Brateyevo turns green: An attractive new park destination at the water meadow of the Moskva River

There is a green area between the Moskva River and Alma-Atinskaya and Borisovskie Prudy streets in the Brateyevo Distict. Today it is a favourite spot for nearby residents and the district as a whole. People ride bikes and roller skate, jog in the mornings, lie in the sun, listen to music or simply relax in peace.

Brateyevo was incorporated into Moscow about 60 years ago. No major improvements have been made to the park since then. The public voted on the Active Citizen website for options on how to improve and use this picturesque but long neglected area. About 195,000 Muscovites voted.

Getting a tan and environmental protection

So what has changed at Brateyevskaya Poima Park? Almost everything. The park was divided into several functional areas, each with its own orientation so fans of different types of recreation won’t interfere with each other.

An open summer sun-deck with 14 wooden deck chairs on an area of 208 square metres was installed near the water. There was no reason to give up the opportunity offered by the local landscape. After all, it is more pleasant to get a tan on a river bank (and the Brateyevo water meadow has two rivers).

The recreation zone was also equipped with swing sets and pavilions for table games and picnics. Those who like walking have received an eco-path.

Bikes and baseball

Those into more active recreation have not been forgotten. A 13 km bike path was created for bicyclers. The path is lit and they can ride both during the day and in the evening. In the winter the path will be a ski track.

Twelve pitches with a total area of over 19,000 square metres have been designed for sports lovers, including a football field (that will be used as an ice rink in the winter), a field for mini football, a parkour facility, two workout sites, a skateboard park, one basketball and two volleyball courts, a place for table tennis and a lawn tennis court.

A baseball field is the main highlight of the new park section. It was built according to all the rules including the field’s diamond. Special technology was used for the groundcover including tennis quality turf. It is already hosting the training sessions for an amateur baseball club and for Moscow Amateur Baseball League games.

The park has two places for walking and training dogs with all the related equipment.

Nearby cascade

The Brateyevskaya Poima Park is not the only recreation place in the district. A cascade park with areas for rest and sports, free Wi-Fi, a stage and picturesque pedestrian routes was opened there two years ago. It also hosts the International Fireworks Festival that is attended by fireworks experts from all over the world. 

The creation of new, nicely-furnished parks is one of the main ways of creating a people-friendly urban environment. Between 2011 and 2017, 492 park and greenspace areas were improved, including 259 newly-built parks in residential areas.

In 2017, 113 park and greenspace areas were opened to the public. They were landscaped under the Moscow programme on the development of the urban environment.

Comprehensive improvement and the planting of greenery in over 80 parks are planned for this year.