Fixes coming soon to Chimborazo Playground

Any comment on the fact that there are 7 pétanque courts and only 1 used at any given time? Meanwhile there are as many as 25 grown men sharing 2 basketball courts that are in disrepair, desperately in need of new goals and resurfacing. The lighting over the pétanque courts shine bright while the basketball lights are dim and have exposed rusty wires sticking out. Remember: the park should be enjoyed by all.

I’d like to know how much money has been spent on the petanque court project and why the petanque courts were deemed a funding priority over improving the existing (deteriorating) facilities in the park.

This is what happens when those who have time can go to the planning meetings years ago.

#5 says ‘I think one of the problems was that not enough people came forward during the planning session.’

You got that right. I was involved from the beginning of the process that went through several iterations. Every time I saw skateboarders and basketball players, I made it a point to tell them about development plans, future meetings and venues and the importance of them attending or designating a member of the group to attend. They listened politely and thanked me. It was only at the very end, and I mean the very end that they decided it was worthwhile to attend. By then, it really was to late – the City had let contracts and the work was scheduled. We all know the outcome.

Of course, we have to keep in mind that the Playground was based on a grand plan and a level of funding that eventually was drastically reduced.

I think a meeting with Mr. Miller could be useful especially since the City is proposing a ‘fix’. But if you don’t show up…

But should designing a playground and prioritizing it’s renovation really be solely dependent on the input of the few people who are able to contribute? Isn’t that why we are supposed to have urban planners and civics engineers? Couldn’t someone have been able to recognize that the amount of potential pétanque courts did not math the need? And that the need for better children’s areas and basketball courts wasn’t being met? Let’s change some things and hopefully Chimborazo Playground will better reflect the needs of the entire community.

Petanque? Really? I’m a relative newcomer to CH (best move I ever made btw) but to say I’m flabbergasted that the city would invest in more than one of these courts is the quintessential understatement. I’m an avid sports fan, but had to google Petanque just to learn about what it is. Don’t recall seeing the latest Petanque results in the RTD, on ESPN, or even the local late night news. Who knew the level of interest in this “sport” would trump that of a city that sent two teams to the sweet 16 in BB, or one that erected a statue of one of the world’s best tennis players on Monument Ave….appears to be a classic case of the vocal minority with time on their hands winning out over those who are trying to earn a decent living and recreate in a facility that provides opportunities for sport that the silent majority know, understand, and enjoy. Look, I’m almost 60 and Bocce or Petanque or whatever you want to call this Shuffleboard like game is probably more suited for me at this stage of my life, but I’m one hell of a lot more interested in my tax dollar being spent in this neighborhood on facilities that provide the opportunity for physical exertion, physical fitness, and hard nosed but fun competition that contribute to a more physically fit, competitive, tough minded winning attitude of it’s residents, rather than investing in low to no utilization of lawn bowling alleys. According to Google, it’s Europe’s most popular outdoor game…could be, but last time I checked we’re in Richmond Va, and that’s not the case here (or elsewhere in the US). Would only hope we proportionally invest based upon common interest, as opposed to minority self interest…suspect that’s not the case here.

By the way, citing that 30,000 people play it in the US does not bolster your case much when, given a population of 300,000,000that is only one out of every people. I think more people get savaged by badgers per year than play pentanque.

Okay, I just called Larry Miller at (804) 646-0037. I got a voice mail. I am now going to contact our council person (646-3012). For all of you out there that are just as outraged as I am with the misuse of our tax dollars to fund the the courts, please call Larry. If all of us flood his voicemail with our concerns, as well as Newbills, maybe someone will finally take notice.

i suggest we re visit the park design before it is to late for our community.

Larry Miller did not return my call, so I have just called again. I mentioned in my message that several of us in the community are interested in revisiting the playground design are in the process of organizing. If you would like to attend or comment on this process in a meeting with Larry, please send me an email: bethgil01@comcast.net.

Hillcat successfully made contact with Larry via email and is awaiting a copy of the plans. Once Larry sends them maybe they can be posted to CHPN for all to see.

I attended a meeting last year after a similar “outcry” happened like this. I have kids, would prefer more space for them to ride bikes and do other such things than fall off the edge into these courts. But I must admit, I appreciate all of this fight and would love to stand up again, but it didn’t feel like there was much choice in the matter when I was there last time. Lots of “you should have been here before” or “here is the plan, it is what it is.” Some talk of a skatepark, which came to nothing. Almost a year later and no progress on anything talked about in that meeting. Most of us there hadn’t lived in Church Hill when these decisions were made. The decision didn’t seem to be made to attract any more types of people to the area. Long time residents getting what they want. I encourage you all to continue to fight, but no one seems in it for the long haul. These big bursts happen, Larry is kind enough to have a meeting, the bubble gets burst and no one keeps up with it.

LoveCityLife, I think we have some good momentum this time.

UnionMeetsChurch, post the pics or have Murden post them.

JD – I hope so, and I still will do my best to add our voice.

its not the petanque group,rather a few non community minded players who lodged this plan to an ill informed few, its the totally crazy idea that 4 courts in the middle of a family oriented community park was a fair and well thought out concept that is the real issue here

I don’t think anyone is villianizing the group, just pointing out that the development of this park seems quite unfair. I support a movement! How do we make this happen!

First a vocal minority cancel the Church Hill Newsletter and now a similar one approve one million petanque courts? WHAAAAAAAAA?????

I am not expressing a pro-petanque or anti-petanque view here, I just want to add a few points. Michael is right in part about the process, the petanquers were much more frequent attenders of meetings. The point of whether that means they should get to put in so many courts stands. Here are some thoughts that went into the decision that I heard made at the few (2?) meetings that I attended:
* There are XX basketball courts within XX blocks (a lot, was the point)
* The city is building a nice big skateboard park somewhere nearby soon (did this happen? I am out of the loop)
* There are no petanque courts in Richmond, and it would be nice to have a variety of sport options for Richmonders. People would come to Church Hill to play, was the idea.

Again, the image of this little park there being for nearby neighbors versus being the Petanque Park of Richmond is a valid argument.

There is a money issue. Having spent a bunch of money to build those courts, and now that some sort of behind-the-scenes hashing out to get them fixed has been completed (I’ll believe it when I see it), I doubt the city is going to pay more money to undo it. If we raise the money ourselves, maybe.

Last, I am SO HAPPY to see how civil people are being on this discussion!! This is a valid debate, and people are treating it and each other with respect, overall! I also have enjoyed some of the humor.

From the last uprising and series of meetings, besides becoming increasingly jaded, I learned…
1. The plan is no longer the plan. What was published is no longer accurate. A current and correct plan does not exist.
2. It seemed information was held and withheld by the a couple members of the planning group as a means of exerting power and control.
3. The planning group (Friends of Chimborazo) got what they wanted which was to build a new playground for their own toddler children, pacify the ptq. players and run off the skateboarders. The pavers were specifically designed to be hard on skateboard wheels. It chews them up. (With their goals achieved, they are silent on any future work)
4. The City will throw up its hands and say it will do what the neighborhood wants and will then defer to the “Friends” to be the lead. The “Friends of Chimborazo” will come to the meeting and save face with the City but as soon as the city leaves, they become an unmovable object. The ptq representatives will show for the meeting with the city and blame everyone for not participating from the beginning. They will talk about their great donation of lights which, as has been noted, light the ptq courts beautifully but are inadequate for a third and non-existent for the other third of the playground. They will cite the skateboarders as an example of being given the power to design a part and then doing nothing…(while not offering any of their own planning resources to help)
5. “Friends” and the ptq crew have (or at least had) the favor of the Church Hill Association Board. At one time, some of the players and planners were officers of the Board of the CHA. The ptq players have the ear of the Parks and Rec Department.
6. We were told that the number of ptq courts could not be changed because a regional tournament was already planned and publicized for early summer last year. No such tournament ever happened.
7. Like any group, most of the ptq crew are great people. Others are not. One has yelled at people with dogs in the playground and cursed them across the field. They posted an unauthorized no-dogs sign on the light pole just inside the 30th street gate. One man is an absolute curmudgeon. They are not all hill residents. One couple I know comes from Hopewell. Yet, they started the rumor that some of the gardeners were not hill residents.

I will gladly attend another meeting. However, I doubt there will be a fix to The Petanque Malaria Lake any time soon. I greatly hope I am proven wrong.

Michael, I sense some hostile feelings coming from your direction. This is a city park, we will not stand by and let people with money tell us what we can and cannot do with public grounds. Thats fine if the petanque courts were funded (along with lighting) with private money. That should mean there might be some extra money to cap off the live wires around court number one that I watched a little boy almost ride his bike into. We both looked at the wires and he looked at me and said “Thats not good”, and rode off. I don’t think any of us want to war with anyone over anything, however the fact remains that the park is still unsafe, and there is a mosquito problem due to the standing water at the petanque court to the right. This is a crusade to make the park safe. IT IS NOT SAFE. WAKE UP.

So Michael’s argument is two-fold: lower your expectations and let privatization run wild.

“If the 15 people with the most power and money want 6 pétanque courts lined with gold bricks to accommodate 153 imaginary competitors, then so be it!”

We cannot let the city off the hook here. It is the city’s responsibility to give us a fair and quality product for all, not just a few.

Just for the record, I wrote Larry Miller about this thread of comments, here is what he responded:

Thanks for sharing, no I have not. I did hear from a few folk and talked with a Beth Gilbert who says she is organizing a meeting to discuss.

This is fine if that is what everyone wants. However, I do want to emphasize to all that we are only working on what we all agreed to in terms of the playground. If we had not run into the collapsed storm drain issue from last year’s storm, much of the work would be done or well underway.

The design as you all know by your hard work was put together to be fair and balanced to all…that is why there is a skateboard area, a redone basketball and tennis courts, the community garden and of course the P-court area.

I love his word choice of “fair and balanced.” like Rupert Murdoch. Does Larry Miller not see the disparity between the pétanque courts and the rest?

What we all agreed on for the playground?! I live a block from the playground and was one of many neighbors who knew nothing of the plan until crews started removing the blacktop. When community meetings were organized, very little notice was given-as little as an hour before the meeting was supposed to start. The written plan was not made available until late the night before the first of these community meetings. We were told through all of these meetings that the plan was up for discussion. By the end of the same meeting, we found out that concrete contractors were starting work on the courts the following week. Up for discussion? Hardly.

Here’s how I would prioritize:

1. Get the drainage fixed. (Which drives everything else)
2. Restore the P-courts (maybe fill two in with bricks, to create more space for kids to play hopscotch, etc?)
3. Restore the basketball courts.
4. Restore the tennis courts.

The items above solve immediate issues. Not sure why landscaping and trimming the fence would take priority over restoring the basketball and tennis courts.

I second Matt’s approach. Can we all get behind this and contact “tiny” to form a group?

I also like the way Matt thinks (and moves on the bball court).

UnionMeetsChurch, I wasn’t invited:( Just like how I wasn’t invited to the community meetings…jk

@ Friends of Chimborazo, I stand corrected and apologize for any misunderstanding. You are indeed correct, the group responsible for the current status of the playground is Friends of Chimborazo PLAYGROUND.
Thank you for the correction.

Playground neighbor #38, some clarifications:

Item #7. The reason for the dog incident was that the dog, a large Greman shepherd, was off leash, a violation of city ordinance. It was running freely and almost knocked down a woman entering the playground. Further, the City posted the “no-dog sign” not the peranque club. Further still, the petanque players could care less where the gardeners live. Do all of the basketball players live in CH? Should Libby Hill Park be reserved for CH residents only?

In item 4, the lights and installation were generously donated by a neighbor of the playground who does not even use the playground, not by the petanque club. The quality of the lighting has nothing to do with the petanque club.

I suggest bloggers check their staements for accuracy before posting them.

I understand the concern many have about the playground renovations, but false statements and anonymous finger pointing won’t solve the problem, constructive ideas will.

Petanque Player is just trying to muddy the waters by quibbling over who actually installed the brand new lights over the petanque courts. The most important thing to focus on is that there are already 39 members of the “Users of Chimborazo Playground” on Facebook. That is roughly 4 times as many people that show up to play petanque at any time. The attention that this posting on CHPN is getting is proof that there is a large contingent who are displeased with the disparity and inequality in the playground renovations.

#58 ” The quality of the lighting has nothing to do with the petanque club.” It has everything to do with the Petanque club. You all glisten in the summer night and continue your game while we are giving up because John Smith hit me in the face with an in-bound pass.

The prejudice being leveled at petanque players might be laughable if it weren’t so sad and misinformed. We are too old, too rich (which would come as a real shock to most of us I can assure you), too white, too bourgeois, etc, etc. My guess is that most of you don’t know anyone who plays petangue. Yes, the our average age is above that of other groups using the park, but so what? Who says because you reach a certain age you can’t use a city park? And by the way, we have regular players in the 20s and 30s. We have even had a middle schooler play with us.Taking a casual glance from across the park does not mean you know anything about who is playing there. You may see 15 people, but they are not always the same 15 people – we are a bigger group, but not everyone can come every time. And as I said in my earlier posting, if anyone stops by and is interested they are invited to play. We are not trying to be a closed or secretive group.
Trying to derogate someone for misusing a term and thinking they are not smart enough to know what snark means is totally unnecessary and does nothing for your argument. And the gentleman from the Fan who found it necessary to use a sexual reference needs to understand that what he said really says more about him than it does about any petanque player. Sticks and stones everyone.
I do not know a petanque player who would not welcome an open discourse on the use of the park. My guess is that there is way more agreement on some of these issues than there is disagreement. We all want a safe park for everyone.

As a note, I agree that although there we may only see 15 petanque’ players at any one time, there may be more. Nevertheless, there has virtually NEVER been a time when there were enough petanque players to justify 3 petanque courts, yet alone 7. I invite anyone to come watch the basketball courts tonight. I guarantee players will be sitting the bench waiting to get in on the next round because there are too many players and too few functioning courts. And if you think that the court closest to the play area is usable, just try and hit a jump shot. I’ve honestly feared the rusty clanging rim would come crashing down on my head.

omg…the “centerpiece” of the playground? now it’s really getting rich (no pun intended). amazing stuff indeed!

I can’t make the meeting but I would like a guillotine and a chocolate fountain. Thx.

@EDS – The EnRichmond Foundation (the non-profit organization which manages funds for all park “Friends” groups) manages the funds donated by the CHA for bat houses, grill and shade sails. It has been kept there safely since it was received. Installation of the shade sails, grill and bat houses have been put on hold until other pieces of the design have been finalized (removal of fencing by picnic table and location of skateboarding area, for example).

What was the out come of the meeting last night? Are we filling in a couple of courts?

I use the park nearly everyday to walk my dog. The space as in is completly unusable as park space. The best thing about the park in the community garden as it is the only thing that emphasis community. I took my nephew to the playground this weekend and he told me that it was the most boring park he had been to. The equipment is lacking in creativity. That digging tool also appears to be quite dangerous. My nephew was running and tripped down into one of the newer unusable petanque courts. I think some of those courts would be better off as sand pits, or flower beds, or just grassed over. Also, the restrooms are locked. If the city is going to blow anymore money on that park, they need to hire someone that can do it right this time. We don’t need that many petanque courts, the basketball courts are fine (just need a few upgrades), the playground needs to be bigger, and the tennis court needs some work. It would be cool to put in a bike path for kids to ride around the edge of the park. Just my thoughts..

Hey guys. Remember this discussion?