Ringgold Park Granite or Green

Ringgold Park is located off of Waltham Street in the South End, between Washington and Tremont Street. After initially encroaching upon the Monday evening Salsa lessons held outside the Balckstone Community Center; where I honestly hesitated at the thought of participating in this festival of Summer residents frolicking to Latin rhythms, I continued on to my planned destination.

Last night Cathy Baker-Eclipse (Project Manager Boston Parks Department) completed what was the last public meeting for the design, review and feedback session of the park's redesign and construction-- but open dialog will still occur. Present were a small handful of community members which include member of the Friends of Ringgold Park. It was a mildly contentious yet productive meeting with good end results where people are concerned.

I was prompted to attend this meeting after a local resident's concern about the opportunity to add a more sustainable influence versus a less environmentally thoughtful design. I also promised I would propose some ideas. Not wanting to be presumptuous I listened, learned and spoke(at the request of a resident).

Residents in the area have been petitioning for this project on Ringgold Park for about three years, work the City will begin in the Spring of 2011 and have completed by mid Summer. There are some deteriorating areas including a play structure and surface areas. Ringgold Park shares the South End with several larger parks including Balckstone and Franklin Square, Rotch Playground, and Peters Park. It is difficult not to shift directions given the sense of reverence when writing about public space during this time of year, they are rich with culture, urban soundscapes and European flare. These attributes also help explain the vested interest residents have in completing this project. What is clear is that residents have invested a lot of energy in this project, my hat is off to everyone. The Friends of Ringgold have been working on the park plans from 10 to 15 years.

Technical stuff

Copley Wolff Design Group are the landscape architects; The Ringgold project price tag runs between $283,000 to $374,000; capital funding is $225,000; Brown Fund provides $75,000- totaling $300,000; community input time frame was April to June 2010; and the Friends has committed to fundraising approximately $30,000- a hurdle that must still be overcome between now and the end of the year.

Thoughts on sustainability

While I profess, I wanted to promise Sean Sanger of Copley Wolff, that I would not hang him from the fence for proposing ornamental railing from China- it is difficult to resist, I didn't however, make it the headline as requested. To the credit of several, some "sustainable" language did emerge as well as concern to use local resources (e.g. the granite will come from Massachusetts quarries). I believe more could be done. Sustainable options include purchasing a solar fountain, reducing the expense of costly wiring and construction. Current design plans do include using the runoff from the fountain to irrigate the landscape. Though I have some concerns about use of our water resources- there are greater concerns though.

What people often do not consider is the environmental cost of producing these visual amenities- it's not commonly in their scope of consciousness. For example the water element itself has a financial to cost $60,000; but if you add the cost energy required to extract stone from the earth; the environmental cost of coal required to the shape and finish of the granite including the impact of fly ash (containing: silicon dioxide, calcium oxide, arsenic, beryllium, boron and heavy metals such as mercury) you might for just a second, begin to question a design not environmental based through and through. Yet this example captures only a fraction of the bigger picture of development, construction and design. Cement has similar environmental cost to coal in its production including heavy metals and toxins. It is an honest look at the cost of production through the lenses with a sustainable priority focus.

Fountain of youth

I strongly disagree with idea of installing two five-foot granite drums as a play element for children. I believe that the $20,000 cost could be more wisely used in an environmental exploratorium learning section of Ringgold Park, this would pay dividends for years to come and could evolve. Stone and granite lack the capacity to achieve that.

Retaining the natural landscape also contributes significantly to the biodiversity of the environment rather than having a park that is heavily influenced by cement, granite and ornamental designs with more than 50% of the park made up of tar, granite and cement(estimate). Every effort should be made not solely focused on the communities functionality but the elements of the natural environment. Part of systems thinking and the foundation to sustainable designs is to act by producing solutions when the opportunity presents itself, to reduce negative environmental impacts.

Ringgold Park can be more functional as an environmental learning space, reducing impervious surfaces, creating bioswales(partially incorporated) and rain gardens. Real creativity might introduce a space to harvest bees. Mostly identifying Ringgold as a sustainable park project rather than an improvement project would represent a step closer to a carbon neutral culture. It is here where we test our political and social will to make a difference; when we demonstrate sustainability is a real priority with this and subsequent project. Mine is not the rambling of some quixotic individual; environmental stewardship is not an exercise of accomplishments, but a litmus test of we do for what we have. This is how future generations will assess us.

Green tip: As a wise person once said never dismiss the importance of anyone, everyone knows something you do not.