The weekend of the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz was not the first time the sidewalk in Bushnell Park was fenced off, effectively removing access between the park and Frog Hollow, or rather, between Frog Hollow and Union Station. Between work and home. Between one segment of the East Coast Greenway and another. Dozens of vehicles, mostly cars, were scattered across the lawn and sidewalk between the granite wall and pavilion.
On the other side of the pavilion, vendors parked their vehicles longer than needed for setting up their tents.
Knowing the damage that can be done by allowing cars to be driven all over the lawn, why is this behavior going seemingly unchecked? Predictably — and I say that as rain was actually predicted — huge ruts were created all over the lawn in Bushnell Park following the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz this year. Complaints were sent along to the City of Hartford immediately. You would think this would fix the problem, but the very next week, cars were back on the lawn during Monday Night Jazz.
The head of Hartford Parks said that the ripped up lawn would be repaired, but almost one month later, it still looks a mess. During subsequent Monday Night Jazz events and the West Indian Independence celebration, more vehicles caused damage in the park.
Hartford, as we all know, is a city with financial troubles. If there is an easy way to prevent unnecessary spending, why would we not take it?
Hartford is also a city with surplus parking. There are surface lots that go wholly unused on weekends and after hours. On-street parking is plentiful. We have parking garages, including the one next to the Legislative Office Building, which could potentially be used for park events if people wanted to collaborate with one another. I’m scratching my head at why it was determined that parking inside the park was necessary.
If event organizers have determined absolute need for vehicles, they could move to a park that has on-site parking such as Colt, Park, Keney, Elizabeth, Riverside, Goodwin, or Charter Oak Landing. Perhaps this goes against tradition, but tradition isn’t everything and Hartford cannot afford to uphold the tradition of repairing parks following inappropriate usage.
It’s not, however, unprecedented for park misuse to have repercussions.
Vehicles associated with the fiddle fest in 1983 messed up the grass following heavy rain. A radio station’s Earth Day concert in 2000 featured attendees throwing clumps of muddy grass at one another and the stage. Neither have returned to Bushnell Park.
The carnival comes to Colt and Pope Parks every year. The carnival had been in Bushnell Park, but in 1985 complaints were made about the damage it caused.
The marathon has been able to keep using Bushnell Park because it pays for what it wrecks, and every year the repairs begin to be made immediately.
We want people to use our parks, but being welcoming does not mean allowing these free-for-all situations which leave us with the cost of repairs that the DPW, already spread too thin, will have to make.
Tim
In 1983, the New England Fiddle Contest didn’t just leave Bushnell Park, it was told by the city that it would not be permitted to return to the park. This was a year with heavy spring rains that saturated the turf that did not fair well with the large crowds. The event moved to Colt Park in 1974.
Perhaps damage insurance should be required by the city if it’s not already. If it is, shouldn’t the city be collecting?
Pete Brunelli
They keep rebuilding the area next to the pump house, repainting the new brownstone wall that keeps weeping mortar, and are refurbishing the arch. It almost seems like the city has money for private contractors but not event oversight and routine maintenance.