Update on Watkins Playground and Park
By Larry Janezich
Posted February 1, 2025
Community meeting on Watkins Playground and Park Update, Thursday, January 30.
Concept design for the new Watkins Playground
Last Thursday night, the Department of General Services (DGS) hosted a community meeting at Watkins School to solicit input on the design for the new Watkins Playground – part of the Watkins Playground and Park upgrades. Construction is scheduled to begin on the $2.25 million project this summer with completion anticipated in the fall.
The current playground will be demolished and new playground equipment will be installed. The basketball courts will be resurfaced and improvements will be made to Watkins Field.
A common community concern regarding DGS and Department of Parks projects is what happens to the project after completion.
Some parents of Watkins students who attended the meeting expressed frustration at the lack of planning for maintenance and how difficult it is to get equipment repaired. One attendee said she had “no faith in the ability of the DC government to fix things,” and questioned the wisdom of installing new swings on the playground, citing how quickly they tend to break and how impossible it is to get them fixed. The result, she said, was a dead zone in the playground.
Department of Recreation External Affairs rep Tommie Jones acknowledged existing difficulties in the city’s repair response record. But he also said that there was pressure from the community for swings because they are so popular with children.
ANC6B Chair Vince Marino attended the meeting and later commented, “I’m pleased that DPR is taking community feedback seriously, from both adults and children. I’m especially happy that DGS, the maintenance corps of the city, sent a representative who took notes on the neighbors’ heartfelt complaints about the slow pace of city repairs and litter removal.”
For more info and a link to the January 30 PowerPoint presentation, go here: https://bit.ly/4aDfKlD
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 