City of Denver shifting toward natural playgrounds

A large tree that is laying down on the ground


Playground at Pasquinel’s Landing Park should be complete by end of March
By | jvaccarelli@denverpost.com | YourHub
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”raised” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#e4e4e4″ border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” inside_shadow=”false” outside_shadow=”false” ]Original Article found at Denver Post HERE[/dropshadowbox]

Those old playgrounds in some Denver parks might look a lot different in the coming years when they are replaced as the Parks and Recreation department is focusing on nature play options in its parks moving forward.Natural playgrounds, made of recycled trees and boulders, have become a popular option over traditional playgrounds with slides, monkey bars and swings, and Denver Parks and Recreation has multiple natural playground projects planned.

“Studies show that when kids go to a traditional playground, they get bored quickly, whereas with nature play done well, kids stay longer and come back more frequently,†said Gordon Robertson, director of park planning for Denver Parks and Recreation.

 

The first nature playground is under construction at Pasquinel’s Landing Park, 801 W. Evans Ave., and should be complete by the end of March. Two other projects are planned at Westwood Park and First Creek near Green Valley Ranch and Denver International Airport. Both are set to break ground this year.
The projects are designed by Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds, a Canadian company that has built natural play areas worldwide since the 1980s.

Founder, CEO and principal designer Adam Bienenstock was at Pasquinel’s Landing Park last week, supervising the build of the nature playground, consisting of the wood from trees that came from city parks and one from a neighbor’s front yard. The boulders came from Urban Drainage. The trees are secured into place, just above the ground, and mulch will cover the separation between the ground the and log. This will help preserve the wood for a 15-25-year life span.

“The most important part of this is we just want kids to connect to nature in a way that I remember when I was a kid, but we know is missing from most of their lives now,†Bienenstock said. “It turns out that playgrounds, where their parents will take them, are one of the few places where they can have this experience.â€

READ MORE HERE

[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”raised” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#e4e4e4″ border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” inside_shadow=”false” outside_shadow=”false” ]Original Article found at Denver Post HERE[/dropshadowbox]

 

 

Denver As ‘China Town’

A poster for chinatown with a woman and man.


From the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle

[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”raised” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#FAE7E8″ border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” inside_shadow=”false” outside_shadow=”false” ]ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE[/dropshadowbox]

A poster for chinatown with a woman and man.

Raises Funds And Awareness
A few months ago on December 7, 2016, more than 100 people attended the showing of the movie Chinatown, at the Sie Film Center, in support of the lawsuit to stop the destruction of historic City Park
Golf Course and the Globeville Landing Park. Both parks are part of the Platte to Park Hill Storm Drainage project (P2P) being done to enable expansion, undergrounding and partial cover of I-70 and the
massive public/private development of the Platte Valley north of the River North Art District (RiNO).
The movie, set in 1930s Los Angeles, is really about the sinister development of the then agricultural San Fernando Valley. Jake Giddis (Jack Nicholson) stumbles upon a secret plan to divert water to dry
up farm land to buy it cheap and use it for massive commercial and residential development.
The panel discussion that followed featured River North (Taxi) community based developer, Mickey Zeppelin; attorney Aaron Goldhamer; and citizen activist, Christine O’Connor. Zeppelin is gratified by
the grassroots momentum building to stop the current plan for I-70 and the further degradation of the Globeville, Swansea and Elyria communities. He pointed out that Giddis, a private detective, tries to
fight the evil of municipal corruption by himself without the benefit of community, which results in tragic consequences. Goldhamer outlined the lawsuit against the City of Denver challenging the use of
City Park for the non-park use for storm water retention for I-70 and the Platte Valley and asked for community support for the effort. O’Connor outlined the history of the project and how it coincided
with the decision to underground I-70 and expand the Stock Show.
Globeville Swansea Elyria: Victim Of I-70, Stepchildren To The Stock Show and River North

READ MORE HERE

Donation Request To Save City Park Golf Course

A yellow and black logo for the cave city park golf course.


Dear City Park Friends and Neighbors:

We need your generous help to win the legal battle to save City Park Golf Course.

Why does City Park Golf Course need to be saved?

As you know, the city is proceeding with its plans to “repeal and replace†City Park Golf Course as part of its agreement with the Colorado Department of Transportation to provide drainage for the I-70 lowered highway project.

[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”raised” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#fae7e6″ border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” inside_shadow=”false” outside_shadow=”false” ]The golf course will be closed, fenced off, and dirt removed to substantially lower below grade the western end of the park. Trees will be lost and it is likely that the existing clubhouse will be torn down. Then a completely new course will be designed around the drainage facility.[/dropshadowbox]

How can we save it?

Since the City Park Golf Course project is only one piece in a very large interconnected series of projects that include local, state, and federal involvement, the best, and possibly only, way to stop its destruction is through the lawsuit initiated by Aaron Goldhamer, representing JD MacFarlane (former Colorado Attorney General).  Recently a number of other neighbors and Council Member Rafael Espinoza have requested to join as plaintiffs.

Why is the lawsuit a good bet?

[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”raised” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#fae7e6″ border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” inside_shadow=”false” outside_shadow=”false” ]The City Park Golf Course lawsuit contends that closing the park (City Park Golf Course is a designated Denver park) for 18-24 months and giving it to the Public Works Department to construct a stormwater detention facility violate Colorado common law and the Denver City Charter. Both common law and the Charter protect parks for the public to use for park and recreation purposes. And no park may be leased or sold without a vote of the people (Charter section 2.4.5) and no franchises other than to concessionaires may be granted in parks (Charter section 2.4.6).[/dropshadowbox]

We believe that this suit is the right thing to do and that it stands on the right side of the letter and spirit of the common law and the Charter.

How will my donation be used?

Aaron is conducting the litigation pro bono, but he needs our help with funds to pay for expenses related to the suit, including deposition costs, court fees, document production costs, and expert witnesses.   He has asked us to raise $20,000 by the end of this month.  We are calling on every member of CPFAN to help with a donation.

Where do I send my donation and how will the money be held?

Aaron’s firm, Keating Wagner Polidori Free, has established a client trust account for the City Park Golf Course litigation.  Donations can be made:

  • online at GoFundMe webpage View The Big Lie
  • by check made out to “Keating Wagner Polidori Free, P.C. Client Trust Account†indicating in the lower left corner “CPGC Lawsuit†and mailed to 
 Keating Wagner Polidori Free, P.C., Attn: Aaron Goldhamer
          1290 Broadway, Suite 600
          Denver, CO 80203

Please donate today!

Many of you have already contributed.   If you have not yet donated, please do so today.

Thank you!

CPFAN Board:  Hank Bootz, John Van Sciver, Louis Plachowski, Jacqui Lansing, JD MacFarlane, LaMone Noles, Vicki Eppler

P.S.  Don’t miss a bonus opportunity to boost your donation’s value:  Susan Barnes-Gelt will match new contributions to the GoFundMe page up to $2000.  Thank you, Susan!

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