News and notes from Reston (tm).

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Indoor Rec Inches Forward; Lake Newport Also Considered for Indoor Swimming

Imagine our surprise when a uniformed federal agent delivered a letter to Restonian World HQ earlier this week informing us that we may be contacted for a RCC survey about indoor recreation! And it turns out we're not the only one!

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Meanwhile, we got an anonymous update about the potential plans for indoor facilities at Lake Newport. Not only is an indoor tennis pleasure-dome being considered, but the existing swimming pool could be covered by one of those fancy retractable structures you see in your better baseball/football stadiums.
The humble minions on the Park and Planning Advisory Committee, desperately trying to meet the February deadline imposed by their overlords on the RA Board, voted to recommend to the RA Board that, in order to provide RA members and their families an opportunity for year round swimming, Lake Newport be enclosed with a permanent structure that could be open during the summer months. 

Before you ask NO, no giant bubble dome.  Maybe magical, disappearing post and tenon beam framing, painted mauve instead.
Sweet! Seriously, this isn't a bad idea at all, given the desperate need for year-round rec facilities. Just put an Orange Julius hut between the swimming pool and tennis courts, and we'll be in earth-toned indoor rec heaven.

Posted by Restonian at 10:13 AM

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12 comments:

  1. South Reston DoucheDec 10, 2009 07:32 AM
    Didn't they use to cover Ridge Heights pool in a dome over the winter? Is there a reason they stopped that?
    ReplyDelete
  2. The survey called. I was grouchy. Bitched about make-up of the master plan committee. Growled they should eliminate the special tax district and let Fairfax County pay for Fairfax County facilities. Couldn't understand why Mrs. Scubadiver was laughing at me.

    She pointed out we'd been watching Gran Torino. I was channeling Clint Eastwood!

    Plugged Restonian though.
    ReplyDelete
  3. Hickory Cluster knuckle dusterDec 10, 2009 12:30 PM
    The locals complained about the ugly dome.
    ReplyDelete
  4. I support the idea of building the Rec center in Lake Newport in fact I have writing comments about it in the past.


    Elperuno said...
    I wouldn’t mind building a rec center, but NOT for indoor tennis. "God no indoor tennis" where else in the USA has a community build a Rec center just for indoor tennis. Before building a rec center Reston needs to build a police sub-station in south Reston, prefer in front of Winterthur. By the way in the past I wrote a comment for the idea of building a rec center in lake Newport park area by having a bridge run across Reston Pkwy connecting both sides of fields and pools.
    July 9, 2009 10:50 AM



    Elperuno said...
    Why is Reston going to build indoor tennis fields? The only place I know that has indoor tennis is New York City because they have too. No room. The Rec center in my view needs to have indoor turf fields. Right now Brown’s Chapel Park is use most of the time in the evening and on the weekend. The Rec center is going to be use all day, and every single day. Who ever is complaining about the trail in Brown’s Chapel Park, is called a sidewalk. People use the sidewalks to get to the baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts. There is no trail that goes through the woods next Baron Cameron Park soccer fields. If anything Reston needs to use money to build artificial turf field in Baron Cameron Park.

    My solution, if this proposal doesn’t work is building the Rec center in Lake Newport parks’ two soccer fields next to Reston pkwy. It can be a two-part Rec center. A bridge across Reston pkwy would connect the Rec center part that is where the soccer fields are at and the other where the swimming area is at across the pkwy. So that the Rec center would have a indoor and outdoor pool. Reston can replace the one of the two soccer fields they are losing by building another in the park between Walnut Branch Rd and Fairfax pkwy.
    People have to realize that Reston is not a town anymore is a city of 90,000 and growing. It about time to build a Rec center.
    May 1, 2009 2:44 PM


    Read the posting that was posted on THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2009
    Convict had really good comments.
    ReplyDelete
  5. restonian

    you do know that the Lake Newport tennis courts are about 0.8 miles away from the Lake Newport pool, right?

    Way too many steps between the two for the kiddies to spill their Orannge Julius's.

    Though, there is an inactive concession stand near the tennis courts, between the Little League field at Browns Chapel and the big boys baseball field. Maybe it can be the Orange Julius stand!
    ReplyDelete
  6. The Ridge Heights dome was a zoning violation because it was operated by a private company under a lease from RA, i.e. a "commercial recreational facility" and not the community recreational facility authorized by the zoning ordinance for that site. And the neighbors complained. And most of the hours were used by private teams barely connected to Reston.
    ReplyDelete
  7. Broke in Charter Oak (BiCO)Dec 11, 2009 09:10 AM
    "Complained about the ugly dome?" GOOD LORD! Is everyone in Reston a NIMBY just for the sake of being a NIMBY?
    ReplyDelete
  8. "GOOD LORD! Is everyone in Reston a NIMBY just for the sake of being a NIMBY?"

    It isn't just Reston. All of the DC area suffers from that affliction.
    ReplyDelete
  9. Broke in Charter Oak (BiCO),

    The headlights of cars entering the pool's parking lot would go directly into the local homes. I was told that the air compressor for the dome was noisy on occasion. RA did not offer to mitigate any adverse impact, and homeowners protested over several years. Look in some back issues of the Reston Connection for more details.
    ReplyDelete
  10. It was the tenant (Solatar?) that refused to pay for the mitigation which could have been as cheap as some evegreen trees or a fence.
    ReplyDelete
  11. The Convict in the GulagDec 14, 2009 10:31 AM
    Not only is anon 10:57 helping raise money for the Dogweed ES PTA but it appears that they are also helping the Lake Newport swim team. How magnanimous.
    ReplyDelete
  12. I have a very consistent view - not in my backyard and not in yours either.

    Who is pushing for this? Why is this a must have? Why can't we leave this for the private sector?
    ReplyDelete

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