The city has finished improving two new territories with trees and shrubs. People can now visit

the upgraded Yunosti Square in Zelenograd and the new Akademichesky Park near the

Endocrinology Research Centre in southwestern Moscow.

“Prior to improvement, Yunosti Square, Zelenograd’s first and main square, was quite

dilapidated. Earlier, it seated a chaotic parking area, the round fountain in the centre of the

square had disintegrated almost completely, and the road surface also left a lot to be

desired,” sources at the city’s Department for Major Housing Repairs noted. “Garages,

outbuildings and a parking lot for street-cleaning equipment were located in what is now

Akademichesky Park,” they added.

According to the department’s officials, the improved Yunosti Square and Akademichesky

Park will become new popular attractions. Sport facilities and playgrounds, promenades,

benches and street lamps have already been installed there. And the city is set to plant trees

there in late autumn.

Artificial hills, dinosaurs and a 16.5-hectare sport cluster

The 16.5-hectare Akademichesky Park, completed in southwestern Moscow, is located

between the Fersmana and Dmitriya Ulyanova streets and 60-Letiya Oktyabrya Prospekt and

not far from the Endocrinology Research Centre. This new area with trees and shrubs has

replaced a deserted lot formerly occupied by outdated facilities belonging to the Zhilishnik

housing maintenance agency. Several entrances line the park’s perimetre. From now on,

residents of nearby blocks of flats can cut through the park and reach local shops, a

kindergarten and a school or the Endocrinology Research Centre.

The park’s territory had an elevation of two-three metres. Builders underscored the park’s

unique terrain by installing stairways and ramps. This engineering solution divides the park

into an upper and lower section. Artificial hills up to three metres high are located among

trees and shrubs. Visitors can use footpaths covered with granite pavers that snake between

the hills. In the evenings, the hills and footpaths are illuminated by street lamps and

landscape lighting. The park’s main square with a semi-round pergola (awning) is highly

popular with visitors. Eleven other pergolas decorate the entire park, and walk-through

gazebos with benches line its footpaths.

The park has a sport and game cluster with an area of almost 3,000 square metres for

energetic visitors. This cluster features a football field with grandstands, a basketball court, a

street workout zone and a specially coated running track. The park also has three sport

facilities, including one for exercise therapy. And there are also six playgrounds here. One of

them features 3D models of chemical elements, including oxygen, uranium and lithium. Three

large extinct animals ‒ the herbivorous Olorotitan duckbilled dinosaur, Elasmotherium, the

Giant Rhinoceros of Siberia, and the carnivorous Eotitanosuchus (Ivantosaurus or "dawn

giant crocodile”), a genus of biarmosuchian therapsid ‒ greet visitors at the main entrance.

Incidentally, the State Darwin Museum is located not far from here. After romping in the park,

children can visit the museum and learn more about dinosaurs.

Dry fountain and free Wi-Fi on Zelenograd’s first square

A territory covering over six hectares has been improved on Yunosti Square in Zelenograd by

popular demand under a comprehensive improvement project. The square’s worn-out asphalt

surface has been removed and replaced with granite pavers of various shapes and colours. A

Soviet-era alley overgrown with trees and shrubs has also been upgraded, and flowerbeds

have been filled with plants. A splash fountain with lamps has become the square’s main

local attraction. The fountain has an area of almost 200 square metres, its water streams

gush from the ground and are illuminated by multi-colour lamps in the evening. In addition,

the square has a leisure/recreation area with sport facilities and playgrounds.

A stage for holding various festive concerts and theatrical performances has been built near

the Elektron cinema. Open-air exhibition facilities are located nearby. There are plans to turn

the square into a skating rink in winter. The upgraded square also features free Wi-Fi and

special outlets for recharging mobile devices. A convenient parking area has been

established on Yunosti Street adjoining the square.

Yunosti Square, the first square of the Zelenograd Administrative Area, was built in 1972

when the city was still part of the Moscow Region. This square became a popular place for

various meetings, concerts and entertainment events. Elektron, the first local cinema, and the

Zelenograd shopping mall, the city’s first, are also located here.

In all, the city is to improve 129 park territories, including 56 new parks, with a total area of

1,656.7 hectares before the year is out. The improvement programme includes 22 city parks,

15 nature territories, 50 neighbourhood parks and 42 landmarks, such as boulevards, public

gardens, and areas with trees and shrubs that are highly popular with local residents and

tourists. In all they will receive 244 sport facilities, 231 playgrounds, 23 stages for holding

mass events and 241 meditation areas. In all, 22,300 trees and 360,000 shrubs will be

planted, 116,000 flowerbeds will be installed, the lawn will be upgraded, paths will be built

and lamps put in place. City residents themselves decide how areas with trees and shrubs

should change. Those voting on the Active Citizen website have chosen numerous concepts

for improving several territories.

Source: mos.ru