Athmar Park

Around the Neighborhood ...

Oct 12, 2004

DENVER DIGS TREES
Every year, Denver Digs Trees provides residents with an opportunity to purchase inexpensive trees to be planted along Denver?’s streets. Call 303-722-6262 to have a 2005 tree request form mailed to you. Return your street tree application by January 21, 2005. Tree pickup and planting date is Saturday, April 16, 2005.

CRUISING SOLUTIONS NEEDED?
A broad-based citizen-lead taskforce is forming to tackle the public safety and quality of life issues created by year-round, city-wide weekend ?‘cruising?’ on major arterials, including Federal Blvd. Volunteers from our neighborhood are needed to join this group working to create a list of detailed recommendations for a cruising ordinance to present to city council by May, 2005.

Can?’t volunteer? Well, you can still help! Send emails or letters to Council and the Mayor outlining your first-hand experiences and frustrations if you are negatively impacted by cruising. If you are interested in working on this taskforce, contact Lisa Dobson 303-860-0697 or lkdobson@access-4-free.com

MOSAIC GAME TABLES
In September, neighborhood volunteers completed the annual cleaning, repairing, and resealing of our wonderful mosaic game tables at Aspgren and Huston Lake parks. Sadly, the tables have taken a beating over this last year due to vandals chipping the tiles and tagging the tables with graffiti?—particularly at Aspgren Park. It was a mixed bag of emotions while we worked on the tables?—big smiles to find people playing checkers with bottle caps at one table; and great distress to have a table we JUST resealed, retagged WHILE WE WERE RESEALING ANOTHER TABLE IN THE SAME PARK! We called the police and filed charges against the vandals. We could sure use your support in protecting our neighborhood works of art. If you notice someone vandalizing the tables, PLEASE call the police!

VALLEY HIGHWAY REDESIGN
The draft Environmental Impact Study(EIS) for the Valley Highway redesign of I-25 from Logan to 6th Avenue is circulating for internal review within CDOT and the city. Watch for the public meeting announcement that should be scheduled shortly. It will be very important that many Athmar Park residents attend this meeting and comment on the EIS, as the highway redesign will have significant impacts on our neighborhood.

GOLDRICK PLAYSCAPE
A ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the newly completed learning landscape at Goldrick Elementary School (1050 S. Zuni) is scheduled for October 26, 2:15pm.

The playground redesign was developed around a ?‘how things work together?’ theme. The playground is open to the public, so bring the kids by to explore this new playscape when you can!

KSPA GROUNDBREAKING
A groundbreaking ceremony for KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy (KSPA) was held on Oct. 13th. The new charter middle-school for college-bound students will be built in between Rishel and Valverde.

Construction should be completed in seven months. As part of this project, new tennis courts will be built to replace the unusable courts currently at Rishel.

Another good result of this project is that an additional 19 parking spaces are being added (over the number of spaces that KSPA needs) to relieve parking problems on W. Nevada and W. Alaska caused by inadequate parking at the schools.

ALLEY PAVING
In September, the City launched a 10-year program to eliminate unpaved alleys in Denver. The new alley-paving program will change an inequitable City policy that allowed for re-surfacing of existing alleys while continuing to ignore 1,042 unimproved alleys scattered throughout 54 of Denver?’s 78 neighborhoods. The paving will start with dirt alleys in 16 of Denver?’s lowest-income, most-underserved neighborhoods.

We don?’t yet know when Athmar Park's 46 dirt alleys will be paved, but help should be on the way!

MOTHERS?’ GROUP
No mom was ever meant to mother alone. That's the philosophy of the group known as MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). The group meets for brunch, dynamic speakers, and practical crafts. Childcare is provided.

The nearest MOPS group is the Corona MOPS, which meets at Corona Presbyterian Church at 8th and Downing. Corona MOPS meets the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Fridays of the month from 9-11:30am, Sept-May.

For more information, please contact 303-832-2297 or karynj28@yahoo.com.