After years of delay, the city is finally moving forward with the long planned field restoration at Volta Park. The work is scheduled to begin today and to last until the fall. Here is the press release with some more detail about the field closures and the anticipated work:
Dear Community Stakeholder:
The DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and the DC Department of General Services (DGS) are pleased to inform the community that the project to address the erosion issue at Volta Park Baseball Diamond (1555 34th Street, NW) have completed the permit process. The work on the field will begin on Monday, July 21, 2025, and the field will remain offline for the summer and into the fall until the grass has had sufficient time to root and stabilize. Meanwhile, the pool, recreation center, playgrounds, and tennis and basketball courts will remain open to the public. Please note, these amenities will only be accessible from the northern entrance at the driveway off of Q Street NW or from the two stair entrances south of the recreation center and playground off of Volta Place NW. All entrances to the field will be closed for the safety of the community.
This project includes the following, among other improvements:
- Installation of a French Drainage system to address the stormwater and erosion issues;
- Installation of a new irrigation system for the baseball diamond
- Regrading the clay infill on the baseball diamond
- Repairs to the seating area
- Resod the disturbed areas and overseed all grass areas
For additional details on this project and to stay up to date, please visit the DGS webpage for this project here: https://dgs.dc.gov/node/1631006
Residents are welcome to contact DPR’s Customer Care Center at (202) 673-7647. The call line is open during regular business hours (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), Monday through Friday, and is closed on weekends and holidays. You may also contact us via email at dprcustomercare@dc.gov.
Losing use of the field through the rest of the summer and into the fall is a disappointment, of course. But getting the field back into a good state is critically needed at this point. Please let me know if you have any questions or issues as the project gets underway.
(To answer one question I’m sure some people have: Yes, I believe the fence dividing the ball field from the de facto dog area is still part of the plan. I understand that there are still divided opinions on that element, but the reality is that the city insisted upon it. I hope that it comes to be appreciated as a means to help avoid conflicts over the [let’s face it] illegal off-leash dogs and people trying to use the ball field.)
The Georgetown Metropolitan 