Ives Park Working Group Update

The working group tasked with identifying and presenting possible ways the community could improve the park space at 20th & Ives held their first meeting on Feb 7th.

Here is a summary of that meeting:

Fence: The County has said it will leave the fence at the corner and a “few feet” in either direction, while removing the rest, so as to provide open access to the park but give a bit more security for the portions near the intersection.

Intersection: A couple of people brought up the possibility of requesting that the intersection be made into a 4-way stop as an additional safety measure.

Bamboo: There is A LOT of bamboo. It has the benefit that it provides a visual and noise screen. The downside is that it takes up quite a bit of the space, and there are concerns over rodents. Everyone seemed to agree that keeping some of the bamboo would be good, and that at least initially, we could try cutting it back to give back some of the space, trimming the tops down to about 3-4ft high, and thinning it out. Also, the idea of making it into a maze or other manicured hedge, once it is cut low, came up.

Trees: Shade trees would be great, and we will look into the possibility of getting some through the county program.

Plantings:  We would designate an area, or a couple of areas, where we could plant bushes, flowers, etc. It would be nice to attract butterflies, bees and other pollinators!

Design:  It was agreed that for this initial phase, simplicity would be the best approach. It is wonderful to be thinking of what we would all like to see eventually, but given our current lack of budget, we should try to stick to the basics. We did discuss the fact that for any pathways, we would like to avoid concrete, and rather go with pea gravel or mulch.

Seating: Something mobile would be ideal. This has the benefit that park users can place the chairs/benches to suit their needs at any given time, as well as not running into issues with perhaps the County not liking what we pick.

Funding:  The idea of approaching JBG for some assistance was brought up, given their past contributions to Virginia Highlands Park.

Dogs:  This will not be a dog park. Dogs will be allowed on the grounds, though, as with all County parks. Though most dog-owners are responsible and pick up after their dogs, we understand that there can be times when either an owner runs out of bags, or unfortunately, is not as considerate as others. In order to encourage a clean area, the idea of having a pole with a trash can and bags available to use was suggested. Similar poles are present at both the Parc View Apartments (across from the library) and Instrata Pentagon City. An additional thought that was suggested, and which is in use in Shirlington, is a big boulder in a designated area. Apparently, dogs will tend to “mark” the boulder, so that it all stays in one general area. Should we decide to follow this model, it was suggested that in fact a sign making it clear that it was a designated area be installed.

Questions:  Some questions which came up, and that I will be sending to our contact with the county were as follow:

Will the trees that are currently on the property, especially the dead ones, be removed? Will all stumps be removed? What is the plan for the driveway? 

Next meeting on February 23: Agenda is to discuss/review a couple of draft plans.

See the project page for background and additional information.

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