I walk “past” Memorial Park every day, and I reflect on memories of actually walking “through” the park. When is the city planning to re-open it to the public? The project took so much longer than anticipated, and the results seem less than desired. Now, we are left with a terrible grass-planting job that doesn’t appear to be getting any repair or replacement. Maybe the scrapped grass from the botched FLC ball field job could be relocated, especially to the fenced-in “crab grass gardens” by the boat/beach area. – Animas City Resident
By all accounts, Durango goes out of its way to promote grass.
Oh, wait. It’s the other kind of grass.
In any case, Action Line feels your pain.
The orange safety netting neither adds beauty to the cantankerous and quirky Animas City neighborhood nor does it keep people off the dubious “turf,” which can be described as resembling a teenage boy’s first attempt at a beard.
The grass may look OK to passers-by on the road, but if you get out of the car and look over the Interim Orange Curtain of Temporary Permanence, you see a different story.
Work on the park began in early September 2013, and was supposed to be wrapped up the next spring.
But here we are more than a year-and-a-half later and the Memorial resembles a bad Christo project.
So we called up our good friend Cathy Metz, the city’s director of parks and recreation, to see if the grass is greener on the other side.
“The fence is a new feature for park users,” she deadpanned. “It’s an obstacle course for cross-training. We wanted more excitement in the park.”
So you can add this feature to the city’s plentiful opportunities for physical fitness, such as jumping through hoops, sparring with bureaucracy and wrestling with red tape.
But the real issue here is the turf. It’s still not ready for prime time.
“We thought this would be easier,” Cathy said. “The seeded grass has to be established before we accept the work.”
“Accepting the work” is when the city, as the client, is satisfied that the project is done from the contractor, in this case Animas Valley Construction.
“With all the great moisture, the grass appears to be growing well, and it’s starting to look better,” Cathy said.
She anticipates a summer opening for the narrow park, which runs along the east side of the Animas River, between 29th to 32nd streets.
But until the work is “accepted,” the orange fence must stay.
Which brings up an interesting scenario.
Pretty soon, Memorial Park will be overrun by the annual infestation of tubers, who set their flotation devices and safety equipment (beer coolers) on the turf in preparation for their aquatic peregrinations.
With orange fencing hemming them in, all that stuff will have to be put on the sidewalk, obstructing pedestrians.
As we all know, blocking the sidewalk is against city code. Unless you are a grubby panhandler. Then it’s OK, especially if you have a cardboard sign.
So heads up, tubers. Be prepared this summer.
On the back of that 18-pack carton, write either of the following messages: “Traveling (down the river) Anything Helps” or “Will Float for Spare Change.”
Displaying these signs while blocking the sidewalk will ensure a ticket-free recreational experience while orange safety netting protects grass that struggles to grow.
Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can request anonymity if you wonder why the city’s planting grass while its residents are encouraged to replace their lawns with waterwise plantings.
