Long neglected, Love Circle Park represents one of Fort Worth's most spectacular opportunities for neighborhood park development. The dedicated 80 acre park sits conveniently on Jacksboro Highway next to the Fort Worth Nature Center. The park's large footprint and centuries-old trees hint at wonderful opportunities for a unique public space. Creative uses might include a much needed nature-based jogging track for Fort Worth's running enthusiasts.A business offering driving range and batting practice areas formerly used the land. The failed enterprise left an extensive mess including scattered piles of garbage, scum-filled batting cages, rotting buildings, abandoned light poles, and unsightly piles of dirt. The debris poses significant health and injury hazards to the public as well as an attractive nuisance to neighborhood children. The batting cage area holds a large pond of filthy stagnant water. The buildings sit open to the frequent visits of vandals and perilous curiosity of neighborhood children. The elements course through large holes in the ceilings, floors, and walls of the structures. Piles of garbage include sharp metal, broken toilets, and wood brandishing rusty nails. The weedy and poorly maintained fields sway with tall, chigger-infested Johnson grass, night shade, and stickers making any enjoyable public use all but impossible.
The Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association has begun working closely with neighbors living around the park to bring new life to this neighborhood treasure. The parks department has been notified of our intentions to move forward and will soon assign a parks employee to begin assisting us through the process. A series of neighborhood meetings will be held so everyone can make their voices heard and participate in the decision-making process.
Coincidentally and fortuitously, a study called the Lake Worth Vision will soon be conducted by the city to coordinate all the assets around the Lake Worth into a comprehensive plan for a world-class recreational area. The Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association looks forward to dovetailing the renovation of Love Circle park within this project. With imagination and hard work, we believe that Love Circle Park can move from being a "diamond in the rough" to a spectacular jewel of the Lake Worth Vision.
The pictures below document the park's (current) deplorable condition.
Sincerely,
Michael Dallas
President of The Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association
*******************************************************
CURRENT PARK PICTURES BELOW (OCTOBER 2008)
Here are pictures of the debris left from the old driving range.
The current "greens" of the old golf course.
Enormous piles of dirt.
Abandoned tanks.
An abandoned golf "club house."
Large piles of trash and debris.
Trash and debris inside the "club house."
More debris in the "club house."
Daylight through the "club house" roof.
More debris inside the "club house."
Batting cage practice area.
Batting cage restrooms and workshop.
Batting cage workshop full of garbage.
Batting cage restrooms have been vandalized.
Batting cage area.
Stagnant water in the batting cage.
*******************************************************
Love Circle Park Potential
The 80 acre dedicated park has enormous potential to be an asset to the entire city of Fort Worth. It's large oblong footprint along with mature trees and abundant wildlife has the potential for a variety of uses including a much needed jogging area embedded in a natural setting.
3 comments:
Only problem I have with the city and the nature center is for years they have been trying to figure out how to get rid of the homeowners on Love Circle. About 5 years ago the Nature Center had a comprehensive study made with beautiful picture and none of it included our current houses on Love Circle. The biggest goal I see the city having in actually seeing the study of the nature center is how to get rid of us.
Thank you for your comment.
Having dealt with "The City" for a year now, I understand your fears and frustrations. There have been (and continue to be) many goofy proposals for Love Circle Park within the city's bureaucracy.
My experience, though, is that "The City" does not possess a focused intention about Love Circle Park or the residents living around it. Rather, Fort Worth's bureaucracy has a wide variety of interests, ideas, and intentions depending on the department and the deparment's leaders. Some are friendly to the neighbors' needs and wishes. Others are decidely unfriendly.
Your comment points out the importance of our coming together and moving forward with a positive plan. If we just sit back and do nothing, city bureaucrats eventually will create a plan for the park without us. Depending upon who is making the decisions, we may or may not like the changes.
The choice we face is not whether Love Circle Park will change, but whether we (the neighborhood) want to assume the lead role in that unpreventable process of change.
I believe that by working together, we (the neighbors) can make a positive difference in what becomes of Love Circle Park.
Michael Dallas
President
Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association
I thought those abandoned buildings were the result of the businesses being kicked off of the land to widen 199. At one time they were planning a Business 199 along with the regular 199...something about a new bridge. Has that project been scrapped? I had heard the golf course which I use to play quite often was closed for that reason. Same reason "pricilla's" built a new building about 50 feet behind the old one... for the hwy expansion.
Post a Comment