Arlington police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)
A day after a carjacking was reported in the Buckingham neighborhood near Ballston, another was reported this morning in the Lyon Village area, north of Clarendon.
This time two — rather than three — suspects took a man’s car along Langston Blvd after he checked to see if the suspects, who were in an idling vehicle nearby, needed assistance. The carjacking happened around 5 a.m., around the same time of day as Wednesday’s carjacking.
From an Arlington County Police Department crime report:
CARJACKING, 2022-04080027, 2600 block of Langston Boulevard. At approximately 5:15 a.m. on April 8, police were dispatched to the report of a grand larceny auto just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined that at approximately 5:00 a.m., the victim was inside his parked vehicle when he observed the suspect vehicle idling in the area. The victim exited his vehicle to see if the driver needed assistance, when the two unknown male suspects exited their vehicle, grabbed the victim and demanded money. The victim refused, during which the suspects rummaged through his pockets, stealing his keys. Suspect One returned to the suspect vehicle, while Suspect Two entered into the victim’s vehicle and both drove away from the area. No injuries were reported.
This is the third reported carjacking in Arlington so far this year. Eight carjackings were reported in 2021, after 16 the year before.
A view of the Long Bridge Park Aquatics & Fitness Center (courtesy of Susan Kalish/Parks Department)
The Long Bridge Aquatics and Fitness Center closed early yesterday (Thursday) due to an electrical emergency.
“At approximately noon on Thursday, the incoming voltage to the building began spiking beyond what was safe for our equipment,” Arlington Department of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Susan Kalish tells ARLnow.
DPR closed the facility so that power could be shut down, and Dominion Energy responded yesterday afternoon to make repairs.
“The spiking stopped and contractors replaced or repaired damaged equipment,” she said. “We are happy to report the community could dive in once again by 8 a.m.”
Typically, the center opens at 5 a.m. on Friday for early risers to get in their morning swims and dives.
Members were notified of the closure “due to emergency maintenance” in an email time-stamped at 12:55 p.m., according to a copy shared with ARLnow.
This is the first reported emergency repair resulting in the temporary closure of the Long Bridge Aquatics and Fitness Center since it opened in August of last year.
The facility will next be closed on Sunday, April 17 for Easter Sunday.
A cherry blossom with a few raindrops (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Two Local Spots on Best Bagel List — Arlington’s homegrown Brooklyn Bagel has ranked No. 4 on a list of the D.C. area’s best bagels, while Bethesda Bagel, which has an outpost in Rosslyn, ranked No. 1. [Washingtonian]
Dems Set School Board Caucus Rules — “The 2022 Arlington County Democratic Committee School Board caucus will be an in-person-only affair with the controversial party-loyalty oath retained, based on rules adopted by the party’s rank-and-file on April 6. Democrats will select their School Board endorsee during four days of voting in June, using the instant-runoff format that has been a familiar feature of Democratic caucuses in recent years.” [Sun Gazette]
Ukrainian Ambassador Lauds Local Donation — From County Board Chair Katie Cristol: “It was profoundly moving to have Ambassador Markarova join us as we send off pallets of emergency protective equipment and kit to Ukraine. With these supplies, we also send our solidarity and commitment to help our sister city and the Ukrainian people however we can.” [Twitter, Twitter]
Preservationists Push Pols for Protection — “The trigger for the discussion was the possibility that the circa-1949 Joyce Motors building in Clarendon could be torn down to make way for new development, even though it was one of just 10 commercial buildings, and just 23 properties overall, that were designated ‘Essential’ (the top tier) in the 2011 HRI. That 2011 document was the culmination of a study of 394 properties – garden apartments, shopping centers and commercial buildings – completed in 2009.” [Sun Gazette]
Va. Senators on Supreme Court Confirmation — From Sen. Mark Warner: “Justice is served! I voted to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson as our next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court because she’s qualified, brilliant, and honest. And for the first time in two centuries, the court will contain the voice of a Black woman.” [Twitter, Twitter]
Arlington 9/11 5K Returns — “The Arlington Police, Fire, Sheriff and ECC 9/11 Memorial 5K is currently planning on having an in-person 20th Anniversary race on September 10, 2022. However, there is a possibility that some restrictions on runner capacity, social distancing measures and mask use may be in place in September due to COVID-19.” [Arlington 9/11 5K]
Fairlington 5K Returns — “After a 2 year pandemic hiatus, the 7th annual Fairlington 5K will take place on Saturday, May 7th. There is a new canine competitor entry this year! Here is the map route. The race will start at 8:30 AM.” [Twitter]
It’s Friday — A sunny morning, followed by a cloudy afternoon and possible rain later. High of 59 and low of 45. Sunrise at 6:43 am and sunset at 7:40 pm. [Weather.gov]
GMU officially breaks ground on $250 million expansion of Arlington campus (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
A rendering of the George Mason University Arlington expansion (photo courtesy of Mason Innovation Partners / EYP)
GMU officially breaks ground on $250 million expansion of Arlington campus (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
A rendering of the interior George Mason University Arlington expansion (photo courtesy of Mason Innovation Partners / EYP)
GMU officially breaks ground on $250 million expansion of Arlington campus (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
George Mason University has ceremonially broke ground on the quarter of a billion dollar expansion of its Arlington campus.
At an event held yesterday (Wednesday), ceremonial shovels picked up ceremonial dirt to mark the beginning of construction of Fuse at Mason Square, a new $235 million building in Virginia Square that will house the university’s new School of Computing.
In fact, work had actually already begun a few months earlier on the 345,000 square foot facility. It’s the main piece of the quarter-billion-dollar expansion of the Arlington campus, which was recently renamed “Mason Square.”
The groundbreaking, which was one of this week’s events celebrating the university’s 50th anniversary, was marked by a litany of speeches, food, and shoveling of dirt.
In attendance were a number of Arlington officials including Board Chair Katie Cristol, County Manager Mark Schwartz, Arlington School Board Chair Barbara Kanninen, Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, and Arlington NAACP President Julius “J.D.” Spain, Sr.
Cristol spoke of her pride that this state-of-the-art facility will have a home in Arlington.
“The vision of Fuse [reminds] me of a term I learned in a laboratory in St. Louis — serendipitous collisions. What an evocative image of the kind of partnerships and encounters that are going to happen here at Fuse at Mason Square,” she said. “Between cutting edge facilities, labs with futuristic devices, and human talent of educators and entrepreneurs as well as this rising generation of creators. The serendipitous collisions that occur on this campus are going to shape our community in ways that we can only imagine today.”
Back in the early 1970s, the late Arlington developer John “Til” Hazel acquired the Virginia Square property that included the former Kann’s Department Store in order to house for GMU’s new law school. The property eventually became a larger graduate school campus, and the former Kann’s building is being replaced with the new computing school.
Hazel died last month at the age of 91. His son James revealed at the ceremony that his dad grew up “not a few blocks away, not down the street. It was right there at [N.] Kenmore [Street] and Wilson Blvd.”
Hazel shared other memories of spending time in this neighborhood before GMU moved in.
“If my mom wanted to take us to get new clothes for school, we came to our grandparents. We parked the car, we came over to Kann’s, got the clothes, and saw the monkey display,” he said, to some laughter. “But best of all, we got pizza from Mario’s Pizza.”
The ceremony was also supposed to include an announcement of a “landmark tenant” at the new building, but that didn’t happen, with GMU officials telling ARLnow that the announcement was delayed.
The $235 million building will house faculty from the Institute for Digital InnovAtion as well as the university’s new School of Computing. Also being planned is an atrium, a 750-seat theater, a public plaza, and a below-grade parking garage.
About 60% of the available space will be occupied by the university, with the remaining 40% aiming to be leased out to tenants and private companies.
Fuse at Mason Square is expected to be completed in the summer of 2025.
Approximate location of carjacking near Ballston (via Google Maps)
A driver was carjacked Wednesday morning in the Buckingham neighborhood, just south of Ballston.
The incident happened just before 6 a.m. on the 4100 block of 4th Street N. and involved three male suspects believed to be between the ages of 20 and 30.
“At approximately 5:50 a.m. on April 6, police were dispatched to the report of a carjacking,” Arlington County police said today in a crime report. “Upon arrival, it was determined the victim was outside his vehicle when the three unknown suspects approached and pushed him aside before entering the vehicle and fleeing the scene.”
It’s the second reported carjacking in Arlington of the year, after the following incident in late February.
CARJACKING, 2022-02270120, Unit block of N. Columbus Street. At approximately 12:35 p.m. on February 27, police were dispatched to the report of a carjacking. Upon arrival, it was determined that the suspect and victim met for the prearranged sale of a vehicle. During a test drive of the vehicle, the suspect brandished a firearm, threatened the victim and demanded his property. The victim was able to exit the vehicle before the suspect fled the scene in the stolen vehicle with the victim’s cell phone and wallet. The victim was not injured.
Also in late February, a vehicle that was carjacked in Maryland was spotted in Pentagon City, leading to a brief pursuit and PIT maneuver by Virginia State Police on I-395.
Arlington is now roughly on the same pace for carjackings as last year. There were eight carjackings in Arlington in 2021, compared to 16 in 2020. The drop was attributed to an increased law enforcement and prosecutorial focus on carjackings, as well as the formation of a regional task force to combat a region-wide increase.
A four-story apartment building proposed for Green Valley (via Arlington County)
A four-story apartment building proposed for Green Valley (via Arlington County)
A four-story apartment building proposed for Green Valley (via Arlington County)
A four-story apartment building proposed for Green Valley (via Arlington County)
The current conditions at 2608 Shirlington Road (via Google Maps)
A four-story apartment building proposed for Green Valley is wending its way through Arlington County review processes.
The project would redevelop a gravel and asphalt parking lot at 2608 Shirlington Road with 27 market-rate units and three affordable ones atop ground-floor retail and a 38-space parking garage built into the hillside. Tenants will have access to a rooftop deck and pool.
Currently, the property is surrounded by warehouses, low-rise townhouses, a barbershop and a funeral home.
The property owner, Shirlington Investments, is seeking to buy a sliver of land from Arlington County to expand the property lines slightly. Approvals for that purchase are concurrent to the proposed development review process.
The property falls within the Green Valley Village Center Revitalization District and is subject to different standards for urban design, building heights, affordable housing and streetscape, county planner Kevin Lam said during a recent Site Plan Review Committee meeting.
“The Green Valley Village Center Action Plan outlines a vision for revitalizing the Green Valley community by encouraging mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly development centered around the John Robinson, Jr. Town Square,” he said.
This project would be a quarter-mile from the town square, which is slated to wrap up at the end of this month, according to a project webpage.
Describing high ceilings, tall windows and the contrasting light and dark brick façades, project architect Lisa Clark said her firm has “tried to design this project to reinforce the industrial-arts focused vision laid out in the Four Mile Run Area Plan.”
Green Valley Civic Association Vice-President Robin Stombler says the association is “enthusiastic” about this project.
“We think it fits very well with our plan for the community and we do encourage its approval,” she said. “We do want to state publicly the applicant has been communicative, accessible and has addressed issues we have raised over time. For all those reasons we do welcome them to Green Valley and hope their project is approved.”
Unlike typical development projects going up in Arlington, this one is being processed as a use permit through a special process called a Unified Commercial Mixed-Use Development (UCMUD).
Such projects are reviewed according to standards that emphasize predictability, architectural style and streetscape design, similar to the form-based code projects approved along Columbia Pike, Lam said. Another example of a UCMUD in Green Valley is The Shelton apartment building, built in 2009.
The pedestrian bridge over Wilson Blvd in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Police Looking for Missing Teen — “ACPD is seeking assistance locating 15-year-old Alejandro… Described as a Hispanic male, 5’8″ tall, 145 lbs with brown eyes and half yellow/half black curly hair. He has ear piercings, a nose piercing and wears a silver dog chain necklace.” [Twitter]
Another Missing Teen — “ACPD is seeking assistance locating 14-year-old Anderson… He is described as a Hispanic male, approx 5’7 tall and 130 lbs. Last seen wearing a black sweat shirt, gray pants and black sneakers. He is known to frequent Rocky Run Park and CVS (2121 15th St N).” [Twitter]
W-L Name Change Attorney Disbarred — “A Virginia state court has disbarred Jonathon Moseley, an attorney who has represented a slew of high-profile Jan. 6 defendants, including a member of the Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy, as well as several targets of the House select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol.” Moseley also represented opponents of changing the name of Arlington’s Washington-Lee High School to Washington-Liberty. [Politico, ARLnow Comment]
Another Drug Take-Back Day Planned — “On Saturday, April 30, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will provide the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. This disposal service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.” [ACPD]
Fmr. APS Superintendent Leaving WV Job — “Among 75 personnel transactions during Monday night’s Berkeley County Board of Education meeting, district Superintendent Dr. Patrick K. Murphy announced his retirement, which was unanimously accepted by the board along with the other movements.” [The Journal]
Historic Home Reopens — “The Ball-Sellers House, one of the few surviving examples of working-class 18th-century housing in Northern Virginia, reopened for the 2022 season on April 2. Owned and maintained since the 1970s by the Arlington Historical Society, the house will host a number of programs in 2022.” [Sun Gazette]
Nearby: MoCo Wrangles Over Housing — “In the D.C. region, where local governments are struggling to address a severe housing shortage that is driving up prices, elected officials are under growing pressure to push back against civically engaged homeowners who mobilize against new housing construction. Montgomery County, an affluent D.C. suburb that has experienced transformative growth and demographic change in the last 30 years, exemplifies how hard that can be.” [DCist]
It’s Thursday — Rain throughout the day, until evening. High of 56 and low of 48. Sunrise at 6:45 am and sunset at 7:39 pm. [Weather.gov]
A detached garage across from the East Falls Church Metro station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Properties around the East Falls Church Metro station, with the garage highlighted (via Arlington County)
The East Falls Church Metro station and surrounding area (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The East Falls Church Metro station and surrounding area (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The East Falls Church Metro station and surrounding area (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A detached garage stands just across the street from the East Falls Church Metro station and a stone’s throw from an I-66 entrance and the Washington & Old Dominion Trail.
Elsewhere in the county, developers would be champing at the bit to turn this transit-accessible carport into an apartment building with ground-floor retail.
Instead, the garage prevails as just one example of prime real estate near the station that could support the walkable development some residents and county leaders have envisioned there, but which has yet to materialize. (The garage is on a parcel zoned only for single-family homes, preventing such development.)
Arlington has encouraged transit-oriented growth along other Metro corridors and is even seeing it along Columbia Pike, where affordable prices and the form-based code are driving and guiding significant redevelopment, connected by bus but not by rail — and only sporadically by trail.
The lingering presence of the garage — and the continued teardowns of older homes to make way for larger single-family homes, just a block or two from the station — encapsulates how little the East Falls Church Metro-area landscape has changed, despite a plan approved in 2011 to guide future development, the opening of the Silver Line to Tysons and Reston, and the billions invested in the Metrorail system each year.
There is little evidence here of the transit-oriented development, known as “smart growth,” that has borne fruit elsewhere in Arlington, save perhaps a single block of N. Westmoreland Street featuring newer apartment buildings and some hip restaurants, a bookstore and a barre studio. (The block is located between a self-storage facility and a quiet neighborhood of single-family homes, which stands between it and the Metro station.)
After a decade of being focused on other pursuits near the station, like a $2 million bike facility and bus bay expansions, Arlington County and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority are taking a second look at the 2011 plan and how it could be updated to encourage transportation and public space improvements.
This work is happening as the county wades deeper into an effort to plan future development along Langston Blvd, which runs right by the station.
“There’s got to be an incentive for there to be redevelopment and improvements to the corridor,” says Natasha Alfonso, a county planner. “We’re going to be relying on the private sector to achieve improvements to this corridor… There’s just a lot and the county doesn’t have money to pay for all that.”
Hurdles to redevelopment
Currently, there are a host of obstacles to transit-oriented development near the station, according to WMATA spokesman Ian Jannetta.
One of the chief reasons he cited is residential zoning.
The plan approved by the Arlington County Board in 2011 only identified two single-family homes — across the street from the “Kiss and Ride” lot — as slated for potential redevelopment, and emphasized that any such efforts would have to be balanced with “preserving and protecting the nearby existing single-family residential areas.”
Still, it faced strong opposition from some community members who said it encouraged too much development.
Two homes across the street from a Metro station parking lot, possibly slated for redevelopment in East Falls Church (via Google Maps)
The final report recommended building heights of three to nine stories tall, with shorter buildings easing the transition to existing residences from taller buildings near I-66 and other locations “where they will have a minimal impact on surrounding single-family areas.” (more…)
Metroway buses for the Crystal City-Potomac Yard Transitway (Photo via Arlington County)
Transitway bus stop at 33rd Street S. and Crystal Drive (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
A Metroway bus (Staff photo)
A Metroway bus at the Transitway bus stop at 27th Street S. and Crystal Drive (staff photo by Matt Blitz
Work is kicking off this week on an extension to the Crystal City-Potomac Yard transitway.
The project will eventually extend a dedicated corridor for rapid bus transit to Amazon’s HQ2 and the Pentagon City Metro station. Construction is now getting underway on the first segment of the extension.
The work will include the installation of two new transit stations at Crystal Drive and 15th Street S. and 12th Street S. and Long Bridge Drive, as well as street improvements along 12th Street S. stretching from Crystal City to Pentagon City.
Construction is expected to take a year, according to the county, and should be completed in April 2023.
The Transitway extension to Pentagon City will add more than a mile to the existing 4.5 mile corridor, including center-running transit-only lanes cutting through 12th Street.
The two new transit stations that will be built over the next year are among four others that are scheduled for construction. The stations will be similar in appearance to the existing Transitway stations on Crystal Drive and Clark Street.
New transit stations that are set to be constructed during the first segment of the Transitway to Pentagon City extension (image courtesy of Arlington County)
Impact on commuters is supposed to be minimal, with work taking place Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Portions of the northbound curbside lane along Crystal Drive, between 12th Street S. and 15th Street S. and up to Long Bridge Drive, will be inaccessible due to it being used as a construction staging area.
Existing street parking on that side of Crystal Drive will eventually become a transit-only lane, though the county has not given an exact timetable for when that might happen.
The street improvements will focus on the stretch of 12th Street S. from S. Eads Street to S. Clark Street in Crystal City and the intersection of 12th Street S. at Crystal Drive.
The work will include sidewalks, streetlights, pedestrian ramps, and new crosswalks at Army Navy Drive. There will also be a two-way bicycle facility under the Route 1 overpass, the first step in linking a planned bike track extending from Army Navy Drive to a multi-use path along S. Bell Street that will eventually go to the Crystal City Metro station. The design phase for that is nearly complete, with construction coming potentially this year.
The Transitway is the dedicated infrastructure for the Metroway rapid bus transit line that debuted in 2014. It was the first of its kind in the region and hailed as a public transportation achievement.
The transit line was designed to provide covered stations, more frequent service and newer buses, driving along a route connecting Arlington and Alexandria. The $42 million price tag was split evenly between Arlington and Alexandria.
While intended to boost bus ridership and provide accessibility to neighborhoods that are rapidly developing, the line has achieved only some of those goals and has been plagued by lack of riders. Additionally, planned features like off-board fare collection have not yet been implemented, and confused motorists sometimes drive the wrong way in the bus-only lanes.
Late last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the administering of second booster shots for those who are 50 years of age and older, immunocompromised, or who received a single shot and booster of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Two days later, on March 30, county vaccine clinics began allowing those residents to schedule appointments as well as accommodating walk-ins to get their second booster shots. This change was first announced in the county’s COVID-19 update newsletter sent that day, though some might have missed the news.
“I was unaware of this until I dropped by Walter Reed for pickleball this morning and saw the line of folks waiting for their booster,” one Arlington resident told ARLnow yesterday.
The county currently has two clinics open for vaccines. Arlington Mill Community Center and Walter Reed Community Center are both providing booster shots Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Walk-ins and appointments for residents 5 to 11 years old are only offered 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
The clinics are closed Sunday and Monday.
As of yesterday (Tuesday) evening, appointments were generally available for this week. Additionally, local pharmacies are offering boosters and availability can be found on vaccine.gov. Last month, locals started getting calls and texts from the Virginia Dept. of Health to remind them to get their first booster shots.
Need a #COVID19 vaccine or #booster? Our clinics at Arlington Mill and Walter Reed Community Centers accept walk-ins!
We're open to anyone age 5+. No County residence, health insurance or appointment required.
Evidence continues to mount that the effects of the vaccine wane over time and booster shots provide additional protection from Covid infection and serious illness, including hospitalization and death.
However, some scientists remain skeptical about the need for a second booster shot at this time — a fourth shot overall, for some — due to a lack of data. The main data point is an Israeli study that found those who received a second booster were 78% less likely to die from Covid than those who only got three shots. But the study was considered by some to be somewhat flawed.
A total of 177,000 Arlingtonians, or 78% of the county’s population, five years or older are considered “fully vaccinated,” according to the latest county data. However, the number of those who have gotten their first booster shot is lower.
Nearly 97,000 residents, or about 41.5% of the total population, have gotten at least their first booster shot, according to Virginia Dept. of Health statistics. That does exceed nationwide stats, however, with only about 30% of the American population having gotten their booster, according to the New York Times.
Kids under the age of five are still not eligible to get a Covid vaccine, much to the worry of some parents. But that could be changing soon with Moderna likely asking the FDA “in the coming weeks” to authorize its vaccine for kids six years and younger.
Covid cases in Arlington, meanwhile, are slowly rising but still well below this winter’s record levels. The county’s seven-day moving average of daily cases is now 70, up from a seasonal low of 24 one month ago, according to VDH data.
Arlington’s Covid “Community Level” is still considered low, with only 1.2 weekly hospital admissions per 100,000 residents, according to the CDC.
Covid cases in Arlington on 4/6/22 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)
The bus stop without a pedestrian crossing at N. Carlin Springs Road and N. Greenbrier Street (via Google Maps)
The bus stop without a pedestrian crossing at N. Carlin Springs Road and 2nd Street N. (via Google Maps)
A stretch of N. Carlin Springs Road residents say needs pedestrian safety upgrades (via Bluemont Civic Association)
After a year of work surveying residents, two civic associations are going to the county with a request: to make a stretch of N. Carlin Springs Road safer for pedestrians.
Drivers routinely go 40 mph on the 30 mph road, which is used by kids walking to Kenmore Middle School, says Christopher George, who spearheaded the community initiative. People have to cross four lanes of traffic without marked crossings to get to two heavily used bus stations, which lack ramps to make them accessible to people with disabilities.
“It’s very dangerous for people who take the bus to cross the street,” he tells ARLnow. “Kenmore students are pretty much told not to cross the street because it’s so dangerous.”
Members of the Bluemont Civic Association (BCA) and the Arlington Forest Citizens Association (AFCA) want slower speeds, safer crossings and greater enforcement of speeding and street crossing laws on N. Carlin Springs Road between N. Edison Street and N. Kensington Street.
Their asks come after more than a year spent surveying neighborhoods, conducting site walks and drafting a report.
Residents say they want to see:
Marked crossings accessible to people with disabilities
Medians with pedestrian refuges, curb extensions and streetscaping at the intersections of 2nd Street N./N. Jefferson Street and at N. Greenbrier Street
A speed limit on N. Carlin Springs Road of 25 mph, not 30 mph
Members sent a joint resolution to the County Board and County Manager Mark Schwartz requesting that they pilot these changes before fully implementing them.
They said these changes could qualify as upgrades for the county’s annual repaving efforts, its Vision Zero program to reduce pedestrian deaths and serious injuries or the county’s Neighborhood Conservation program, designed to let residents identify and plan projects in their neighborhoods.
The two intersections mentioned by the association members are “in the queue to look into for evaluation,” says Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Claudia Pors.
And a lower speed limit could be coming to the street. This year, DES is studying 30 mph roads – including N. Carlin Springs Road – to determine which “could be a good fit for either a speed limit reduction or other measures such as signage,” she said.
DES expects the study will be done before the end of the year.
The two neighborhoods have worked together before to seek funding for pedestrian safety improvements on N. Carlin Springs Road, George said.
Arlington recently made intersection safety upgrades on N. Carlin Springs at N. Edison and N. Wakefield streets that included curb extensions, rapid flashing beacons, accessibility improvements, widened medians and other improvements, Pors said.
