What’s new in the neighbourhood

A yet another photo round-up to keep record of what is going around between the housing estates on the south-western edge of Natolin and the Las Kabacki forest. The big recreational area, called Park Cichociemnych has been undergoing a makeover for some half a year, only the progress of the change is more than sluggish.

On Friday I somehow managed to knock off before 6:00 p.m. (nasty two weeks at work left behind) and stroll through the green areas around with the camera. I first scrambled up Górka Kazurka, partly serving as a track for downhill bicycle riders. Here, I look south from the top of it, towards Las Kabacki. Note the absence of leaves on many trees. In recent years we got used to warm Aprils, while in 2021 and 2022 temperatures have been well below long-term average (more on it in a week).

I walked a few steps, turned around to snap the blocks by ul. Kazury and ul. Pileckiego. Actually not a worthwhile sight, but I wanted to grab a comparative view of the spot against…

Another photo (credits to Anna Soboniak) taken in July 1997. Old blocks of flat have been insulated, new ones put up in early 2000s. One day I will try to take a series of photos for comparison to the historical ones which can be found at Ursynów.org – an excellent page I recommend.

West of Górka Kazurka I see the current progress of works was about digging up the grass, fencing off some areas and laying groundwork for new pavements and cycling paths. The area will get some concrete, but I concede the terrain here was too bumpy to be accessible to elderly, disabled and cyclists on city bikes.

The snap to the right essentially elucidates why I’m love with my neighbourhood. I am half a mile from home and it feels like wild forest area several kilometres from the heart of Warsaw. But wait, I am just a mile away from the nearest underground station!

Here comes the new development, a dog playground, relocated from the area west of Górka Kazurka, closer to the forest. I have not idea whether the facility has been completed, but definitely it is not accessible to residents, with entry gates protected by chains and padlocks. In the background, the technical track of the Warsaw underground.

Another leisure spot transferred from near Górka Kazurka is the picnic shelter, now located in the middle of the birch coppice. Brushing aside cosiness of the place and presence of mosquitos in the summer, a bonfire here might end op nastily… I had been there in late March and can’t report any progress of works.

The shot give the essence of now the modernisation of the park goes on. Dug up grass, heaps of gravel and soil, randomly fenced off land – mess all around. I slightly envy the homeowners from the green blocks by ul. Pileckiego whose living room windows and balconies have a view to the green area – they beat my living room view on Las Kabacki.

Further north, I can run across an Astaldi builders base which used to be a technical facility for the S2 tunnel construction site. The tunnel was opened in December 2021, all finishing works have been done, but the base has not been wound down to restore the green area. I want the containers to be taken away and the concrete to be ripped up. I hold out for a meadow back here!

Through a hole in a fence I can snap how the facility looks like. Lots of rubble scattered, machinery all around. The ugly wasteland should be a green area. I have shortly investigated the reasons why the land has not been cleared up and found only one article which says (financially ailing) Astaldi is about to move out by the end of this year.