April 28, 2008
Stead Recreation Center to Temporarily Close
In the department of bad timing, at the end of last week the Department of Parks and Recreation sent around a press release notifying the community that the play courts, plaza, and playground at the Stead Recreation Center at 1625 P Street NW will temporarily close beginning April 30, 2008.
The city plans to construct a brand new playground, but the rec center itself as well as the athletic field will remain open during construction -- you'll just have to access those areas from 17th Street, via Church Street, through the rear of the recreation center.
Why bad timing? The construction is going to take up the whole of whatever period of nice weather the city ends up being treated to this season, since the new playground won't open until August. There's no question a face lift for the playground and courts at Stead are welcome, it's just too bad the work couldn't have been done before folks in the neighborhood had a chance to enjoy some of the warm, but not yet brutally muggy, spring and early summer. August isn't exactly prime time to imagine getting excited about a new spot for outdoor activity. Guess we can always hope for a warm early fall.
For more info on the Stead closing, you can contact DPR at (202) 673-7647.
Photo by {ryan}
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i'm just shocked anything is happening at all. the work they want to do to stead and the parks up at s and t streets have been on the docket for-ever!
i'll be very very surprised if this gets done on any kind of schedule either...i mean, it's the dept. of parks and rec we're talking about here. not exactly the best example of a group that can stick to a schedule.
i recently attended a DPR meeting and their new chief seems bound and determined to get things done. he's got more funding in his budget and is determine to create/redo a lot of the city's parks and outdoor spaces. we'll see if he puts his money where his jackhammer is.
The DPR funding is higher than in the past, but DPR has tons of projects that it simply can't afford to do. But Clark Ray, the DPR head, definitely seems highly motivated to make DPR work for residents.
I'm not holding my breath that Ray will be any different than Neil Albert, the two talking heads that followed, Kimberly Flowers, Wanda Durden, etc (and that's just in the past five years). Our city parks are a laughingstock, especially considering the state of the parks of our most immediate neighbors....