Source: Heneghan’s Dunwoody Blog
After numerous design modifications and cost saving negotiations with the builders to install two full size, artificial turf baseball fields on the newly acquired park land obtained during a land swap with the DeKalb County School System for Austin Elementary, it has been determined that many, if not all of the trees surrounding the fields at North Peachtree Rd.& Barclay Dr. will need to be removed. I am not happy with the design decision as with every major discussion of this project I have raised the issue of protecting the neighbors who live on either North Peachtree Road or Riverglenn Circle from the illumination of the playing field.
In the latest change, the fields were moved further away from North Peachtree Road in order to not have a huge retaining wall and my hopes for the change included more trees being saved but I was informed this week that unfortunately, it was not the case. Currently, 296 trees are slated for removal.
Mr. Brent Walker, Parks Director stated that… “Due to the size of the fields and the area we have to work in, we will have to grade the slope along North Peachtree Rd and Barclay Dr. This will require the removal of the trees. We will work with the contractor to minimize the impact as much as possible and through the City’s “No Net Loss of Trees Policy” we will replant a one for one ratio for the trees removed. Several on the site. We expect clearing and grading to begin the end of next week or the first part of the week after. I am happy to work with you and your neighbors when we begin to re-landscape the area and try to accommodate any requests you have for tree and shrubbery replacement.”
As Mr. Walker stated the City does have a “No Net Loss of Trees Policy” for City projects therefore many of the trees & shrubs will be replanted on site but it will take a few years for the landscaping to get to a size to protect the neighbors across the street. The landscaping plan is not set in stone therefore once the fields are installed and the lights illuminated, it can be a community discussion as to the scope of landscaping plan. The plan also includes new sidewalks on Barclay as well as refreshed landscaping in that area of the park.
The city is investing in the latest lighting technology whereby with the use of LED lights there will be little light spill over off the fields therfore the hope is that the lights will be unobtrusive to the neighbors.
The new field designs were vetted with Principal Heptinstall and the athletic coaches of PCMS, the PCMS Parent Council, Dunwoody Senior Baseball as well as oversight of the City Council attempting to squeeze as many positive features into this $5.6 million dollar project. The fields will be laid out for baseball but they will be stripped for multi use including soccer & lacrosse in the outfield as well as have a seperate layover striping for girls softball. The total cost includes all construction, turf, concession stand, plaza, lighting, batting cages, dugouts, etc and I imagine that this will be a transformational project for our community which will impact Dunwoody middle school students at PCMS & thousands of athletes over the next twenty years.
My guess is that construction will be messy and much like the heartache of cutting the Brook Run Trail through the woods, with a few years of growth it will be a beautiful facility that the entire community can be proud of.
