Opinion

Morning Poll: Should we all just drive golf carts?

By ARLnow.com

Golf carts (Photo by Ralph [Ravi] Kayden on Unsplash)
An Atlanta suburb is known for its “miles of natural, wooded beauty” — and its 10,000 golf carts.

At 26.04 square miles, Peachtree City is just a touch smaller than Arlington County size-wise, though its population of 36,000 is a fraction of Arlington’s nearly 240,000. The master-planned community is best-known for its unique way of getting around: on almost 100 miles of golf-cart-friendly, multi-use paths.

There’s some suggestion that transportation planners across the country are beginning to see the benefits of adding golf carts to the modal mix. From a Twitter thread (and Slate article) last month:

As you might have gleaned above, the places where golf carts are catching on are in Sun Belt cities that rarely experience very cold weather.

The knock on bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters and other micro-mobility options — Arlington has long pushed bicycling in particular as a transportation alternative that doesn’t clog roads or pollute skies — is that they are highly undesirable in wet or cold weather, and not accessible for the elderly and some with differing abilities.

Golf carts at least partially solve those issues, though cold weather and snow remain challenges.

Even setting aside the weather, the advantages of golf carts — greener, cheaper, friendlier and more enjoyable commutes, for instance — run into the wall of reality in Arlington when one considers that they occupy a middle ground between driving cars and walking/biking that our transportation network is not set up to handle.

Peachtree City has an extensive trail network built out and golf-cart-ready, but Arlington’s trails were made for those on foot and on bike, not in electrified passenger vehicles traveling 20 mph.

Still, it’s fun to envision a future for Arlington that involves more golf carts as mobility devices. At the very least, the size of Arlington and its growing network of urban villages makes it more realistic.

Today we’re wondering: on the completely theoretical premise that a magic wand is waved and Arlington suddenly golf-cart-friendly like Peachtree City — used by much of the population, with safe and convenient trails — would you drive one?

Photo by Ralph (Ravi) Kayden on Unsplash

Most-read Arlington stories of the week: Sept. 19-23

By ARLnow.com
Smoke from western wildfires turns the setting sun red near the U.S. Air Force Memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The week started as summer and is ending, unmistakably, as fall.

On the plus side, we have a stretch of crisp, sunny days ahead, with the exception of some rain on Sunday.

While you ponder the majesty of nature and the changing of the seasons, here are the most-read ARLnow articles of the past five days:

  1. False ‘shooter’ call at W-L prompts large emergency response, one of multiple hoaxes around Va.
  2. How a local scouting troop got saddled with $3K in personal property taxes
  3. Early morning wrong-way wreck on I-66 in Arlington seriously injures three
  4. County Board praises civil, if loud, discussion of Missing Middle and the Arlington Way
  5. Crash closes N. Glebe Road in Ballston area, knocks out power
  6. Pets, park, pedestrians present problems for planned apartment towers in Crystal City
  7. Should Arlington County change its form of government?
  8. Police investigating attempted carjacking near the Pentagon
  9. Family believes missing man might be seen in video of alleged carjacking attempt
  10. Poppyseed Rye revamps menu, adds former Le Diplomate chef
  11. A virtual indoor golf facility aims to go full swing on Columbia Pike later this fall
  12. Clarendon Day and other local events are back this weekend, which means road closures

Feel free to discuss these stories or anything else of local interest in the comments. Have a great weekend, Arlington — hope you enjoy Clarendon Day, Valley Fest, or any other local events you might be attending!

Morning Poll: Do you support ranked choice voting?

By ARLnow.com
Voting at Swanson Middle School in November 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington could use ranked choice voting in next year’s primaries, ARLnow reported yesterday.

From our article:

The system, also known as “instant runoff,” prompts voters to rank candidates and a winner is selected over the course of many elimination rounds.

The Board could vote in November to introduce ranked-choice voting (RCV) during the primaries next June. […]

The survey of voter preferences went live yesterday (Wednesday). From now until Nov. 4, locals can share any comments and questions they have about RCV, whether they’ve voted that way before and — on a scale of “very unfavorably” to “very favorably” — how they view it.

The county may be surveying residents, but we also wanted to gauge reader opinions on ranked choice voting, which some see as a way to encourage more candidate diversity while minimizing the chance that a fringe candidate wins due to other candidates splitting the vote.

RCV is also being recommended by a citizen task force that was charged with recommending ways to improve Arlington politics.

Opponents say ranked choice is confusing to voters, produces results similar to standard plurality voting, and is inferior to conducting an actual runoff election between the top vote-getting candidates.

What do you think?

Most-read Arlington stories of the week: Sept. 12-16

By ARLnow.com
People waiting outside the Clarendon Apple store for the new iPhone 14 on 9/16/22 (staff photo)

If you like perfect weather, get outside as much as possible today and tomorrow.

Sunday won’t be bad, either, but it will kick off a mini September heat wave.

In the interest of letting everyone enjoy the outdoors after what has been an exceedingly busy week — at least for us — let’s get right to this week’s top stories.

  1. Man charged with trying to rape woman in bathroom of Langston Blvd business
  2. Large power outage reported in Clarendon area
  3. New season of Jeopardy! brings Arlingtonian back as returning champ
  4. Expect low-flying aircraft, smoke and noise Wednesday morning
  5. New Japanese BBQ restaurant is set to sizzle in Ballston
  6. Driver likely had ‘medical emergency’ before crashing into Ireland’s Four Courts, police say
  7. The killer of dozens of fish in Four Mile Run? Pool water, investigators say.
  8. Speed limit reductions may be coming to more high-traffic roads in Arlington
  9. Gaijin Ramen Shop closes in Cherrydale
  10. County Board to vote on the height of Clarendon parking lot development

Feel free to discuss these stories or anything else of local interest in the comments. Have a great weekend, Arlington!

Most-read Arlington stories of the week: Sept. 5-9

By ARLnow.com
Sunset near the U.S. Air Force Memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A gorgeous end to the workweek today is expected to give way to clouds tomorrow and rain on Sunday.

Nonetheless, high temperatures in the lower 80s to mid 70s should make much of the weekend perfectly pleasant.

Next week is a County Board week, likely with plenty to report. This week, as well, was busy despite the holiday. Below are the most-read local stories of the past five days.

  1. Police conducting apparent death investigation in Ballston
  2. Maryland man arrested in case of woman pushed out of SUV
  3. Wakefield junior dies after SUV vs. scooter crash in Alexandria
  4. Chicago-based Veo is bringing 400 e-bikes to Arlington
  5. Driver swerves over embankment at Dunkin’ drive-thru
  6. Construction starting next week on upgraded I-395 and Boundary Channel Drive interchange
  7. More Honda airbag thefts and a bizarre brandishing along the Pike
  8. Candidates square off on Missing Middle, safe schools and gun control
  9. Police: Woman threatened store employee in Courthouse with knife
  10. Pickup truck smashes through decorative Memorial Bridge stone railing

Feel free to discuss these stories or anything else of local interest in the comments. Have a great weekend, Arlington!

Most-read Arlington stories of the week: Aug. 29-Sept. 2

By ARLnow.com
Excavating continues at the former Rouse Estate site along Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Labor Day weekend is here so let’s get right to it.

For what’s supposed to be a pretty slow pre-holiday week, this week actually turned out to be quite busy, readership-wise. Here are the most-read stories since Sunday:

  1. Boy stabbed, seriously injured on the Custis Trail near Ballston
  2. NEW: Car stolen from Rosslyn with child inside found in D.C.
  3. Group from Chicago arrested after catalytic converter thefts
  4. New CVS has a large blank wall facing Wilson Blvd, upsetting some locals
  5. Revamped Clarendon Ballroom is back open, after a management 180
  6. Fourteen upcoming fall activities in Arlington and around the region
  7. NEW: Woman pushing stroller struck by driver along Military Road
  8. Arlington Public Library is hosting “1619 Project” author next month
  9. Lease may be drying up for local watering hole Thirsty Bernie
  10. Texas woman facing charges after stabbing in Courthouse
  11. Solar panels are rising in Arlington thanks to a county program and federal incentives
  12. Suspect arrested after attempted armed carjacking in Pentagon City

Feel free to discuss those stories or anything else of local interest in the comments. Have a relaxing and enjoyable long weekend, Arlington!

Oh, and a quick reminder… trash WILL be picked up on Monday for those who receive the county’s collection service.

Morning Poll: Is a dip in home prices a good thing?

By ARLnow.com
For sale / contract pending real estate sign (file photo)

The once-hot real estate market in Northern Virginia is cooling as interest rates rise.

The median home sale price dipped slightly in July. While Arlington’s stats did not include a price drop — prices here have held up better than the outer suburbs — the number of home sales dropped.

More from the Sun Gazette:

The median sales price for homes that sold in Northern Virginia in July stood at $580,000, according to figures reported by the Virginia Realtors trade group.

While higher by nearly 5 percent than the $553,000 recorded in July 2021, the $580,000 figure trails the median sales price of $583,000 for the first seven months of 2022.

Put another way: While the year-to-date median sales price through July was up $13,100 (from $539,900 during the first seven months of 2021), July 2022’s sales price was down $3,000 from the same point a year before.

A sign of the apocalypse? No. But decidedly a sign of cooling. Especially as the summer months tend to be among the strongest, price-wise, in the local real-estate market.

Today we’re asking a somewhat counterintuitive question: do you, personally, think this dip in prices is a good thing?

After all, the run-up in home costs have come at the expense of affordability for first-time homebuyers, pricing many middle-income families out of the market for homes in places like Arlington, even as it has benefited existing homeowners.

So, purely from your perspective, do you see a home price swoon as a net negative or a net plus?

Most-read Arlington stories of the week: August 22-26

By ARLnow.com
Construction continues at Amazon’s HQ2 site in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

We’re calling it a week a touch early today, while most of you have already started your weekend, so we can better prep for next week.

While this month has been pretty slow overall, the week that will usher in the start of September promises to be a bit busier, with the start of school, some local business-related scoops, and other stories that are already in planning.

Not that this week was a snoozefest. Quite the opposite, in fact, considering that all of our top 10 most-read stories had more than 2,500 views.

Here are the top stories of the past week:

  1. New concept plan for Langston Blvd shows sweeping vision of greener corridor with taller buildings
  2. EXCLUSIVE: Scott Parker, Cowboy Cafe owners and manager partnering on Forest Inn replacement
  3. Police: Nude man attacked officer, ran into Ballston apartment
  4. NEW: Arlington ranks No. 3 on “top family-friendly cities” list
  5. Another commercial vehicle tow leads to another questionable call to police
  6. Man arrested after attack in front of library
  7. Arlington’s planetarium is looking to finally reopen this fall with a new director and modern projector
  8. NEW: “Old School” Italian restaurant and wine bar coming to Ballston area
  9. Metro says “plan now” for the eight-month-long Yellow Line shutdown that starts next month
  10. Starting as a Rosslyn food cart, District Taco is taking over the world “one taco at a time”

Feel free to discuss these stories or anything else of local interest in the comments. Have a great last weekend of August, Arlington!

Morning Poll: Where are you from, originally?

By ARLnow.com
Light streaks from cars on I-395 in Shirlington during a cloudy evening (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

A decade ago, we asked readers where they were from, originally.

The poll found that only 11% of readers were from Arlington and only 20% from elsewhere in the D.C. area. Combined, that’s less than the just over 35% who said they were originally from the “north.”

On a Friday in late August, we’re asking that question again, but with the regions more precisely defined. Let’s see if the number of Arlington and D.C. area natives is higher than last time.

Morning Poll: What do you consider an ideal temperature range for outdoor exercise?

By ARLnow.com
A runner at Long Bridge Park (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

After a pretty nice couple of days, temperatures in the 90s are back — and sticking around for awhile.

That’s not great news if you’ve been waiting for cooler weather as fall approaches, so you can better enjoy your outdoor fitness routine.

The return of the heat has us wondering: what do you consider an ideal temperature for outdoor exercise — like running, biking, and tennis — or strenuous activities, like mowing the lawn?

Are you more a fan of sunny 75 degree afternoons, misty 45 degree mornings, or something else? Let us know in the poll and in the comments below.

Morning Poll: Has remote work made your team more productive?

By ARLnow.com
Person working on laptop (Photo by Burst on Unsplash)

Nearly half of remote and hybrid government workers say their team performance has improved during the course of the pandemic.

That’s according to new research from Crystal City-based consulting firm Eagle Hill Consulting.

From a press release:

 Forty-six percent of government employees who telework – both fully remote and hybrid employees – say their team’s performance improved during the past two years. Only 35 percent of in-person government workers say their team’s performance has improved during the period, according to new research from Eagle Hill Consulting.

And as the trend for remote work continues among both federal and state and local governments, more than half of the government workforce reports teleworking, either in a fully remote (26 percent) or hybrid environment (24 percent). A substantially higher number of younger workers in government report working fully remotely (34 percent) as compared to mid-career (24 percent) and older workers (11 percent). Those working in-person are far more likely to be older workers (70 percent).

Findings like this may lend further credence to the idea that hybrid and fully-remote work environments are not just a pandemic blip and are here to say, which will present significant challenges for both office building owners and local governments, including here in Arlington.

Today, we wanted to pose the performance question to readers, as well.

Are you working remotely, either on a full-time or hybrid basis? And, if so, do you think remote work has improved or hurt your team’s overall productivity?

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