Police say the man was stopped by an off-duty military police officer when he tried to walk into the gym without a membership Friday afternoon. A physical altercation ensued, during which the 28-year-old suspect allegedly tried to take the officer’s gun.
An Arlington County officer joined the fray and the intoxicated suspect also tried to disarm her, according to a police department crime report. She urgently called for backup, which arrived quickly and helped to take the suspect into custody.
More from ACPD:
ASSAULT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2021-12170145, 1300 block of S. Joyce Street. At approximately 3:05 p.m. on December 17, police were dispatched to the report of a fight in progress inside a business. Upon arrival, officers made contact with the two male subjects and determined that one of the subjects was an off-duty military police officer who was attempting to detain the suspect. The suspect disregarded the commands of the arriving officer and moved further into the business. As the officers were attempting to take him into custody, he continued to disregard their commands, act disorderly and resist arrest. A brief struggle ensued, during which the suspect grabbed at an officer’s exterior vest and attempted to disarm her. With the assistance of additional officers, the suspect was taken into custody without further incident. The suspect was treated by medics and medically cleared on scene. The investigation determined that the suspect allegedly entered into the business where he did not have a membership and became involved in a physical altercation with the off-duty military police officer, during which he attempted to remove his credentials and disarm him. [The suspect], 28, of Springfield, Va., was arrested and charged with Assault & Battery on Police, Attempting to Disarm a Law Enforcement Officer (x2), Obstruction of Justice, Trespassing and Public Intoxication. He was held without bond.
Ballston Quarter’s outdoor Christmas tree (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Shot Fired in Buckingham — “At approximately 3:04 p.m., police were dispatched to the report of shots heard in the 4200 block of 2nd Road N. Upon arrival, it was determined that the male victim exited an apartment, encountered the two suspects in the hallway and confronted them. A physical altercation ensued, and one suspect produced a firearm. During the struggle, a shot was fired, causing damage to the door of an apartment. The suspects then fled the scene. Responding officers recovered the firearm.” [ACPD]
Driver Strikes Child in Falls Church — “At approximately 4:15 p.m., Falls Church Police and Arlington County Fire and Medical units were dispatched for a report of vehicular crash with injuries involving a pedestrian, approximately 3 to 4 years old. The victim was taken to Fairfax Hospital and is currently listed in critical condition. The driver of the striking vehicle remained on scene. The preliminary investigation is still underway with no additional details at this time.” [City of Falls Church, Twitter]
Huge Covid Testing Line Monday Evening — “The Court House Curative kiosk COVID-19 testing line is probably 100+ people long right now.” [Twitter, Twitter]
Fairlington Fire Station’s Future in Flux — “The Arlington government three years ago closed Fire Station #7 over concerns about the structural integrity of its flooring. It has since been determined that it would be too costly to upgrade the facility to resume its original function, but competing planning priorities coupled with the COVID crisis have left the building’s future unclear. A community process to determine the future of Fairlington’s 1940s-era, one-bay fire station has been on hold during the COVID crisis, but may be tackled in early 2022.” [Sun Gazette]
Fire Departments Struggling With Staffing — From public safety watchdog Dave Statter “Alexandria isn’t alone. Area fire department staffing is impacting the number of fire & EMS units available at a time when Covid is surging. There’s also significant impact on EMS availability due to hospital staffing leaving ambulance crews stuck at EDs with patients.” [Twitter]
Local Scholarship Application Now Open — “Arlington Community Foundation (ACF) launched its 2022 scholarship application today, providing Arlington high school students with an opportunity to compete for more than 70 scholarships worth over $525,000 in student aid. A single, common application gives students an easy way to apply for an award from more than 55 individual scholarship funds.” [Press Release]
Marymount Now Requiring Booster Shot — “On Monday, Marymount University administrators shared with its community members an enhanced COVID-19 vaccination policy that will require a booster shot for all students, faculty and staff who will be physically present on campus during the upcoming semester, a precautionary measure designed to ensure the best possible protection against the virus.” [Press Release]
It’s Tuesday — Today will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Sunrise at 7:23 a.m. and sunset at 4:49 p.m. Tomorrow will be sunny, with a high near 48 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. [Weather.gov]
Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls is coming to Shirlington (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls is coming to Shirlington (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls is coming to Shirlington (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
A new lobster roll restaurant is coming to Shirlington.
Annapolis-based Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls is set to open its third Virginia location in the Village of Shirlington at 4017 Campbell Avenue. Signs recently went up on the windows of the storefront, in the space formerly occupied by Nirvana Reflexology Spa.
“The 1,334 square-foot restaurant will feature a variety of authentic Maine fare including lobster roll options with mounds of lobster meat sustainably sourced from the waters of Maine on a grilled, buttery split-top roll,” says a press release from Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT), which owns the Village of Shirlington development. “Along with six varieties of rolls, customers will find items like lobster mac and cheese, creamy lobster bisque, authentic New England clam chowder and more.”
ARLnow asked FRIT about an estimated opening date, but has yet to hear back as of publication.
Over the last 18 months, the lobster roll eatery has started expanding across the D.C. area. That includes locations opening in Dupont Circle, Georgetown, and Foggy Bottom. In 2018, the restaurant opened at Reston Town Center as well. Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls also has restaurants in Delaware, Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.
The menu consists of an assortment of lobster rolls, lobster grilled cheese, and lobster bisque. For those that are not into the red crustracien, there’s also clam chowder and shrimp rolls.
In recent weeks, there have been several other comings and goings in Shirlington. Both Bearded Goat Barber and popular D.C.-based Chinese and Korean eatery CHIKO opened in early November. Two weeks ago, ARLnow reported that Thai ice cream shop I-CE-NY has closed. Additionally, Astro Beer Hall is now set to open in the former Capitol City Brewing Co. space next summer.
Covid cases in Arlington on 12/20/21 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)
(Updated at noon) It’s a tale of two Covids: the rate of new cases has shattered the previous record in Arlington, but so far there has been no significant increase in reported hospitalizations.
The Virginia Dept. of Health reported 286, 193, and 232 new daily cases over the past three days, respectively. Arlington’s previous single-day case record was 193 on Jan. 9.
The seven-day moving average of new daily cases currently stands at 172, well above the previous high point of just over 120 cases per day in January. The average was below 100 cases per day just three days ago.
Covid cases in Arlington on 12/20/21 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)
Arlington’s test positivity rate, meanwhile, is rapidly increasing and currently stands at 6.5%, more than triple the positivity rate at the beginning of November, though lower than the current 9.3% rate statewide.
Long line outside a private Covid testing location in Ballston on Sunday morning (staff photo)
Testing shortages and long lines at testing sites are being reported in Arlington and around the region. Only one county-sponsored testing kiosk is open today “due to unexpected shipping delays of COVID-19 test kits,” Arlington County said today. A huge line could be seen this morning outside the lone county test site that remains open, in Courthouse.
⚠️Due to unexpected shipping delays of COVID-19 test kits, the @Curative kiosks at Arlington Mill & Virginia Highlands are closed today (Dec. 20). Patients will be notified. Courthouse kiosk remains open. Add'l opportunities can be found on VDH's website: https://t.co/XEF0vevXhW
Arlington Public Library, meanwhile, says it is out of at-home tests and has not received new shipments from the state.
“When VDH makes a delivery, we will update the status on our web site and post to our social media channels,” a library spokesperson told ARLnow this morning. “Please check back tomorrow.”
Friday, Dec. 16 Update: Delivery of additional test kits from VDH did not arrive this week as anticipated. Please check back after Monday, Dec. 20 for further updates on availability. All library locations are currently out of COVID-19 Rapid Antigen At-Home Test Kits. pic.twitter.com/pIu96YNkv5
Similar testing shortages and lines have been reported in D.C. and in Alexandria.
The World Health Organization said over the weekend that it’s seeing rapid growth in cases due to the new, more contagious Omicron variant.
“COVID-19 cases detected with the newest variant are doubling every 1.5 to 3 days in areas where there is community spread, WHO said,” according to Axios. “Coronavirus cases are surging across Europe, largely driven by the Omicron variant… Cases in the U.S. are rising rapidly, with both New York and Washington, D.C., reporting record daily numbers Friday — and there’s no reason to think they’ve peaked yet.”
Arlington Public Schools, meanwhile, is reporting 105 positive tests among public schools countywide over the past seven days, according to its online Covid dashboard. The school with the most positive cases during that time period is Washington-Liberty High School, with 19.
On Saturday, the school sent an email to families saying that 15 new cases had been reported.
“Three Grade 9 students, five Grade 10 students, and two Grade 11 students, and five Grade 12 students at Washington-Liberty have tested positive for COVID-19,” said the email, obtained by ARLnow. The email added that close contacts of each of those students may need to quarantine, depending on several factors including mask usage.
“We want to assure you that the health and safety of our students, staff and families is a top priority for APS,” the email said.
Late last week, Northern Virginia health districts urged “vigilance” in the face of a “surge” of cases. From a press release:
As disease transmission increases, Public Health leaders in the Northern Virginia region (Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun, Arlington Counties, including all towns and municipalities- and the City of Alexandria) are encouraging residents to maintain their vigilance in curbing the spread of COVID-19 to minimize hospitalizations and deaths during this winter surge.
Since the start of this pandemic almost two years ago, there have been more than 2,600 COVID-19 deaths, 9,000 hospitalizations, and 230,000 cases in northern Virginia. Many of the hospitalizations and deaths occurred during last winter’s surge.
Hospitalizations in Arlington have risen modestly over the past week, but remain relatively low. Two additional hospitalizations were reported today, bringing the seven-day moving average to just over one per day for the first time since the start of October.
At the height of the initial pandemic wave, in the spring of 2020, reported Covid hospitalizations peaked at more than a dozen per day.
The last reported Covid-related death in Arlington was on Dec. 3, more than two weeks ago.
Covid hospitalizations in Arlington on 12/20/21 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)
One expert said over the weekend that Omicron does not appear to cause more serious illness, despite its greater transmissibility.
“What we’ve seen in South Africa in particular, is a decoupling between the cases and hospitalizations,” former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said on CBS’s Face the Nation. High levels of vaccination and immunity from prior infection may be helping to tamp down on serious illness from Covid, he added.
Mike Silverman, chief of the emergency department at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, wrote in his weekly public Facebook post on Friday that the hospital is seeing more people falling ill from Covid.
Rattling steel plates on Columbia Pike, near S. Scott Street (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Rattling steel plates on Columbia Pike (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Rattling steel plates on Columbia Pike (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated, 4:40 p.m.) Loose steel plates on Columbia Pike that are keeping residents up at night with the sounds of cars driving over them are the work of a general contractor doing 5G work.
The same contractor also damaged a gas line on the Pike causing a large gas leak last week, according to Washington Gas.
The plates were recently installed on the 1800 block of Columbia Pike, prompting complaints from residents who say that they are rattling and banging loudly when passing vehicles drive on them. The plates are the result of work done by contractor Crown Castle, a spokesperson for the Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services tells ARLnow.
“We’ve determined those annoyingly loud plates on Columbia Pike to be the work of a 5G contractor,” spokesperson Peter Golkin tells ARLnow. “Our Construction Management and Permits folks have been investigating and will work to get the plates secured and end the racket as soon as possible.”
The racket was first brought to both ARLnow’s and the county’s attention by rattled citizens on social media.
Crown Castle blames the rattling steel plates on a general contractor working for the telecom infrastructure company. The steel plates have since been removed and replaced it with asphalt, a company spokesperson has confirmed to ARLnow.
“Crown Castle continues to expand our infrastructure in Arlington to provide connectivity to the community. One of Crown Castle’s general contractors was conducting work to support network enhancements for our enterprise and wireless customers, including 5G,” wrote a company spokesperson. “The temporary steel plate has been removed and has been replaced with asphalt. Final restoration will be completed in the coming weeks as we coordinate with the county and account for holiday schedules.”
Washington Gas tells ARLnow that the contractor is also responsible for damaging a gas line near S. Scott Street during the course of this work. That resulted in Columbia Pike between Quinn Street and S. Walter Reed Drive being shut down for several hours.
“Washington Gas recently conducted repair work to a natural gas line that was damaged by a third party contractor on Columbia Pike,” a spokesperson for the natural gas provider wrote.
Crown Castle confirmed to ARLnow that its general contractor damaged the gas line.
“We coordinated with Washington Gas and the county to quickly address and repair the situation and restore service,” the spokesperson wrote.
A short distance away from the newly-repaired gas line, the rattling steel plates remained until at least Friday afternoon, when an ARLnow photographer observed the scene. While there, the photographer saw that crews had removed some of the plates to continue work below.
DES said at the time that it was investigating and asking the contractor to fix and secure the plates as well as lower the noise level in general. Golkin said the county appreciates the outreach from residents.
“We want [to] thank the nearby residents for alerting the County directly and through social media,” he said.
Fisheye view of construction near the Harris Teeter store in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Photos from ANC Wreath Event — “Wreaths Across America returned to Arlington National Cemetery on Dec. 18, 2021. People from across the country turned out to lay memorial wreaths in honor of American servicemen and servicewomen. See photos of the 2021 event below.” [WTOP]
DCA to Stay at Pre-Covid Levels for Years — “Passenger totals at Northern Virginia’s two main airports are expected to be back to more than 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels in 2022, but are not currently anticipated to exceed the pre-COVID level before 2027.” [Sun Gazette]
More About Swanson MS Incident — “Finally, some details on last week’s @SwansonAdmirals ‘weapon’ incident. In stark contrast to school officials’ characterizations, the police report calls it ‘assault with a knife.'” [Twitter]
YHS Athlete Named Runner of the Year — “Overall Runner of The Year: Owen McArdle (Yorktown) — Nothing is better than seeing an athlete improve year after year and go from running 23:05 in 2018 to running 15:05 as a senior and winning a state XC title. Not to forget, he made the Eastbay National meet as well in San Diego, something few VA athletes have ever done.” [MileSplit Virginia, Twitter]
‘Elf Ugly Sweater Party’ Tuesday — “Gift Certificates from Lost Dog Cafe, William Jeffrey’s Tavern, Rebellion on the Pike and of course US!! Prizes, Free Comedy Tickets & Themed Drink Specials – Dress up as your favorite character or in your ugliest sweater to WIN. Come out a celebrate the Holidays with one of the best holiday movies.” [Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse]
New ARLnow Comment Policy — Effective immediately, the posting of national political memes or restricted, copyrighted images (such as syndicated editorial cartoons) is against our comment policy. Non-political memes and Creative Commons-licensed images (such as xkcd cartoons) are generally okay. [ARLnow]
It’s Monday — Today will be sunny, with a high near 43. Sunrise at 7:23 a.m. and sunset at 4:55 p.m. Tomorrow will be partly sunny, with a high near 48 and a low near 30. [Weather.gov]
Arlington police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)
(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) Some 8-9 teens beat up another teen outside Yorktown High School last night.
The incident happened around 9 p.m., as the victim was walking from the school to a car.
More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:
ASSAULT BY MOB, 2021-12160191, 5200 block of Yorktown Boulevard. At approximately 9:09 p.m. on December 16, an officer was alerted by a witness to an assault just occurred. Officers located the juvenile victim and determined that he was exiting a building when he became involved in a verbal dispute with a group of approximately eight to nine juveniles. The victim entered a vehicle and the group continued to yell at him and strike the vehicle. The victim exited the vehicle and confronted the group at which point several of the suspects assaulted him and damaged his cell phone. The suspects then fled the scene on foot. The victim was treated by medics on scene for non-life threatening injuries. There are no descriptions for the suspects. The investigation is ongoing.
Additional details about what led to the confrontation were not immediately available. The timing coincides with an intra-Arlington varsity basketball game between Yorktown and Washington-Liberty, which tipped off at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night at YHS.
“Following the Washington-Liberty/Yorktown basketball game, we were made aware of a physical altercation that unfolded between students of the two schools,” Arlington Public Schools spokesman Frank Bellavia tells ARLnow. “The Arlington [County] Police Department and administration at both Washington-Liberty and Yorktown continue to investigate the situation.”
This is the latest in a series of police incidents involving the North Arlington high school. In early August, a brawl broke out outside of the school amid summer classes. In October, a girl walking near the school during the homecoming football game said she was touched inappropriately. Last last month, a student aboard a Yorktown High School bus allegedly threatened and scratched another student with a knife.
This move — approved Tuesday — is an unusual one, but Arlington County says it did what was necessary in a short amount of time to support the sale to Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners. The company has agreed to keep the property — Arlington’s largest market-rate affordable apartment complex — as committed affordable housing for 99 years.
This includes 612 two-bedroom and 47 three-bedroom committed affordable units, with larger affordable units in short supply in Arlington.
Amazon is also chipping in $160 million to pay for the acquisition of the property at 1130 S. George Mason Drive.
Here’s what else we know about the project.
It’s a big deal.
The last time the county secured a line of credit for a large affordable housing project was in 2007, when it acquired Buckingham Village 3, an apartment building in the Buckingham neighborhood near Ballston.
“Line of credit financing is typically sought when there is an immediate need and when long-term bonds would not be appropriate or possible to issue in the required timeframe,” Erika Moore, a spokeswoman for the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development, tells ARLnow. “It is a strategy the County uses sparingly and only for short-term types of obligations.”
In addition, Arlington has policies on the books ensuring government operations don’t rely too heavily on this financing. According to that policy, only 20% of the county’s debt can be made up of credit lines and variable-rate debt.
The apartments need some work.
“Based on preliminary due diligence, staff anticipates units at Barcroft Apartments will need substantial rehabilitation and/or redevelopment,” a county report says. “It is initially planned that phasing for the rehabilitation/redevelopment of the site will be completed over the next ten years, and the majority of the affordable housing units that are renovated or redeveloped may utilize Low Income Housing Tax Credits.”
Jair Lynch told the County Board during its recessed meeting Tuesday that a majority of units will be renovated and “a selection” of vacant units will be demolished and reconstructed.
The company envisions adding free WiFi in common areas, a clubroom, a co-working space, fitness spaces, outdoor grills, improved bike storage and a package room with Amazon lockers.
A forthcoming “Master Financing and Development Plan” will have more details on the timeline for redevelopment, what immediate repairs are needed and how they’ll be paid for.
Moore deferred to Jair Lynch as to what work is needed. Jair Lynch tells ARLnow it can’t say anything beyond what was shared Tuesday.
“Regarding your inquiry, due to the confidential nature of this ongoing transaction, we are unable to provide additional information beyond what has been shared publicly by Arlington County Government at this time,” a spokeswoman said. “We’ll be happy to share more information regarding our involvement on this matter after the sale has been finalized.”
Jair Lynch will likely add some market-rate residential units to the expansive, 60-acre property, the county says.
Covid cases in Arlington as of 12/17/21 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)
(Updated at 4 p.m.) Arlington County just recorded the second- and third-highest single-day Covid case totals of the pandemic.
The 168 cases reported on Thursday was the county’s second-highest daily case total for 24 hours, before being supplanted by the 185 cases reported today. The local single-day record remains the 193 cases recorded on Jan. 9, 2021, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data.
Arlington’s seven-day moving average of new coronavirus cases spiked this week after a brief plateau, reaching an average of 98.4 cases per day today.
Hospitalizations — which typically lag reports of new cases by a week or more — are also on the rise, with six new hospitalizations between Monday and Thursday. Prior to this week, Arlington had not seen a day with a reported hospitalization since Nov. 29.
The county’s test positivity rate continues to increase as well, and currently stands at 4.7%. That doesn’t incorporate data from the past couple of days, however — preliminary numbers from VDH suggest a 9.3% positivity rate for lab reports on Wednesday, when 1,931 PCR tests were performed in Arlington.
This morning, a long line could be seen outside the county’s Covid testing booth in Courthouse.
Line for Covid testing in Courthouse on Dec. 17, 2021
The rise in cases in Arlington comes as the nation appears to be on the verge of a significant wave of cases fueled by the new, more infectious Omicron variant of COVID-19.
“It’s here now and it’s spreading and it’s gonna increase,” President Biden said today of Omicron case, as quoted by Axios. “We are looking at a winter of severe illness and death for the unvaccinated — for themselves, their families and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm.”
In the New York City area, which is seeing a big increase in cases, the test positivity rate doubled over the course of three days last week. Closer to home, D.C. yesterday reported just over 500 cases, its highest single-day case total of the pandemic. Today’s D.C. case count was even higher.
Today's D.C. COVID data: a record-breaking 844 new positive cases — an increase over yesterday's 508, which was, til today, the most ever reported in a single day
While Arlington’s vaccination rate — more than 90% of the adult population has received at least one jab — makes the county less susceptible to the worst health outcomes from a large Covid wave, there could still be a sizable influx to local hospitals.
Statewide, hospitalizations are increasing, though Virginia still currently has 2,420 available hospital beds, including 383 ICU beds which typically used by Covid patients who need help breathing when the virus causes severe respiratory problems.
Hospitalizations in Virginia as of 12/17/21 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)
Even if Arlington is fortunate enough to avoid a significant increase in serious illness from Covid this winter, a large wave would have other deleterious effects. Masking requirements may become stricter in some places and temporary closures of certain venues are possible. Daycare centers, pre-schools and K-12 schools could have outbreaks that send many students home to quarantine.
Arlington Public Schools has seen a more than 60% rise in cases over the past week, compared to the prior seven day period — 103 cases this past week compared to 64 cases the previous week.
The Biden administration today announced a new “test to stay” strategy that could keep students who were in close contact with those who test positive in schools, rather than quarantining at home for 1-2 weeks.
CNBC, meanwhile, reported today that Omicron is likely to further delay plans to return to bring workers back to office buildings. Others that have brought workers back may temporarily go back to remote-only, as the company behind ARLnow announced today for its in-person employees.
Expect more closure announcements and testing shortages in the coming weeks, experts caution. Just this afternoon, Arlington County said it was having issues with limited supplies of testing kits.
UPDATE: Due to limited test kits received, only the @Curative kiosks at Courthouse and Virginia Square will open today (Dec. 17, at 1 p.m.); Arlington Mill will remain closed today. Appointments are being notified.
On the bright side, if Omicron infection patterns from South Africa hold, it’s possible that the current wave may be relatively short-lived and result in milder cases than the waning (but still present) wave of Delta variant cases.
More via social media:
"You're going to start to see things close down over the next 5 days. I think people are going to make decisions to close things early heading into the holidays," says @ScottGottliebMD. "Right now I'd be taking extra steps to be cautious." pic.twitter.com/RP8gcNd0VL
In case it’s not obvious, many places in the U.S. may run out of PCR testing capacity soon. I don’t think the fact that many vaccinated will test positive has sunk in. Current quarantine/isolation guidelines don’t fit an Omicron wave. I think we have a communication emergency.
"The cases are really collapsing in the Gauteng province–the most densely populated part of South Africa where this epidemic got in first," says @ScottGottliebMD. "It went up very fast. It went down very fast so we are missing something about the epidemiology of this disease." pic.twitter.com/8Y0s3ATtZk
A temporary “traffic garden” at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School (courtesy of Arlington Public Schools)
A temporary “traffic garden” at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School (courtesy of Arlington Public Schools)
A temporary “traffic garden” at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School (courtesy of Arlington Public Schools)
A temporary “traffic garden” at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School (courtesy of Arlington Public Schools)
Arlington County is receiving $35,000 of assistance to design more “traffic gardens” to help kids learn about traffic safety.
Earlier this week, the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) awarded $250,000 of consulting services to five D.C.-area projects with the intention of improving “safety on the region’s roadways, especially for its underserved communities.”
One of those is a joint project from Arlington County and Prince George’s County to build traffic gardens at schools.
“Traffic gardens are miniature transportation networks with familiar roadway elements, in which children can walk, bike, and scoot to learn the rules of the road and practice their transportation safety skills,” principal planner Christine Baker for Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services writes to ARLnow.
The hope is that this project and the consulting services being granted will help develop universal guidance and templates so that schools can build its own gardens on “any budget” using a number of different materials and equipment.
Arlington has had two recent examples of temporary school-based traffic gardens, one at Key Elementary School in the Bluemont neighborhood and the other at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School in Arlington View. Those schools used common, everyday materials — like spray bottles, measuring sticks, string, and chalk — to construct the roadway.
“We expect that schools will use the guidance to evaluate the traffic garden design possibilities for their own site,” says Baker. “Most schools take advantage of under-used hard surfaces outdoors, like blacktops, courts or other asphalt to create more permanent projects, while those with less capacity can retrofit gymnasiums with tape to create pop-up traffic gardens.”
Baker also notes that young students can take the lessons learned on these mini, safer roads and bring them back to their neighborhood.
“Traffic gardens not only help to educate children on the transportation system now but instill safety habits and transportation values that last a lifetime,” Baker says.
The TPB, which operates under the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), will in the coming months be hiring a consultant in the that will be providing working with both counties on the project. It’s unclear at this point when the Arlington schools will have traffic gardens installed.
The initiative fits in with the county’s Vision Zero initiative, a plan to eliminate transportation-related deaths and serious injuries on county streets and trails within the next decade. This includes the recent implementation of “slow zones” near schools.
“Our Vision Zero transportation safety program is not just about engineering safety improvements on our roadways. There is a big emphasis on community engagement and education around safety,” says Baker. “Traffic gardens are an amazing way to educate our community members from a young age to embrace safe transportation practices.”
TPB approved four other projects for funding in nearby jurisdictions, all related to road safety and pedestrian improvements, including in the City of Alexandria, Fairfax County, Prince William County, and the City of Falls Church.
The Netherlands Carillon is illuminated, with D.C. monuments in the background (Photo courtesy Stefanie Johnson)
Arlington Has Been ‘Abnormally Dry’ — From the National Weather Service: “The latest Drought Monitor released shows an expansion of drought conditions across Virginia, the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, District of Columbia, and parts of Maryland. Abnormal dryness now encompasses most of the region.” [Twitter]
Introducing Commenter Badges — We’re giving the comment section an early Christmas present by rolling out new commenter badges. Earn badges by — among other things — accumulating 50 or more upvote on a comment, by posting useful corrections on an article, or by joining the ARLnow Press Club (members should reply to the morning email with your Disqus user name to request this). In all, there are a total of eight badges. [Disqus]
Nearby: Alexandria SROs on Leave — “The two school resource officers at Alexandria City High School have been removed from their posts and placed on administrative leave after a ‘serious complaint,’ according to the Alexandria Police Department.” [ALXnow]
It’s Friday — Today will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. Rain is likely overnight. Sunrise at 7:21 a.m. and sunset at 4:48 p.m. Chances of rain on Saturday, with a low of 44 and a high of 64. Mostly cloudy and breezy Sunday, with a low of 35 and a high of 61. [Weather.gov]
