On Saturday, June 8, the the communities around RFK welcomed the Fields at RFK Campus (which The Events DC claims was community-chosen, but let’s not forget it was one forgettable choice from three equally forgettable ones). The ceremony, documented with great photos by the Hill Rag, was lovely and the children were very excited. Wayne Rooney was in attendance, as was Mayor Bowser and Delegate Norton. There was free food from local vendors as varied as Goodies and Atlas Brew Works. Charles Allen –ever the man with boundless energy, as he celebrated the opening in the morning and marched at Capital Pride later that afternoon– tweeted proudly:
But, as it often happens, any happy event raises questions and commentary –some of it, negative. One of the tweets that caught my attention is from a parent group that advocates against artificial turfs and playground, called DC Safe Healthy Playing Fields:
If you’re interested in learning more about how playing fields are aging across the region, watch these two videos: This first one shows the state of several playgrounds across DC, many of which get dangerously hot in the summertime. The second one talks about how difficult it is to dispose properly of used artificial playgrounds, which has been a big problem in the Netherlands.
But let’s just focus on the positive, for now: Beautiful playing fields, designed for families to visit… except that they are a little hard to get to? Also, are they open-open? Reader Paul Donohoo-Vallett wanted to know:
Then there is also the problem with the bike racks. Readers Pat Bahn and Keegan Bursaw objected to the few number, something that will hopefully be remedied soon:
Chris Zimmerman objected to the possible reopening of highway on- and off-ramps to 295, something that, at least to us, says “really car friendly, not so pedestrian friendly.” He tagged ANC commissioners Denise Krepp and Corey Holman, both of whom will hopefully address this at some point with The Events DC.
New venues often have kinks and other problems that, as time goes on, get addressed and fixed. We look forward to enjoying the playgrounds and fields, and hope they provide many hours of safe enjoyment for our community.
Update: Neighbor and reader Lisa (@hubofthewheel), who keeps her Twitter account private, had this to share in reaction to this post:
