The City has released plans for a New Park / Playgrounds / Amphitheater / Picnic Shelters / Open Green Space connected on the Brook Run Trail at the corner of Shallowford and Pernoshal.
What do you want to see in Dunwoody's next park? Please review the complete document and give us your thoughts.
I see that the current plan states that it has a hard surface multi-purpose sports court (to accommodate volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, etc ???) but it to me it is missing a dedicated basketball court.
To the best of my knowledge the city does not have a single outdoor basketball hoop on public grounds anywhere within the city limits (except for a few semi unlawful ones placed in culdasacks) and every elementary school has removed all hoops from their outdoor playgrounds. Looking at the drawing above it appears to me that an additional basketball court could be added to the right of the multi-use court above.
Several years ago, a basketball hoop was installed by residents in the middle of the 16 acre pipe farm and there were people playing playing there on a regular basis. The additional full size regulation court could be used by teenagers and adults whereby I am guessing that the multi-use court would be utilized mostly by kids.
Following Council review and discussion on Tuesday, staff recommends a public meeting to share this updated park concept with the community. The public meeting is being planned for the week before Thanksgiving, tentatively November 19, 2013. Staff will then bring back any revisions to the plan to the Council in December.
There is a reason the hoops were removed from DeKalb schools.
ReplyDeletehttp://sandysprings.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/update-sandy-springs-police-arrest-two-in-hammond-park-shooting
John, if you are referring to item "L" in the drawing, there appears to be a 3-point line and a free throw line, so it looks like it would serve as a basketball court.
ReplyDeleteA Tennis Court would be nice!
ReplyDeleteJohn, great idea regarding the hoops! Years ago when my buddies would come down from Chicago, my son and I would have to drive them down to Fair Street to find a decent pick-up game.
ReplyDeleteCount me as for it! In fact, I'll volunteer my time to ensure the games and crowds don't get out of hand. I can foresee a great annual streetball tournament that the community could sponsor.
And, hey, this is how you spell "cul-de-sac", big guy.
ReplyDeleteI think it is FANTASTIC to see these park improvements! This is great use of our tax dollars. Thank you council!
ReplyDeleteThis project, the extension of our gorgeous Brook Run Trail, and two new Georgetown Parks becoming the new reality of Dunwoody.
ReplyDeleteWe have clear and visible Park, infrastructure, roadway improvements, sidewalks, and traffic signal synchronization projects well underway, with $4 million cash.
I am looking forward to seeing Dunwoody continue to improve.
Let's all follow and support advancing education efforts for the betterment of us all.
Become or stay engaged with Rep. Tom Taylor's education reform efforts, more fully described here:
http://www.reporternewspapers.net/2013/02/10/rep-tom-taylor-plans-to-introduce-bill-to-create-a-separate-dunwoody-school-system/
Imagine if we could arrange to remove the fence surrounding the DeKalb Waterworks on Peeler???
ReplyDeletehttp://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2013/10/31/initial-talks-are-underway-to-reopen-atlanta-waterworks
You ask, "What do you want to see in Dunwoody's next park?"
ReplyDelete- A war veteran's memorial, please.
"Staff Sgt. Metz"
Metz is alive for now, standing in line
at the airport Starbucks in his camo gear
and buzz cut, his beautiful new
camel-colored suede boots. His hands
are thick-veined. The good blood
still flows through, given an extra surge
when he slurps his latte, a fleck of foam
caught on his bottom lip.
I can see into the canal in his right ear,
a narrow darkness spiraling deep inside his head
toward the place of dreaming and fractions,
ponds of quiet thought.
In the sixties my brother left for Vietnam,
a war no one understood, and I hated him for it.
When my boyfriend was drafted I made a vow
to write a letter every day, and then broke it.
I was a girl torn between love and the idea of love.
I burned their letters in the metal trash bin
behind the broken fence. It was the summer of love
and I wore nothing under my cotton vest,
my Mexican skirt.
I see Metz later, outside baggage claim,
hunched over a cigarette, mumbling
into his cell phone. He's more real to me now
than my brother was to me then, his big eyes
darting from car to car as they pass.
I watch him breathe into his hands.
I don't believe in anything anymore:
god, country, money or love.
All that matters to me now
is his life, the body so perfectly made,
mysterious in its workings, its oiled
and moving parts, the whole of him
standing up and raising one arm
to hail a bus, his legs pulling him forward,
all the muscle and sinew and living gristle,
the countless bones of his foot trapped in his boot,
stepping off the red curb.
- by Dorianne Laux
Joe; It's exciting to realize that everything we have imagined these past five years in our new city has been done, and done successfully, elsewhere. Here is what was done in Delray Beach, Florida. A water treatment plant was turned into a constructed wetland that is open to the public and is one of the coolest places you can imagine--wall-to-wall nat geo and other pro photographers during nesting season, plus people of all ages exploring the diversity of wildlife with ease on an extensive boardwalk system complete with educational signage. You can see a short video and some pix at the bottom of this post: http://www.sustainablepattie.com/2010/04/national-model-of-sustainability-or.html
ReplyDeleteRe: parks/playspaces, I'm doing a post on that in about two weeks. In addition to the senior playground in the park in Lisbon where I was this summer, the playable art park in Sandy Springs, the very cool "outdoor reading room" in Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta as well as some really inspired playspaces in ATL parks that make you want to stop and play right there, right then (that's the litmus test, isn't it?), I just got back from Carnegie Museum's amazing global playspace exhibit, plus I am touring Pullman Yard for a story soon featuring Atlanta ContactPoint, which is a Georgia 501©(3) nonprofit organization established in 2012 to engage children and adults through the power of play. You can see their website here http://www.atlcp.org/
I hope that we see this new public space opportunity as a way to showcase and celebrate our specific community energy in an original, inspired, exciting, and fun way. Please let's not have a failure of imagination. According the the Carnegie exhibit info:
The playground is a hidden place, seeming to have little interest for artists, designers, and architects today. Yet it is, just like the museum, a place where opinions about education, exploration, aesthetics, and the public space manifest themselves and are put to the test. Playgrounds are among the few remaining places within the city for spontaneous, creative activity, for exciting physical challenge and discovery. The Playground Project prompts a reconsideration of our own time and the way we approach childhood, risk, public space, and education.
I am beyond thrilled that good things are happening on my side of Dunwoody. Pattie has put forth some great ideas that I hope we can all look at and perhaps put into action.
ReplyDeleteAlso, OT, the old Chamblee MS property will be demolished shortly. Any idea as to what is to be done with that property? I hope it doesn't become an overgrown lot.
I love my dogs and within a lifetime have had perhaps 25 or so. Never sat down and recollect them all till now - there was Red, Missy, Hennessy, Hennessy II, Zhivago, Scooter, Skeeter, Spot, Theobald, Trotsky, Barney, Fred, Ruff, Jessie, Julie, July, Jameson, Albany, Milky Way, Ulysses, Gettysburg, George Armstrong Custer, Buck, a one-eyed street mutt that ran away before I could name him, and now three rescue dogs named - Chester, Buddy, and Mac. Loved every one of them to death, but I would never ever have taken them to a dog park!
ReplyDeleteCome on folks, dog parks are disease-riddled with dogs exposed to everything from canine distemper to Dutch Elm disease (I've heard that this rather grotesque arboresque malady can render the poor pooches "bark-less"). Additionally, the dog parks are definitely no substitute for a daily walk for either the dog or the dog's owner.
I request that the City of Dunwoody not spend another tax dollar on a fenced dog park, which are documented as being very deleterious to canine health. And I suspect that the folks that congregate at this dog park aren't so worried about their dogs' health and happiness, but utilize it for their own socialization purposes, which is great, but they shouldn't expect the taxpayers to foot the chit for their daily conviviality. Folks can make arrangements to walk their dogs together or go grab a beer at a local tavern.
Walk a dog - don't fence it in - save its life! Tear down the dog park fences, Mayor Davis, and let nature eventually rejuvenate that area. Ich bin ein hund!
Gary, I would like to see your references for your statements about disease in dog parks. In the 7 1/2 years of the Brook Run dog park, there have been no reports or even rumors of dogs who became ill as a result of their visits to the park. In fact, over the years I have had occasional calls and emails from park users to let me know that their dog may have been ill, and they specifically ask me to put the word out among visitors while they keep their questionable dogs away from the park. I communicate with dog parks across the country, and they have responded with similar reactions: we've never heard of such claims of rampant disease spread among dogs in off-leash parks. Across the nation, laws require vaccinations for canine distemper, so it's extremely unlikely that a dog will have or be exposed to that disease. In calls to veterinarians, some of whom are dog park users themselves, as well as searches on Google, I can find no reference to or incidents of Dutch Elm disease affecting dogs. Illnesses are far more prevalent and likely to be spread among visitors to a children's playground than among dogs in an off-leash park, according to the physician and multiple veterinarians whom I contacted upon reading your comments. If you would care to provide me with your sources for your claims of disease (especially the Dutch Elm claim), I will certainly expand my efforts to validate the actual risk.
DeleteThe volunteers who work tirelessly in the Brook Run dog park have dedicated more than 2,000 hours of effort toward retarding erosion, ensuring the safety of the dogs, and keeping the area clean. Given the average pay rate of Parks Dept. employees ($15/hour), these good people have saved more than $38K of taxpayers' money. Over the years, we have called upon county or city resources ONLY when we absolutely have to do so.
To be sure, our efforts to protect the land we treasure have been amateur. Although we have conferred with landscapers, master gardeners, and botanists, the implementation has always come down to a bunch of individual, everyday people, people who have jobs and families and troubles but who cheerfully give an hour or two to sweat and strain in their mutual desire to take care of this precious spot. Our desire is to work WITH the city so that their resources, their access to heavy equipment and power tools - and your tax dollars - can bolster our work.
Your suspicion about the lack of concern among visitors for their dogs' health and happiness is not only wrong, it is insulting. The dog park association has provided numerous seminars over the years about dog park etiquette, dog behavior and body language, health and nutrition, and obedience training. We have veterinarians, vet techs, trainers, and a behaviorist who make themselves available to answer questions and provide professional advice.
In reading and hearing various statements from citizens who feel qualified to make claims and judgments about this dog park, it has become clear to me that, as president of the dog park association, I have erred by failing to publicize the accomplishments, educational sources, and overall community support demonstrated by our people. This off-leash park has won numerous awards as Best Dog Park in Atlanta and recently won a nationwide contest which provided a $2,000 grant. Earlier this year, upon the posting of one request (and within a three hour period), our people brought more than 200 lbs. of food to help an animal shelter in need.
We're good people and good dog owners. We're your neighbors and coworkers. We're young and we're old. We are all different and we're all alike. We just want to stay in this special spot, continue to maintain and manage the land we use, and maybe work out an alliance with the owners of the property so that we can all get along.
Laine Sweezey, President
Brook Run Dog Park Association, Inc.
info@brookrundogpark.com
Oh my gosh, too funny! Satire is sure wasted on some people! Don't do it again Mr. Gary Ray Betz or else you'll steal my moniker!
ReplyDeleteSorry, one would assume with the city's motto: "* Smart People - Smart City" that satire would surely be comprehended and appreciated here. Maybe there is an inference for that asterisk prefacing "Smart".
Love the idea of some basketball courts. There is nowhere to play full court outside in Dunwoody. I would recommend that you have at least 3 courts instead of just one and that you place them close to North Shallowford possibly on the right where you currently have the parking lot located. The visisbilty to North Shallowford will increase use of courts and make them safer.
ReplyDeleteI'd like a revival of truly the best of Chicago house music! Ah, but y'all might not understand - it's a vernacular beat.
ReplyDeleteFarley Jackmaster Funk And Jessie Saunders - Love Can't Turn Around Remix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2BAOtrDiqg