The original plan has served the public well. It would be highly undesirable to begin eating away at the orignal plan by constructing a bocce court or anything else in the portion of the park that is near the trail. Once begun, the process would not stop, resulting in an increase in impermeable surfaces and a loss of space for trees to be planted and to grow.

It is easy to become confused (as is “It’s a trail, not a park”, because County does not have an official map that shows the boundaries of each park. Some people consider a caboose and an adjacent soccer field on the northeast side of Four Mile Run and the W&OD Trail to be a part of Bluemont Park. Others consider them to be within Bluemont Junction Park.

There are no playing fields, courts, buildings or any other development in the area of the park that contains the trail, other than the trail itself. This is by design.

When the County created Bluemont Junction Park in the 1990′s, County staff held one or more meetings to determine the design for the park. There was a consensus among County staff and members of the public that attended the meeting(s) that the portion of the park that created the trail should contain only trees, wildflower plantings and natural areas. Because of the large number of playing fields and courts available along Four Mile Run, just about everyone agreed that the area along the Bluemont Junction Trail should not contain any facilities for active recreation (such as playing fields, playing courts and playgrounds.) As a result, the County planted a wide variety of trees in the park, and continues to do so. Although people don’t recognize it, the Park is actually a growing botanical garden.

Throughout the past, people who like playgrounds, playing fields, etc., placed in the park have tried to gain support for such things as a playground, a basketball court, and perhaps other things. Each of these things (including a bocce court) would serve as an impetus to add other forms of active recreation and associated facilities, such as restrooms.

The original plan has served the public well. It would be highly undesirable to begin eating away at the orignal plan by constructing a bocce court or anything else in the portion of the park that is near the trail. Once begun, the process would not stop, resulting in an increase in impermeable surfaces and space for trees to be planted and to grow.

Open Space Planner at Arlington County

And states her role as:

Analyze site plans to assess open space opportunities or potential impacts to existing open spaces.

Participate in County long range planning teams to incorporate needed open space in area plans.

This is even funnier when you realize that the Parks response to PEG opponents confirms that the Bocce will remove open space.