Monday, August 22, 2011
Phillips Heartland Park: A Review
Posted by Betsy Phillips on Mon, Aug 22, 2011 at 6:30 AM
Size of Park: Large
Crowds: Light
Approximate Age of Patrons: Old and crotchety
Topics of Conversation: "You're not doing it right." "Go put that fire out." "You're still not doing it right."
Stray Dogs Seen: None
Types of Vehicles in Parking Lots: The vehicle of people who like to critique park reviewers as they're reviewing parks.
Perceived Safety: Physical safety, high. Emotional and mental safety, medium.
Number of Gunshots Heard: None
Dog Friendliness: Dogs not allowed
Number of pitbulls sighted: None
Accessibility: Fine
Incorporation of Local History: I thought it was nice. My mom came away with the opinion that Sam Jackson lived in this field called Clover Bottom with his horse, Andrew.
Recommended Patrons: Soccer players
Boy Scouts of America, I am sincerely sorry if you feel like you're not getting proper credit for Metro Parks. I had no idea, and frankly I'm still not sure of your importance to the park system. But far be it from me to make you feel slighted.
Heartland Park is another one of Metro's many soccer complexes, though this one has a nice sign identifying it as a park, so there's no doubt about its park status. There's a ton of parking and loads of Port-a-Potties. There are also cute little benches for tiny child soccer players, who must be cute as all get out.
The park is down in the lowland where the Stones River meets the Cumberland, and Metro is using plant material throughout the park to filter water before it makes its way into the rivers. That's really cool. One of the aforementioned Boy Scouts put up a bridge as his Eagle Scout project back in 1999. I can report that it is still sturdy.
The park seems perfectly set up for soccer. Like I said, there are plenty of places to use the bathroom and park. There's also a concession stand and the aforementioned vending machine. They also have plenty of parking if you're looking for a nice place to get on the Stones River Greenway.
The only weirdness is that we were the only people at the park (there were a few people riding bikes on the greenway) and it didn't seem as if anyone had been there recently — except that there was a fire in a metal garbage can near the dumpsters. My mom had some water in the van, so she put it out.
Still, people, don't leave fires unattended in the parks.
I'm not sure this is a park worth going to unless you're going to play soccer or are trying to visit every park in the Metro system. But it is a nice park nevertheless.
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