In early April I learnt from a local newspaper the revitalisation of
Park Cichociemnych, whose beginnings I documented nearly a year ago, is drawing
to a close. The makeover has been slated by locals and sadly, the voices of disapproval
do not come from regular nit-pickers, but reflect how the area has been botched
up.
To start with, the revitalisation kicked off in 4Q2021. Eighteen months
since the works commenced their end is not in sight, which is more than a
shame. One could build a house from scratch and furnish it over such period, while here nothing
is built, just a recreational area is redeveloped. Below some snaps taken on
Easter Sunday late afternoon.
The peak of Górka Kazurka is still fenced off, while the very summit for
no apparent reason has been spoilt with concrete, needed there like a hole in the
head. Areas where the grass has been sown are also protected from pedestrians
and pets…
The centre of the park so far does not seem to meet the definition of
greenery. Arid ground, sand, concrete slabs, fences, a bench in the middle of a
muddy swathe of land. It took a year and a half to reach that stage of redevelopment.
Having moved further west, I put my camera lens between the mesh to
capture what in some time is to become a recreational area, with benches,
bicycle racks, flowerbeds and lawns. So far such picture can be seen with the eyes
of imagination only.
To counter- balance the griping with some upsides – the bygone car park by
the Astaldi construction base has been ripped off – many square metres of asphalt
have given way to earth. The only remnants of the construction site are the
run-down guard’s hut and a rickety VW Transporter.
At the western edge of the park its designers resolved to locate a good
dating hangout for teenagers. For some unknown reason the spot is far from any
dwellings, but close to the tunnel of Warsaw’s southern bypass (humming traffic
well audible there). Note I was too lazy to roam around the park, so I
cycled...
Looking east towards ul. Pileckiego – the meadow between 2018 and late
2022 had been occupied by Astaldi and cleared just a few months ago. The nature now is
to reconquer the area. Dwellers of the blocks of flats in the distance seem to
have a beautiful slight from their windows, but note the proximity of the
bypass tunnel, with fumes and noise 24/7 does not add to the spirit of the
place.
The bonfire shelter, once quite close to Górka Kazurka, has been relocated
into the middle of the nearby birch coppice. Definitely a proper bonfire spot ought
to be surrounded by trees. On Easter Sunday the shelter played host to some
inebriated Ukrainians.
In April 2022 I complained the dog playground close to the forest was closed off
to locals. It was opened soon later and is a place I happen to visit with Mela.
The only drawback of the place is its muddiness (a top layer of sand would help
keep soil drier after rain).
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