Blogpost #5

Blogpost #5 Peter Harnik Letter July 29 the Sun Gazette published a letter from Peter Harnik “Arlington spending far too little on acquisition of parkland” http://www.insidenova.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letter-arlington-spending-far-too-little-on-acquisition-of-parkland/article_6f282172-1719-11e4-9a50-001a4bcf887a.html

I sent this letter in response:

On July 29, you published an important letter from Peter Harnik “Arlington spending far too little on acquisition of parkland” in which he states that $2 million found in the Board’s bond referenda is ridiculously low and calls out the “Public Land For Public Good” slogan of the folks who want to convert existing parks to other public purposes as Orwellian Newspeak.  His suggestion was “Public Land for Individual Good” - yes!  Parks should not be looked at as a cheap and easy source of land for whatever flavor-of-the-month project some interest group wants!

Now, the assessed value of the 254-acre Army Navy Country Club is $134 million.  Of the 120-acre Washington Golf and Country Club - $60.4 million. Please compare these numbers to the most recent predicted cost of Zimmie’s Twee Little Trolley: $333 million - and THEN you have to maintain it and run it!   I’d like to refer the reader of this letter to a very nice article “Fairways Under Fire: Are Little-Used Public Golf Courses Worth the Space?” co-authored by none other than Peter Harnik (with  Ryan Donahue) posted to the City Parks Blog on July 23, 2012.  A golf course is a grotesque misuse of space in a crowded inner suburb such as ours, becomes even worse as the Board attempts to shoehorn in even more residents and businesses.

Arlington could condemn and acquire the Army Navy Club for around a third of the predicted cost of the Columbia Pike Trolley.  This would solve our high school problem.  It would solve our elementary school problem.  It would solve our playing fields problem, our picnics problem.  It would not saddle Columbia Pike with a third-rate trolley system at the mercy of traffic and stopped FedEx trucks.  South Arlingtonians have long been grumpy about the idea that North Arlington gets better facilities - solved!

There’d be a new Era of Good Feelings toward the Board majority.  Only the golfers would be cross, and they mostly live out of town, anyway.

And I posted this comment on the Sun Gazette web site:

Peter Harnik is a man with immense self-control. If I had written the article “Fairways Under Fire: Are Little-Used Public Golf Courses Worth the Space?” which Peter Harnik (with Ryan Donahue) posted to the City Parks Blog on July 23, 2012, I wouldna had the modesty not to plug it in a letter about how severely underparked Arlington is. But he didn’t, so I will.
It’s been very interesting to look at the comment strings at the website Arlington Now: many different people are posting highly negative comments about New Urbanism/Smart Growth/Infill. When you think about it, the Board’s priorities in recent years have resulted in greater crowding and need for new facilities, and anyone looking ahead at the planned inundation of Columbia Pike with new residents can predict that they will need schools as well as transit. It’s not just the ZimTrolley. Citizens are currently trying to defend what little park space we have from being consumed, and can see that more and worse lies ahead on the current trajectory. The Board needs to find some way to offer voters a more appealing prospect, and if it doesn’t public response will continue to be negative.