Author: James Cullum

Arlington is Upgrading its Website and Wants Public Feedback

By James Cullum

Seven years since its last major refresh, Arlington County is planning upgrades to its website.

To prepare, the county is seeking feedback on the current website and potential changes. The public has until Jan. 8 to provide comments on what needs improvement.

County spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel tells ARLnow that Arlington is in the process of migrating a large portion of the public website to a new content management system and that the project will be finished some time next year.

“The project will enhance website stability, security, and performance while also providing a light refresh to help us better serve our digital audience,” McDaniel said.

The survey, which takes minutes to complete, asks how often respondents have visited the site over the past year, how it can be improved and whether it’s easy to navigate.

Arlington’s website first launched in the 1990s and was most recently upgraded in 2013. In October the site suffered a lengthy outage; since then at least one additional outage has occurred.

Screenshot via Arlington County

Crystal City Staple Americana Hotel is Permanently Closed

By James Cullum

After nearly 50 years in business, the Americana Hotel in Crystal City permanently closed this month.

The hotel at 1400 Richmond Highway opened in 1963, and was one of the first hotels in Crystal City. As the area became a major employment hub, its retro sign remained visible to all driving past on Route 1. It was even featured in a Russell Crowe movie.

A staff member tells ARLnow that the hotel closed earlier this month partly due to negative effects on the travel industry from COVID-19. The staffer could not comment on future plans.

The hotel has gone through a room-by-room renovation over the last several years, and in 2018 its general manager told the Washington Business Journal that it had just enjoyed its best year to date, despite an uncertain future.

The hotel is situated on an acre of land across the street from the future home of Amazon’s HQ2.

As of Monday afternoon, the hotel’s website is down and social media pages have not been recently updated.

https://twitter.com/CartChaos22202/status/1337511435623157771

Hat tip to @cartchaos22202. Photo via Google Maps.

Arlington Asks Richmond for Authority to Install Speed Cameras and Lower Speed Limits

By James Cullum

Arlington wants to deploys speed cameras and to lower speed limits in residential and business districts below 25 miles per hour.

Those are among a list of state legislative priorities the Arlington County Board unanimously approved on Saturday before the upcoming session of the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond.

Board member Christian Dorsey said at Saturday’s meeting that speed cameras allow for equitable law enforcement while reducing public interaction with the police.

“We want to reduce the amount of times that potential conflicts can turn into something that’s unintended,” Dorsey said.

“Automated ticket enforcement has the potential to improve safety… and further advance equitable outcomes by reducing or eliminating race-based disparities in speed enforcement,” the county said its legislative priority list.

Board Chair Libby Garvey said Arlington also needs discretion on reducing the speed limit in residential and business areas.

“There’s just so much in this state that we find we have responsibility for things and we don’t have the authority to actually do what we need to do sometimes, so this is just a never-ending stream of things that we’re trying to correct and get control over that we ought to have control over,” Garvey said.

Pat Carroll, Arlington’s liaison to Richmond, told the Board that recent leadership changes within the legislature “noticeably helped the fate of Arlington’s legislative priorities.”

Other approved priorities include:

  • “More state funding for localities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic”
  • “Seeking full funding for K-12 education, including ensuring state funding for Arlington Public Schools reflects pre-pandemic levels”
  • “Protecting existing Northern Virginia Transportation authority revenues”
  • “Allowing individual retail customers to buy 100 percent renewable electricity from any licensed competitive supplier of electric energy”
  • “Supporting legislation to provide greater incentives for tree canopy preservation and planting”
  • “Enacting authority for a local option to develop incentives or regulations to decrease or regulate the distribution and sale of polystyrene food-service containers”
  • “Permit localities and public bodies to set their own rules regarding ‘virtual’ [meeting] participation“

Arlington’s full list of legislative priorities is below the jump.

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DoD to Track Local Helicopter Noise Complaints in Defense Bill Poised for Senate Passage

By James Cullum

Complaints over helicopter noise in Arlington are likely to soon be better tracked by the federal government.

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a veto-proof version of the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act, and it includes a provision directing the Secretary of Defense to “develop a process to receive, track, and analyze complaints of military rotary wing aircraft noise in the National Capital Region that are registered on the noise inquiry websites of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Dulles International Airport.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says that the NDAA will be approved before the end of the year, while questions remain if President Trump will attempt to veto it.

Congressman Don Beyer tweeted that the addition of the language to the NDAA and its passage is a win for the region. Helicopter noise has long been a topic that he’s worked on, and over the summer Beyer wrote in an email to ALXnow that his office consistently receives a high volume of helicopter noise complaints.

“We get calls about airplanes on approach and departure to and from DCA, and increasingly about military helicopters across the region, many of which fly in and out of Fort Belvoir,” Beyer wrote. “I had a town hall on the issue a few years ago in Fairlington, which has been particularly affected, and it was clear that people wanted ways to track and report noise complaints, and to have a forum for ongoing discussion about ways to mitigate that noise which would include input from the local community.”

Beyer recently joined a number of D.C.-area lawmakers in asking for the Defense Department to study helicopter noise in the area.

The noise issue has been a growing concern for years. Last year, the U.S. Army revealed one reason for some extra noise: it was conducting a secret operation that required the use of Blackhawk helicopters.

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

Arlington Prepares for First Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine

By James Cullum

Arlington could have the COVID-19 vaccine as early as the end of this month, but the first shipment of doses won’t be available to the general public.

Nearly a half million healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents across Virginia at risk of being infected will get the first doses from the Virginia Department of Health, and it is not yet known when the rest of the public will get the vaccine.

Arlington’s Public Health Director Dr. Reuben Varghese told the County Board on Tuesday that there is still a lot of unknown information regarding the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines that are undergoing Food and Drug Administration approval. He said that the number of vaccine doses that will arrive in Virginia (estimated at 480,000) is a moving target, that both vaccines require recipients to get booster shots within a month, and the effect on children and pregnant women is still unknown.

“The plan is that those health care personnel that directly care for COVID-19 patients, or are in support of that will receive top priority first,” Varghese said. “VDH is working with the Virginia Hospital and Health Care Association to prepare the health systems that have the ultra cold chain storage ability to receive these first shipments, because it has to be done safely and you don’t want to go through the expense of creating all of this, and then not maintain the vaccine at the appropriate temperature.”

On Saturday, the County Board will consider accepting $660,000 in state grants to prepare for mass vaccine distribution. The funds would pay for the hiring of temporary medical and non-medical staff, and cover travel costs, facility rentals and clinic operations, according to Arlington Public Health.

The vaccine will eventually be available at grocery stores, as well as chain and independent pharmacies, according to the VDH COVID-19 Vaccination Plan.

Mass vaccine distribution will not necessarily mean that COVID restrictions will be quickly lifted in Arlington, however.

“The fact that we are going to enter a period where vaccination will be available doesn’t mean in any way that all the other precautions for COVID hygiene are going to be relaxed,” County Board member Takis Karantonis said.

There have been 7,062 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Arlington since the pandemic began in March, along with 162 deaths and more than 600 total hospitalizations.

Below is Tuesday’s County Board work session discussing vaccination plans.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

County Board Considering Major Stormwater Project at Reed School Site in Westover

By James Cullum

(Updated at 2:30 p.m.) A project that could help the Westover area with its flooding problem is on the Arlington County Board agenda this weekend.

The Board on Saturday is slated to consider an agreement with Arlington Public Schools to build a stormwater detention vault under the athletic fields of the Reed Elementary School site in Westover.

The project is part of the county’s Flood Resilient Arlington stormwater strategy, which was created in response to significant floods that affected the Westover neighborhood in July 2019. The project is not expected to impact the planned opening of the new school, at 1644 N. McKinley Road, in August 2021.

County Board Chair Libby Garvey said that the project maximizes public land for the benefit of the community.

“The Westover Commercial District is a vital component of the economic, cultural and social core of the neighborhood, and it has suffered repeated flooding losses from increasingly volatile storms,” Garvey said in a statement. “This type of investment is part of a larger effort to achieve a Flood Resilient Arlington in a time of climate change.  It will help prevent further devastation and enhance public safety when major rain events occur.”

The school is located in the Torreyson Run watershed, which is one of five Arlington watersheds singled out for improvements.

The project includes designing and building a large underground vault that will “form a cornerstone to a watershed-scale solution in the Torreyson Run watershed,” according to Arlington County.

The work will be broken up into two phases.

“Phase 1 of the project consists of new underground pipe and junction fixtures and is funded by the County and will cost $1.54M,” the county said in a press release. “Phase 2 includes the stormwater detention structure itself and is still under design. Both phase 1 and phase 2 are specifically being designed and scheduled to not impact school opening or operations.”

“The preliminary cost estimate for both phases is between $14.1M – $16.0M for design and construction,” the press release adds. “The length of construction will be determined during the design process.”

Arlington voters approved a $50.4 million stormwater bond last month, which will be used to pay for the second phase.

APS Superintendent Francisco Durán told Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz in a letter that time is of the essence in approving the agreement to reimburse APS for the project upon completion.

“In order for the work of Phase 1 to be completed in time for the school to open as scheduled, this funding agreement is required promptly,” Durán wrote. “Our APS team, APS consultants and County staff have been working diligently to find the best way to achieve the County’s stormwater storage goals and open the new school on schedule.”

The County is working with APS on a Memorandum of Agreement for the school system’s construction contractor, and plans a public engagement effort with impacted communities about the design of the vault early next year.

Image via APS

Farmbird Eyes Spring Opening at Former ‘Dirt’ Restaurant in Ballston

By James Cullum

D.C.-based grilled chicken eatery Farmbird has announced plans to open its newest location in Arlington this spring.

The restaurant — which prides itself on menu items featuring farm-raised, vegetable-fed chicken — will take over the space at Ballston Exchange (4121 Wilson Blvd) vacated in January by Miami-based Dirt restaurant.

Farmbird first opened at 625 H Street NE in D.C. in June 2017, and late last year announced plans to open a second location at Penn Quarter in the District. The company was founded in 2015 and first operated as a catering business for a year at D.C.’s Union Market.

“Farmbird has seen great success at its location on H Street and is ready to bring flavorful food with sustainable origins to Arlington where Ballston Exchange has reimagined the area’s streetscape,” the company wrote in an email to ARLnow. “All of the foods served, from salads and sandwiches to Farmbird’s signature grilled chicken plates and roasted vegetable sides, are prepared from scratch with fresh ingredients every day.”

Neighboring businesses in Ballston Exchange — which is across the street from Ballston Quarter mall — include Philz Coffee, CAVA, and the yet-to-open Hawkers Asian Street Fare.

Miracle on 23rd Street Holiday Event Goes Virtual Tonight

By James Cullum

Even though the Christmas tree lighting, Santa Claus’ arrival, face painting and hot cocoa can’t be enjoyed in person this year, the Miracle on 23rd Street holiday tradition is still happening.

The event has been hosted at 750 23rd Street S. in Crystal City for more than 50 years, in front of what is now Melwood, the employment and job training nonprofit for people of differing abilities.

This year, however, families are being asked to stay home to virtually watch the lighting of the Christmas tree at 6:45 p.m. tonight (Friday). They can enhance the experience with a $10 “Miracle on 23rd Street In A Box” kit for kids.

“The box includes supplies to decorate cookies, make a wreath and reindeer food,” the organization said. “It can be picked up in a contactless process (after registering with Melwood), and kids can follow along with activities with special guests on its Facebook page.”

Santa Claus is still making a drive-by appearance, too, and will be escorted by the Arlington auxiliary police and firefighters from Fire Station 5.

“If you live near 23rd St. and S. Grant Ave in Arlington, you can expect to see Santa in your neighborhood between 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.,” Melwood said.

Locals are being discouraged from trying to view the tree-lighting in person, however.

“While we won’t be able to come together in person for this time-honored tradition, Melwood will keep the Miracle tradition alive in a new way,” the organization said. “In compliance with Arlington County COVID-19 guidelines, Melwood is actively discouraging our neighbors from gathering near the campus for the tree lighting. We look forward to next year when we will be able to come together to continue this holiday tradition.”

Images via Melwood

Metroway is on the Chopping Block as WMATA Eyes Bus Cuts in Budget Proposal

By James Cullum

(Updated at noon) Metro’s “barebones” Fiscal Year 2022 budget proposal threatens to eliminate service on a number of bus lines running through Arlington.

Among the proposed cuts is the Metroway route between Pentagon City and the Braddock Road Metro stations.

Arlington and Alexandria have spent millions building the Crystal City/Potomac Yard Transitway that the Metroway line serves, with more than a dozen stops, primarily in the Crystal City and Potomac Yard area. An $27.7 million expansion of the Transitway to Pentagon City is in the works and set for construction.

The revenue-starved Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority shut Metroway down at the beginning of the pandemic in March, and has since experienced a system-wide 90% decline in ridership. The budget, as proposed, would extend the closure at least to mid-2022.

With Amazon’s choice of National Landing for its HQ2 headquarters in Pentagon City and Virginia Tech’s new Innovation Campus to be situated next door in Alexandria, the budget moves have caused concern for many, including Tracy Sayegh Gabriel, president and executive director of the National Landing Business Improvement District.

“Transit access is at the center of National Landing’s vibrant future and is a critical component of keeping our community competitive, equitable and sustainable,” Gabriel told ARLnow. “Public transit is more essential today than ever before as it enables our region’s frontline workers to access their jobs and continue serving the community during the pandemic. As the backbone of our transportation network and the most efficient means of reaching our commercial centers, our economic recovery will similarly depend on the continued funding, reliability and effectiveness of WMATA.”

Metro, which has sought a second injection of federal relief funding since May, is also proposing to shutter 19 Metrorail stations — including Arlington Cemetery, Clarendon, East Falls Church and Virginia Square — as well as eliminate weekend rail service and reduce weekday hours to 5 a.m.-9 p.m.

Metro is proposing the elimination of the following bus lines in Arlington and Alexandria:

  • 4A and 4B from Pershing Avenue to the Pentagon
  • 7F and 7Y from Lincolnia to North Fairlington
  • 10A from Alexandria to the Pentagon
  • 16A, 16E, 16G and 16H on Columbia Pike
  • 22A, 22F from Barcroft to South Fairlington
  • 25B from Landmark to Ballston
  • 38B from Ballston to Farragut Square
  • 7M from Mark Center to the Pentagon

Other lines are set for reductions or modifications in service.

In neighboring Alexandria, Mayor Justin Wilson said the changes would harm those who most rely on Metro service.

“My hope is that the federal government enacts new COVID-relief legislation that provides support to transit agencies and local and state governments so that we do not need to inflict these cuts on transit and city services,” Wilson said. “If that doesn’t happen, this will very detrimental to our community. Many of our residents rely on these transit services to get to places of work, healthcare services and essential trips. It has taken generations to develop our transit system and dismantling it will be tragic.”

On Tuesday night, members of Metro’s Rider Advisory Council (RAC) said that the bus cuts were “dramatic” and “draconian.”

“I’m just really sad and scared about this,” RAC Member Rebekah Mason said. “It just seems really highly prejudicial and really not a way to treat riders who have jobs, other than white collar jobs.”

Doris Ray, a member of the WMATA Accessibility Advisory Committee, wants the agency to instead enhance bus service in light of potential rail cuts.

“I am concerned as many in the community about the ability of people who do not drive, particularly essential workers, but for everyone who doesn’t drive and rely on transit to be able to get around,” Ray said.

Photo via Donna Gouse

Arlington Wants Public Feedback for the New Forestry and Natural Resources Plan

By James Cullum

That’s one of the questions Arlington’s Department of Parks and Recreation is asking as it begins a two year-long process to update its Forestry and Natural Resources Plan (FNRP). The new plan will include “a variety of long-term goals, strategies and priorities that address tree canopy in a comprehensive, systematic manner,” according to the project website.

The public is now being asked to weigh in on how to improve nature, tree canopy and natural areas within the 16,500 acres of a county that, as of 2017, has a tree canopy of 41%. That’s the same percentage as when the FNRP’s predecessor, the 2004 Urban Forest Master Plan, was approved.

The visioning and information gathering process for the FNRP began in November and will continue through next February with yet-to-be-scheduled community and focus group meetings. A draft plan will be drawn up for public review by September 2021, and, after another period of public engagement the final draft plan is scheduled to come out in February 2022,  with County Board approval set for May 2022.

The FNRP is part of the Public Spaces Master Plan (which is a component of the County’s Comprehensive Plan) and will “serve as the guiding document for Arlington County’s management practices related to trees, plants, wildlife and more,” according to the project website. “This plan will cover topics regarding impacts and opportunities related to Arlington’s tree canopy, natural lands, urban development, wildlife, recreation, public education and stewardship among others.”

Questions to the public include:

  • How frequently do you visit Arlington’s natural areas (e.g., forests/ woods, meadows, streams, etc.)?
  • What are your favorite types of natural areas to visit?
  • What do you think are the best ways to conserve and expand Arlington’s natural resources?
  • If you could snap your fingers, what would be your one wish to improve nature in Arlington?
  • What do you think is the biggest threat to the future of Arlington’s natural resources and tree canopy?
  • What would you hope Arlington’s natural resources and tree canopy look like in 30 years?
  • What areas of opportunity are there to EXPAND Arlington’s tree canopy?

The county produced a video, below, to promote the update to the plan and the accompanying public survey.

Arlington’s Tree Canopy Fund is Giving Away Free Trees

By James Cullum

If you’ve ever dreamed of filling an empty space with a towering scarlet oak tree in your neighborhood, at your place of worship or in your yard, now’s your chance to get it delivered and planted for free through EcoAction Arlington‘s Tree Canopy Fund.

The application deadline for free trees to be planted on private property is Friday, January 8. There are 11 tree varieties available for individuals, nonprofits, civic and homeowner associations and a number of other groups.

“The Tree Canopy Fund is limited to property owners planting trees on private property,” according to EcoAction Arlington. “We can’t accept applications for planting on school property, parks, or other property maintained by Arlington County or Arlington Public Schools.”

Available trees include American beech, tulip, white oak, willow oak, red oak and bald cypress.

Separate applications must be made for anyone wanting more than one tree, and successful applicants will need to send in a picture of where they want their young tree planted. When it arrives, it should be about two inches wide and up to seven feet tall. Some of the trees will grow upward of 50 feet, like the white oak, which can stretch to 80 feet at full maturity.

The effort is intended to increase Arlington’s tree canopy, which stands at 41%, as of 2017. The Tree Canopy Fund was founded in 2009, and since then more than 1,200 trees have been planted.

Here’s the application and planting schedule:

  • Fri., Jan. 8, 2021: Deadline to submit an application
  • Mid-to-late Feb. 2021: Applicants will be notified of final decision
  • March/April 2021: EcoAction Arlington will contact applicants with an estimated planting date. Trees will be planted by the end of April.

Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler

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