Monument Alley for Druzhby Park: Improvement project by popular demand to kick off soon

Druzhby Park will be improved next year with new trees and saplings. A concept to upgrade this park has been finalised with input from local residents. The park will receive playgrounds for children and sport facilities, a skate-boarding area, summer houses near the ponds and a monument alley. The latter will feature various monuments presented to Moscow by other cities and countries as a token of friendship.

Druzhby Park, with an area of over 40 hectares, is located where the Levoberezhny (Left Bank), Golovinsky and Khovrino districts meet.

“This park is popular with the local residents who like to exercise, spend time with their children and walk there. Several monuments and sculptures, including copies of Vera Mukhina’s famous Bread and Fertility masterpieces, as well as a monument to Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, are also popular. Today, many rundown structures and outdoor furniture do not meet the latest standards, and so the city has decided to launch a comprehensive improvement project in 2019. The park’s infrastructure will be upgraded, while the historical layout and sculptural compositions will be preserved. The main task is to make the park more attractive and more comfortable for everyone,” said officials at the press service of the Department for Major Housing Repairs.

The residents at the public hearing discussed the park’s improvement concept and made several dozen comments and remarks that influenced the project.

Relaxing near the ponds and Monument Alley

It was eventually decided to establish two playgrounds in the northern and central sections of the park’s green area. The second playground was added by popular demand. The western section playground will be overhauled, receiving new equipment and a rubber-coated surface.

Festivalniye Prudy (Festival Ponds), one of the main local attractions, will receive summer-houses with an excellent view of the water. They will be popular in hot weather.

In all, 14 monuments, donated to the city by other countries, including India, Finland, Spain and Kyrgyzstan, are located in various sections of the park. One of its alleys will become the home to any future monuments.

The city will also install flowerbeds around the existing sculptures and will build walkways for approaching them. Benches, lamps and waste-cans will also be installed. An old dog run will be upgraded and a new one added, making dog owners happy.

A skating park, a ping pong facility, an outdoor workout area and a sports equipment rental room will also be built. The park will receive a temporary stage for holding various events.

A flower river with perennial plants and a walkway will appear on the central square. The current walkways will also be retained.

The surfaces of the roads, footpaths and walkways will be improved all over the park. Trees and shrubs will be upgraded, and new ones planted; new flowerbeds and flower gardens will also be installed. The entire infrastructure will be adapted to people with disabilities. Some lamp posts will be replaced, and new ones added, making it possible to roam the park at night.

In 2018, the eastern section stretching all the way to Lavochkin Street was added to the park. A flower alley with grass and perennials will be planted here. Another area with hills, swings and benches will spring up among the trees. This section of the park is located near residential buildings, and two playgrounds for children will also appear here.

Improving parks

The city improved 82 green areas in 2018. Two projects, launched earlier this year at Lyublino Estate Park in the Southeastern Administrative Area and Victory Park in the Zelenograd Administrative Area, will be completed in 2019. This list includes 24 city parks and nature areas, 25 neighbourhood parks and 33 sites popular with local residents, such as boulevards, public gardens and squares.