What’s new in the neighbourhood – in 2023

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).

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.