neighbors in their own backyards.

Volunteers were slowed but not deterred by ground that could double as concrete. While everyone went home in need of some Icy-Hot for their aching backs, they left with a sense of accomplishment. See the following progression of photos that take the park from weed patch to garden:

From an overgrown patch of grass...

Step 1: Gather the troops and begin removing the sod (the sod cutter is the red machine in the picture)

Step 2: Cut under the sod and roll it up

Step 3: Haul it away to clear the site

Step 4: Try like heck to make a hole in the rock-hard ground

Step 5: Mix in municipal composted leaves to bring some nutrients to the soil

Step 6: Plant donated shrubs in donated top-soil

Step 7: Repeat... repeat... repeat...

Step 8: Add a host of perennials

And you wind up with a 700 sqft patch of garden to be proud of.

Look for more enhancements to come.

Another task from Saturday was cleaning up the vacant lots on Mount Vernon Avenue that are slated to expand the 55-acre Four Mile Run park. The properties had been ignored by parks staff and were badly in need of a once over. While the majority of the team focused on the Reed Avenue garden, a second group weeded and re-mulched the garden at the entrance of 4MR, trimmed some out of control street trees, and cleaned up junk on the site.

Lastly, back at the Reed Avenue site, the haggard screening trees that used to block the power substation were thinned out for aesthetics and to prevent them from blocking a clear view for the police. Trees that were strangling each other now have some room to grow and thrive.

Once again, Campbell and Ferrara Garden Center in Annandale donated mulch to the cause. Home Depot also contributed enough to get about 20 bags of top-soil that will hopefully keep the new plants growing strong. Many thanks to the management of both establishments!

Many thanks to our generous neighbors, as well! Your donated plants made it all possible. Please continue to let us know if you have plants you're dividing or otherwise getting rid of. We'll continue to enhance our existing gardens and create new green spaces with whatever we get!

Lastly, thanks to the volunteers for all the backbreaking work. Future clean-ups to prep the site for a market will follow, so stay tuned. But this was a big step towards improving Arlandria open space.

Results of Survey About Dog Park at Reed Ave Open Space

View Reed Avenue Dog Park? in a larger map

The survey we talked about previously here is now closed. After about 2 weeks, we had 112 completed surveys. Complete survey a results, including all of the comments left by participants are available here.

A Little Analysis of the Results
Here is a little bit of breakdown that you can't get just by looking at the summary numbers. First off, 66% of people, overall, said that a configuration of the space including a dog-park is most-preferred alternative. The split between those that want a dog park and those that don't include it as a top choice breaks convincingly between people that want to see something done soon and those that want to plan and come up with something big. Let me explain:

78% of respondents prefer to do something in the near-term. Of those 78%, 81% prefer that the end result include at least some portion fenced-in dog park as their first choice. However, of the 22% of respondents that would prefer to wait, plan, and come up with something big for the space, 85% did not choose a result that included a fenced-in dog park as their first choice. In fact, of that group, 53% said a fenced-in dog park is their least preferred alternative.

One of the benefits of the way that splits is that we might be able to appease both groups. A dog park is a relatively low-cost alternative compared to landscaping, playgrounds, or other more formal open space configurations. The City has stated that it will be several years before they have the resources to plan and execute something with this space. The City's Open Space Coordinator, Laura Durham, ran down the current plans for the future of this space:

With an opportunity for funding in the future, staff will initiate a community park planning process with the Park and Recreation Commission. This planning process will not occur in the immediate future, though the property will be available to the public as open space when it is fully decommissioned by VA Power.

With city approval, we could utilize the space for a fenced-in dog park for several years before a larger planning effort can take place to convert the space to something else. Based on what I've seen in the City budget, the "opportunity for funding" is a long way off.

Dogs Don't Walk Themselves
Some of the dog park dissenters expressed disdain with utilizing open space for the benefit of dogs, stating that parks should be for people, dogs don't pay taxes, etc. Here are 2 examples (by far the minority, but worth discussing):

I wasn't aware that dogs were paying taxes. Asdog owners who have chosen not to provide their own private property for their dog to play in/on a dog owner and property owner, I am tired of my tax dollars being spent to take care of those . Chain link fencing is cheap and unattractive looking and will do nothing to help property values... Let's start spending tax dollars on actual tax paying residents.

and

Do dogs pay taxes? Then why are we building parks for them? And please don't try to equate dogs with children. Our children will grow up to pay more than their fair share of taxes -- our dogs won't.

The problem with these comments is they don't take into account the fact that the dog is a driving factor in getting the owner outside to enjoy the open space. 50% of dog owners that took the survey use a fenced-in dog park at least once week, with 69% using a fenced-in dog park at least once a month. People take their dogs to the park to get some exercise and they themselves get some exercise, while availing themselves the opportunity to chat with neighbors. The dog owner benefits nearly as much as the dog, and the dog owner most certainly pays taxes. And several years ago, Alexandria raised its dog licensing fees specifically to pay for dog parks.

Aesthetic Details
I'll keep discussion of aesthetics short. 56% of respondents said they'd want to see a wrought-iron type fence if a dog park is installed. Another 33% don't care between a wrought-iron and chain link fence. Chain link is, of course, much cheaper, but more landscaping is required to make it look nicer -- and that adds cost. As for leaving the rectangular hedge of gangly-looking pine trees instead of replacing them with smaller trees, about half the respondents said no, the other half said maybe or yes. I personally think what probably should be done is to remove some of the trees so it's not like a 30' tall wall-like hedge, but leave the healthier specimens in place to retain some of the shade they provide. These then could be supplemented with some smaller trees. In hindsight, based on the comments we received, we should have also included a question regarding mulch versus gravel and grass, but that can be left for further discussions should we go forward.

Don't Give the People What They Don't Want...
Now we'll take a look at what people don't want instead of what they do. The plurality doesn't want yet another empty and purposeless open space, with 43% or respondents being most unhappy if we did nothing. There is a noticeable contingent that does not want a dog park: 21% of survey takers. Of these, 75% of that group does not have a dog, but of non dog-owners overall, 48% include an option with the fenced-in dog park as their top choice for the space. 19% don't want to see an unfenced dog exercise area. On a space located by the intersection of two arterial roads an unfenced dog area is not really a logical alternative -- especially given that, of the 20 dog exercise areas in the city, there are only 4 fenced-in dog parks.

Least Preferred Option of Those Given
21%	All fenced-in dog park.
13%	All landscaped
19%	All unfenced dog exercise area.
43%	Remains grassy area
4%	All Others

Any Other Ideas?
The survey was intended to get an idea of how much interest people had in turning the area into a dog park. If resources were not an issue, we could have a survey that includes any and all options. But resources are limited and truthfully, if anything gets done here, it will require donated materials and volunteer work. The good news is that these are things that we think we can get.

As for other options, one or two respondents expressed interest in more athletic fields, but this site is far too small for any kind of athletic field, so that is not a viable option. One neighbor requested that we consider a labyrinth, but the cost of hardscape or manicured landscaping would likely be prohibitive as a short-term option. The long-term solution could include a labyrinth as part of a larger landscaped space -- a very interesting idea. We did not include a playground as an option since there are three within 1-2 blocks of the site.

We also did not include a community garden as an option. 5 commenters expressed interest in a community garden, but at only 1/2 acre, the space is fairly small for that purpose. There are portions of Four Mile Run Park that would provide more utility as a community garden, in part because they could use gray-water runoff from Cora Kelly Magnet School as a water source instead of fresh water from the spigot on site at the Reed Ave open space. With the development of a fenced-in dog park at the Reed Ave open space, the unfenced exercise area in Four Mile Run Park could be removed and a similarly sized plot could be used as a community garden. Also, eliminating a dog exercise are within Four Mile Run Park removes the risk of fecal coliform bacteria from running off into the stream.

Long Story Short and Next Steps
The fenced-in dog park is an extremely popular idea. Other great ideas were brought up, but the dog park is one of the few feasible short-term options due to its low cost to set up and maintain (especially if it's mulched). It is certainly not a lock to occur, even if we can cover 100% of costs. The city has a set of guidelines for Dog Parks (Draft copy - 1.4MB PDF) and the Reed Ave site is borderline on size and proximity to residential property according to that document. Our police community liaison officer mentioned it as an idea and Kevin and I ran with it, thinking it would increase the "eyes on the street" in our area, act as a crime deterrent, and bring something positive to the neighborhood. We had people offer e-mail addresses and phone numbers so they could lend a hand with the effort, which will be a big help. We'll also need to find some kind of sponsorship to get a fence installed. We need to work with the adjacent Glebe House Apartments to make sure whatever we do, we consider the neighbors and screen the property with trees. We will begin a planning process of our own as soon as possible. Contact me if you're interested in participating in coming up with and, maybe executing, a plan (nickdeuva@gmail.com).