Eco Boardwalks

NOVA Parks for the moment has abandoned the new parking lot and road for the renovated playground, saving 49 of the 115 trees to be cut. (The plans are also drawing the ire of parking advocates generating further controversy.)

If NOVA Parks were to make a natural playground integrating it into the existing landscape, 17-18 more trees could be saved, including the three very nice mature maples that shade the area on hot summer days and are generally very pleasant. Arlington Parks and Rec has used raised boardwalks in its parks to preserve mature trees.

By reducing land disturbance in the lower park during construction, there will be less damage to the adjacent Chesapeake Bay resource protection area (RPA) and the sensitive woodland wetlands in the northeast part of the park. Arlington County’s Park and Recreation Commission raised this concern during NOVA Park’s presentation at its October 24, 2017, PRC meeting.