Neighborhood Notes - Foxhall: 9 January 2002
Last week Bob Andrew bid farewell to
Foxhall column after a two-year commitment. This week, salutations to you all as
I pick up where Andrew left off. Although he’s a tough
act to follow, I’ll strive to engage your attention about our neighborhood’s
news.
This spring, as you venture out for tulips and such, you may find yourself
alongside the city and their long promised neighborhood street restoration
projects. It’s been over thirty years since roads like Greenwich Parkway and Q
Street have been repaired. Back in October, signs appeared in the neighborhood
hinting we were well on our way to a smooth car ride and evening stroll. An
e-mail sent to Pete Ross, president of
the Foxhall Community Citizen Association, from Mesfin Lakew,
Division of Transportation, back in November,
said, “Our construction work is moving fast and expect most of the work to be
completed in reasonable time.” A recent e-mail from Lakew told Ross there’s a
“various year budget” for “various types of work” that are “managed by team
leaders” who “prioritize and schedule the work to be performed”. Ross responded
to Lakew’s newly prepared delay tactic as “Government Gobbledygook”. How can
work on these streets be moving full speed ahead one month and then
reprioritized by team leaders the next? Neighbors are screaming for dates when
the streets will be resurfaced.
Other neighbors are concerned about the renovated soccer field at Hardy
Recreation Center. Parks and Recreation assert the sprinkler system was turned
off in November for the winter months, but residents claim the field, costing
close to $100,000, was watered by the newly installed irrigation system last
month. Also, Neil Albert, director of the District’s
Parks and Recreation, was informed the field was not properly graded,
therefore flooding when the sprinkler system operates. Albert told the
FCCA that the contractor would correct the
problem, which hasn’t occurred. As eager soccer players gear up for spring
practice, neighbors fear possible damage with an erratic sprinkler system and
improper grading flooding the field.
. Erica N Miller, Foxhall
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