Category Archives: Recreation

DPR Riggs & South Dakota Park Initial Concept Design

Posted by nextstoprp in Recreation
Initial Riggs & South Dakota Park concept plan presented by DPR

On May 20, 2025, DC’s Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) with their design-build contractor presented an initial concept design for the planned Riggs & South Dakota Park at the southeast southwest corner of Riggs Road & South Dakota Avenue NE.

See DPR Riggs & South Dakota Park Community Presentation (May 2025).

Initial Concept Design

The simple design consists of a 6-foot path between the row of trees where the slip lane used to be with four nodes of seating along the path. They presented a few different options for the path as well as for seating. They said more of an artsy walkway driven by the community could also be an option. There will be trash and recycling receptacles placed somewhere on the site.

Pathway options
Artistic walkway
Seating options

The team acknowledged receiving more robust concept renderings produced as part of a collaboration between the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association and EYA (EYA concept renderings). The team said they are starting with a simple walkway because people cut through the space as a shortcut to get from South Dakota to Riggs. They also said the extensive tree root system from the large mature trees on the site limits where they can excavate and build.

The design is underwhelming and it probably has more to do with the budget than anything else. The budget for the 1.5-acre site is only $337,000, the same amount as the 0.14-acre 19th & L Street NE site that will be transformed into a playground in Trinidad Carver-Langston. Even the examples of previously developed park spaces included in the presentation were of park spaces much smaller in size.

By way of contrast, the similarly sized 1.8 acre Cobb Park that DPR is developing in Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood has a budget of $2 million. The concept plan for that park space is more robust.

Give Feedback

It is not too late to submit written testimony to ask for more funding. Submit testimony to the Council Committee on Facilities chaired by Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George by 5:30 pm on June 19, 2025.

Residents can also share feedback on the design with DPR outreach specialist Rasheed Jibreel at rasheed.jibreel@dc.gov.

I shared what I heard from residents at the meeting. We know a playground cannot go in this space. A dog park is supposed to be part of the second phase of Art Place at Fort Totten (unclear when that will get built). So at a minimum, it would be great for this park space to have the following:

  • A winding path so that people can wander or get their steps in if they so choose. I don’t think it is advisable to have a cobblestone for the winding path.
  • Curvy planting bed areas on the corner of the park space at South Dakota & Riggs so that that area can be used for native planting and a “Riggs Park” neighborhood sign.
  • A few other curvy planting bed areas scattered around the perimeter of the park site to help control storm runoff (particularly on the downgrade portion near the sidewalk on South Dakota Avenue) and provide some visual interest.
  • Design/planting for the treebox spaces surrounding the park space given that District government does not maintain those tree box spaces well at all.
  • A water fountain to fill bottles.
  • A water source with a hose bib so that residents can help take care of the plantings.
  • Black Washington globe lights in the park for lighting.
  • I know people have talked about public art, but that can probably be dealt with later depending on what people are thinking about.

I also think DPR’s process and communication could be a bit better. I think this project has suffered in part because of a change in project managers mid-stream and in part because of a lack of communication between DPR, DDOT, and the DC Council. For a while now, for whatever reason, the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing. Also, DPR was not able to have a site walkthrough with the community because of rain. DPR did not put out a survey to get input and had just one initial meeting with residents on September 24, 2024, at the Lamond-Riggs Library before taking months to then present this pretty underwhelming concept plan on May 20, 2025. 

DPR is in the process of refining plans now. It is worth taking some time to share feedback with DPR and to let the council know that $337,000 for 1.5 acres is simply not enough.

May 20: Riggs & South Dakota Triangle Park Public Meeting

Posted by nextstoprp in Recreation

From DC Department of Parks & Recreation

Please join the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and the DC Department of General Services (DGS) for a community meeting to discuss the purposed improvements to the triangle park located at the intersection of Riggs Road NE & South Dakota Avenue NE.

Your attendance is greatly appreciated!

Meeting details:

Date:  Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Time:  6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Location: Lamond Riggs Neighborhood Library- 5401 South Dakota Ave NE, Washington, DC 20011

Additional websites for the Riggs and South Dakota Triangle Park project.

For more information and to RSVP, please visit:

https://riggsandsouthdakota.splashthat.com/

To sign up for updates about this project, please visit

http://dpr.dc.gov/stakeholder

For more information about the project, please visit:

https://dgs.dc.gov/page/riggs-south-dakota-park1-0

Location Change: Tonight’s Community Park Meeting will be at Lamond-Riggs Library

Posted by nextstoprp in Recreation

Due to the potential for rain, DPR has changed the location for tonight’s meeting. Please see below for updated location.

From DPR

Please join the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and the DC Department of General Services (DGS) for a community meeting to discuss the future renovations to the green space at the intersection of Riggs Road NE and South Dakota Avenue NE. This meeting will be an opportunity to learn more about the project and discuss what you would like to see in the upcoming renovations.

Your attendance is greatly appreciated! 

Meeting details:

Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Time:  6:00 p.m. –7:00 p.m.

NEW Location:  Lamond-Riggs/Lillian J. Huff Library, 5401 South Dakota Ave. NE (Children’s Room).  

September 24: Riggs Road & South Dakota Avenue Park Community Meeting (In Person)

Posted by nextstoprp in Recreation

From DC Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR)

Please join the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and the DC Department of General Services (DGS) for a community meeting to discuss the future renovations to the green space at the intersection of Riggs Road NE and South Dakota Avenue NE. This meeting will be an opportunity to learn more about the project and discuss what you would like to see in the upcoming renovations.

Your attendance is greatly appreciated! 

Meeting details:

Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Time:  6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Location:  Intersection of Riggs Road NE and South Dakota Avenue NE

Additional websites for South Dakota Avenue

For more information and to RSVP, please visit:

https://riggsandsouthdakota.splashthat.com

For additional information about the project, please visit:

https://dgs.dc.gov/page/riggs-south-dakota-park-0

Riggs Road & South Dakota Avenue Park Update

Posted by nextstoprp in Recreation

The DC Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) gave an update on plans for a neighborhood park on the southwest corner of South Dakota Avenue and Riggs Road NE.

DPR Ward 5 Capital Project Update Presentation (August 2024)

I am going to call this more of a neighborhood green space because calling it a park evokes visions of a playground and vast amenities, which is not at all what is happening here. There is only $400,000 allocated for design and construction of this green space so it will be more like signage, landscaping, benches, that kind of thing (unless more funding comes).

The project website is https://dgs.dc.gov/page/riggs-south-dakota-park-0. I would say to ignore the design start date on the presentation slide shown above because it does not make sense and conflicts with what is on the project website:

Riggs & South Dakota Park

Project Details:

Address: Riggs Road & South Dakota, NE
Ward: 5
DPR Project Manager: Nick Kushner
DGS Project Manager: TBD
Project Status: Scope of Work Development
Design Start Date: Summer 2024
Design End Date: TBD
Project Delivery: Design-Build
Architect: TBD
General Contractor: TBD
Current Budget: $400k
Construction Start Date: TBD
Construction End Date: TBD
DGS Contact: Chellese Grove

I reached out to DPR to get a better understanding of the process for this green space. Here is what DPR stated.

There are two key phases in the design process:

1. Initial Community Input: Later this summer, DPR’s Community Planning team, led by Nick Kushner, will host a “Walk and Talk” in the park. This session will gather initial input from stakeholders . . . to help inform the design.

2. Design Kickoff: The actual design work begins once [DPR] hires a design team. This is anticipated to start in summer 2025, contingent on [DPR’s] collaboration with DDOT to either transfer the property or obtain the necessary permits. After the design team is on board, [DPR will] hold further meetings with the community to refine the concepts.  [DPR] do[es]n’t yet have a timeline for the DDOT coordination. 

    DPR also shared with me an overall project timeline that they made sure to say is tentative and subject to change based on permitting, weather, etc.

    • Late Summer 2024: DPR “Walk and Talk” – Stakeholder feedback session.
    • Late Summer 2025: Design process begins after the Landscape Architect is hired and DDOT approvals are in place.  Please note that this could possibly start sooner, but we like to err on the side of caution when it comes to projected timelines.
    • Fall/Winter 2025: Community meeting to refine the design.
    • Spring/Summer 2026: Construction begins.

    We have been writing about this space for a while now and the advocacy behind activating this green space. The tricky thing is that the space sits in DDOT’s portfolio given that it consists of the old right-of-way. DDOT does not want to give it up, for reasons. (Residents can see that it is currently serving as a construction staging area for the Riggs Crossing Senior Residences development project). DDOT has repeatedly stated (to me at least) that DPR will need to program the space through the public space permitting process, whereas DPR previously understood that the space would be transferred into DPR’s portfolio. I am hoping that we will not stay on this merry-go-round of dealing with the same question and that the right hand and left hand will really start working together. That will take leadership.

    Also complicating things a bit are expansion plans by Food & Friends and their curb cut project. More on that to come.

    Neighborhood Parks & Recs Updates

    Posted by nextstoprp in Recreation

    Both Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George and Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker provided parks and recs update in their newsletters a couple of weeks ago that are of interest to the neighborhood.

    From Councilmember Lewis George on planned summer repairs:

    • Lamond Rec Center will have a new swing set designed and installed.
    • Riggs-LaSalle will have a new shade structure designed and installed over the 2-5 playground and will have new vertical netting installed around portions of the football field. 

    From Councilmember Parker on green space at southwest corner of South Dakota Avenue & Riggs Road NE:

    • Park at the corner of Riggs Rd NE and South Dakota NE: DGS Hunter also confirmed that the agency is taking action on money I secured last budget season to establish a park at the intersection of Riggs Rd NE and South Dakota NE. Per the Director, DGS is in the process of leasing the land next to Food and Friends. The hope is to bid a contract by the end of FY24 (September 3[0]) and begin community engagement. Neighbors have been asking for this park for 10 years, and I’m proud to finally be able to deliver it for them sometime next year.

    I listened to a recording of the budget oversight hearing for DGS, and it clarifies conflicting information we were receiving about the green space (discussion starts at roughly the 01:41 mark). The green space sits in DDOT’s portfolio. Instead of pursuing a transfer of jurisdiction to DPR, DGS Director Delano Hunter stated that they will go through DDOT’s public space permitting process to program the space. (DDOT has stated for a while that this is their preferred option). DDOT wants to keep the space in its portfolio in case of transportation needs.

    Director Hunter stated that the plan is to have a designer on board before the end of this fiscal year (so before September 30, 2024) with the goal of having initial community engagement by then as well. Director Hunter stated that there is about $440,000 in the budget. We know this is not a ton of money to create an actual park, but it will be a start for some landscaping, maybe some benches, and generally making the space more useable.

    Park space here is included in the neighborhood’s area development plan. A team of neighbors (myself included) has been working on getting this funded for several years now. That is the reason for all of the surveys. In my formal and informal conversations with District agencies on this, I pointed out that this space could feature any number of things, such as a neighborhood sign, neighborhood history park, an art park, native plant demonstration garden, walking path, and limited recreation (think seasonal ice/skate rink). To bolster our funding request, a team of us worked with EYA to draw up initial concept plans with the goal of providing a more concrete idea of what we have in mind for agency officials (shoutout to EYA for this).

    The limited amount budgeted for this space for Fiscal Year 2024 is not going to get us anywhere close to 100% of what we want, but it is a small start. And we continue to work to identify other sources of funding for things like neighborhood history markers in the space. We also know that there is still a third phase for Art Place at Fort Totten that will eventually get started at some point (this is the space on the northwest side of South Dakota Avenue/Kennedy Street NE). If the timing were better, it would have been nice to be able to conceive of these spaces together.

    Ready2Play Long-Range Parks & Rec Plan

    Posted by nextstoprp in Recreation

    On December 16, 2023, the DC Department of Parks & Recreation released Ready2Play, a 20-year parks and recreation plan. The project website has a handy storymap that provides an easy way to walk through the plan, starting with a high level overview and priorities before getting to specific recommendations. Probably the easiest way to see site-specific recommendations is by looking at the capital blueprint. That section contains charts with recommendations for specific parks and recreation centers.

    Those who followed the process will notice that while the draft plan included specific funding year recommendations for many of the site-specific recommendations, the final plan does not because there is a budget process for getting things funded. The final plan denotes those projects that are currently funded and DPR substantially revised the implementation section (beginning on p. 110 of the plan) so it now includes a description of short-term, medium-term, and long-term actions. DPR describes the implementation section as follows:

    The implementation section lays out an action-by-action guide on how the success of each action will be measured. For some actions, there are relevant metrics that will be tracked and reported on annually. For others, there are implementation outputs or deliverables that will be an initial measure of success for that action. Every action is also assigned a projected timeframe for when its achievement seems most possible and practical. Some actions are ongoing, while others are categorized into short-, medium- or long-term timeframes. Short-term actions are anticipated to be completed by the end of FY26, medium-term actions are anticipated to be completed by the end of FY30, and long-term actions are anticipated to be completed in the years following FY30. Each of the actions also has a corresponding funding value that estimates the range of funding that implementing the action will require. If the funding value is listed
    as N/A, it is anticipated that DPR can complete this task in-house or with the resources already available within current operating or capital budget funding levels.

    I attended the Ready2Play plan release party and neighbor Gavin also took a look at the plan for mentions of parks and recs in Riggs Park and nearby areas. I think the plan for our neighborhood parks & rec centers largely reflects the important long-term advocacy of neighbors as well as our engagement throughout the Ready2Play process. It does not contain everything we need or want in our neighborhood parks and rec centers, but it is a useful tool that can be used by neighbors to advocate for funding for implementation of pieces of the plan in the future.

    Neighborhood site-specific Ready2Play recommendations listed below.

    Riggs-LaSalle Recreation Center

    • Update of existing amenities: Rec center, spray park
    • New amenities: Tennis court, community garden, exercise equipment, track/fitness loop; “safety and inclusion” improvements (funded)

    These recommendations are mostly the same as the draft plan, but the “safety and inclusion” column is new. DPR defines safety and inclusion element this way:

    A safety and inclusive space highlights areas where there will be an enhanced security upgrade to protect the safety of users of the facility. This could include new cameras, security staff, lighting or other site improvements to enhance the safety of site users.

    The Friends of Riggs-LaSalle Rec advocated for these safety features during the public process.

    Riggs Road and South Dakota Park

    • New amenities: “General improvements”

    This item refers to the District-owned green space on the southwest corner of South Dakota Avenue & Riggs Road NE. It is part of the portfolio of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). The neighborhood’s 2009 area development plan envisioned this site as park space.

    This site was not listed in the DPR’s draft plan, but residents continued our yearslong advocacy for funding and to have this space included in DPR’s master plan. We worked with ANC 5A, former and current Ward 5 councilmember, and others to make this happen.

    There is (a little bit of) money in the budget for this park space. My understanding is that DPR is waiting for DDOT to complete the land transfer.

    Lamond Recreation Center

    • Update of existing amenities: Playground, field
    • New amenities: Community garden

    The draft plan included new exercise equipment, but a FitLot was installed late summer 2022.

    Keene Field

    • Update of existing amenities: Field
    • New amenities: Tennis court, community garden, exercise equipment, track/fitness loop

    This is the same as the draft plan.

    Gavin points out that the plan also lists Keene under “Recommended natural areas | forest patches,” but it is not listed on the site table for Keene.

    North Michigan Park Recreation Center

    • Update of existing amenities: Rec center
    • New amenities: Spray park, exercise equipment, track/fitness loop, nature trails or connection enhancement, natural areas/forest patches, adaptive recreation

    This is the same as the draft plan.

    Reservation 0574 (New Hampshire, Ingraham, and 1st Sts., NW)

    • New amenities: Playground, exercise equipment

    This is the same as the draft plan.

    National Park Service Partnership Recommendations

    The Ready2Play plan includes sites for potential partnerships with the National Park Service (NPS). Fort Totten Park and Fort Circle Park on South Dakota Avenue NE are included in the list of sites to “assess and discuss with NPS for further collaboration, based on neighborhood desire, need, and quality of site/amenity,” and shown as recommended NPS sites for transfers of jurisdiction (TOJ) or cooperative management agreements (CMA). These were recommendations in the draft plan as well. The implementation plan shows that these TOJ/CMA discussions with NPS are ongoing.

    At the release party, DPR staff stated that DPR is looking to use TOJs more (transferring ownership of park space owned by federal government to District government) to transfer bundles of park spaces together rather than pursuing transfers one by one. In addition, I was told that current DPR staff believe that TOJs rather than CMAs would be more useful for long-term goals because with a TOJ, park space owned by the federal government would be transferred to the District government. By having ownership of the park space, the District would then have more authority and control over what can be done with the parks. With CMAs, the District can use invest its own capital funding in federal parks for enjoyment of residents and visitors, but the federal government still retains ownership and therefore still has to approve what types of activities/amenities/programming can be done in the park. (A recent example of a CMA is Franklin Park downtown).

    Future Planning and Other Recommendations

    The Ready2Play plan includes sites for potential planning efforts. North Michigan Park/Queens Chapel, Brightwood Park/Manor Park, and MBT & Piney Branch are recommended as “areas to study for potential park expansion.” These were recommendations in the draft plan as well.

    The draft plan recommended, “Work with DDOT and NPS to further develop the Fort Circle Park hiker/biker trail system.” This recommendation is not listed in the final plan. Unclear why this was removed or if it is somehow incorporated into another recommendation, such as the TOJ/CMA recommendations. I will just note that a trail along the perimeter of Fort Circle Park is an element of the neighborhood’s 2009 area development plan as well as the National Capital Trail Network.

    Next Steps

    This is quick snapshot of recommendations relevant to the neighborhood in the Ready2Play plan. The plan was an ambitious undertaking for DPR. It is worth taking some time to look at the plan not just for recommendations specific to the neighborhood, but also to see all of the really cool things envisioned for the city, such as the District’s first net-zero rec center as well as what sounds like a massive planned project for Kenilworth Park (125 acres!). It will be up to neighbors to continue advocating for improvements to our neighborhood parks and rec centers, and that includes some specific things that did not make it into the final plan (we can make it fit though).