THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 17, 1996 TAG: 9601170009
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
The fire station nearing completion at the corner of Cedar Lane and River Shore Road in Portsmouth is badly placed. Occupying the front of Churchland Park, this building is only 1.7 miles from an established fire station which will continue to be used.
The large edifice with its required parking space usurps a substantial portion of a formerly attractive public recreational area and destroys its aesthetic appeal.
On occasion, I have escorted prospective citizens on tours of Portsmouth. In this effort, one attempts to make the city appear as attractive as possible, studiously avoiding the blighted High Street corridor and drug-infested sections of the city.
Until recently, one of the better showpieces could be viewed by slowly driving past Churchland Park where baseball or soccer teams were at play in the foreground, with tennis players, basketball enthusiasts and practicing golfers adding to the ambience of this beautiful and wholesome public area. That effect is now destroyed.
Another glaring error made by the city some years ago was the placement of the city jail on its most valuable waterfront property. That mistake is acknowledged, and the Downtown Division of Plan 2005 has recommended ultimate relocation of the jail. The city can ill-afford this expense.
Two Portsmouth Architectural Review Commissions study and rule on proposed alterations and construction in the five historical districts of the city, thereby preserving the integrity of these areas. The Downtown Design Committee provides like protection in the rehabilitation of that section. (There are some who question the design of the new fire station, with its small square windows and alternating courses of red and noncomplementary tan brick.)
Throughout the other sections of the city there should be a better planning mechanism to provide careful consideration of both location and design of new buildings.
JOHN W. HOLLOWELL
Past chairman
Portsmouth Planning Commission
Portsmouth, Jan. 11, 1996 by CNB