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Nelly Custis Park is Getting a Facelift … Help us Develop a Plan

119 responses on forum


What is your home zip code?

Average
22202.57
Total
2642106.00
Count
119
Skipped
0

Do you support Arlington County funding a park improvement project in Nelly Custis Park?

Response Percent Response Count
Yes 95.8% 114
No 4.2% 5

Should there be a play area for 5-12 year old children?

Response Percent Response Count
Yes 40.5% 47
No 52.6% 61
Don't care 6.9% 8

Should there be site furnishings such as benches and trash receptacles?

Response Percent Response Count
Yes 88.8% 103
No 6.9% 8
Don't care 4.3% 5

Should there be a tricycle loop?

Response Percent Response Count
Yes 32.8% 38
No 55.2% 64
Don't care 12.1% 14

Should there be plantings for shade and beautification?

Response Percent Response Count
Yes 93.0% 107
No 3.5% 4
Don't care 3.5% 4

What other elements would you like to see included in the scope of work?

Answered
76
Skipped
43

Comments

Answered
65
Skipped
54
Scott Miles ¼ to ½ mile
June 25, 2015, 9:10 PM
  • What is your home zip code?
    22202
  • Do you support Arlington County funding a park improvement project in Nelly Custis Park?
    • Yes
  • Should there be a play area for 5-12 year old children?
    • No
  • Should there be site furnishings such as benches and trash receptacles?
    • Yes
  • Should there be a tricycle loop?
    • No
  • Should there be plantings for shade and beautification?
    • Yes
  • What other elements would you like to see included in the scope of work?

    Above all else, I would like this park to _remain_ a mostly open, natural space where _all_ residents are welcome for _all_ types of activities.

    I would like to see the priorities _already identified_ by the Neighborhood Conservation Plan actually addressed: 1) better shade in the playground area and 2) adding a simple water fountain. This is a Neighborhood Conservation project, is it not?

    To be clear, these are not "additional" or "other" elements, these are THE MAIN ELEMENTS I would like to see included in the scope of work.

    People in this neighborhood have awesome ideas, from adding in boulders to create "natural" play areas to adding butterfly gardens to promote wildlife and provide educational opportunities to kids while at the same time addressing the runoff problems. So I would like to see their ideas encouraged through discussions rather than being limited to only these words in a comment form.

  • Comments

    I have to say this is very poorly designed survey. I personally could answer the first question in all three ways. Should there be a play area?
    - I might say "Yes" if I didn't already know there was a play area in this park, as well as Nina park across the street, and actually _every other_ park within a mile.
    - I'd say "Don't care" if you're talking about adding equipment near the play area that already exists.
    - I say absolutely "No" if you're suggesting it be placed on the open, natural space on the west end of the park currently used by all ages and next to houses, which is actually the plan that has been circulating.
    So just how are my and other answers going to be interpreted? How is this survey actually helpful?

    So just to be clear - my vote of "No" to "Should there be a play area for 5-12 year old children?" means No, there should not be an additional, separate play area added to the park. By all means we need to keep the current playground and add to it if necessary.

    But this survey is even more insensitive when you consider the county was clearly informed that a significant number of people didn't even know about this process or were actively excluded from input. And now those people are being told to condense their input into Y/N questions derived from the process they were excluded from as is this was a valid consensus. This includes the residents of this neighborhood for over 50 years and the only two houses actually adjacent to this park and next to a new proposed playground, who now have to fight tooth and nail just to have some kind of input about what is happening right outside their kitchen window.

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