2 Name Choices Revealed For Commonwealth Avenue Park

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Two names are the finalists for a park at 3550 Commonwealth Avenue in Alexandria. A survey is open for residents to vote for their preferred name choice.

The two names are Unity Park and Shirley Tyler Park. Unity Park refers to the fact that the several neighborhoods surround the park, allowing it to serve as a place of connection. Shirley Tyler Park would be named after Mrs. Shirley Tyler, an Arlandria resident who was appointed to the Alexandria School Board in 1973 and became the first African American female chair of the school board from 1980 to 1982. She was a second and third grade teacher at Grace Episcopal School from 1969 to 1979 and was headmistress from 1975 to her retirement in 1989.

The park is a 0.58 acre site at the intersection of Commonwealth and Reed Avenues. The site used to be a substation before the city purchased it in 2009 and required the substation to be demolished. At first, it was a volunteer effort with donated plants, two gardens, a walking path, trees and park benches added by volunteers. The city later surveyed the community about what kind of improvements they wanted and made a park improvement plan before renovations.

The park naming survey is open through March 3. It comes after Alexandria City Council adopted a naming policy in 2019 aimed at creating consistency with naming public parks, recreation areas and facilities. The policy states:

If a community group or individual is interested in submitting a name recommendation, they may send a letter to the Director of the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities either by mail or e-mail. The submission must include the justification for the proposed name, including how the name meets the criteria in the policy, at least one letter of recommendation from representatives in the community, such as a community organization (HOA/Civic Association), and an explanation of any additional information on a community outreach process.