park

Rocky Run Park Revamp Includes Area for Skaters

By Katie Pyzyk

A plan to improve Rocky Run Park — located along N. Barton Street in the Clarendon-Courthouse neighborhood — appears close to moving forward.

One notable aspect of the plan features an area specifically designed for skateboarders. The lower portion of the park is the area aimed at skaters, where special “sculptures” will be installed. The “skateable art” is meant to be functional for skateboarding, as well as visually appealing for other visitors.

Two basketball courts will sit in the middle of the park; they will be striped both for basketball and other sports like volleyball and futbol sala. The courts will be lit at night, as will the adjacent revamped field. The current stone dust field will be redone with a synthetic turf surface.

An existing playground for older (5-12 year old) children will be relocated to the upper end of the park along N. Barton Street, to be next to the tot (2-5 year old) playground. Both will receive some new play equipment.

Additional seating and picnic tables will be installed throughout the park, along with new trash cans, recycling containers and bicycle parking. The plans also include increased accessibility with the construction of Americans with Disabilities Act compliant walkways. During the revamp, grading and drainage will be improved, additional landscaping added, and numerous trees will be planted.

County staff started meeting with residents in the area in 2010 to develop the plan. Funding is coming from pay-as-you-go and park bond funds, as well as Neighborhood Conservation Program funding.

A landscape architect with the Department of Parks and Recreation said the construction documents are 90 percent complete and currently under review. Staff members believe the project will go to bid sometime this summer, and construction will begin in the fall.

Bocce Courts Proposed for Tiny Ballston Park

By ARLnow.com

A pair of bocce courts may soon be coming to a small strip of green space near Ballston Common Mall.

Arlington County park planners have proposed a set of improvements to a barren, triangular park at the corner of N. Randolph Street and N. Glebe Road, adjacent to the Ballston public parking garage.

The proposal includes two side-by-side bocce courts, benches, a handicap-accessible walkway, bike parking, meadow plantings and a designated food truck/cart area. The cost of the improvements is estimated at $150,000. The park design is described as temporary, and is intended to be “easily… displaced if a long-term use is identified.”

Park planners met with community members on Tuesday to discuss the proposal. The final design for the park is expected to be firmed up by early summer, with construction beginning in late summer or early fall.

Improvements Coming to Nine County Parks

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 2:30 p.m.) Arlington County will renovate High View Park and will make improvements to eight other parks following County Board approval of the projects over the weekend.

The work planned for High View Park (1945 N. Dinwiddie Street) includes renovating the worn-out playground and picnic areas and improving access to those with disabilities. The $628,082 project will add a large kid’s play structure with swings, a boulder and a climbing wall, as well as a sand play area with swings, a water spigot and a play structure for younger children.

Another $83,637 will be used for the following projects:

  • Landscaping at the I-395 ramp/Arlington Ridge Road intersection
  • Invasive plant removal at Zachary Taylor Park
  • Improvements to the entrance to the Shirlington Community Canine Area
  • Invasive plant removal at the Bluemont Park Trail entrance and a park information kiosk
  • New benches and picnic tables at the old Westover Library site
  • Discovery play area at Long Branch Nature Center, plus invasive plant removal
  • Bike rack, two benches, recycling can, two bat houses and educational signage at Prospect Hill Park
  • Spanish translation of Buckingham Village history sign at Henry Wright Park
  • Adding boulders near the Fort Scott Park parking lot

Construction Starting on Penrose Square Public Plaza

By ARLnow.com

Construction is getting underway on a new public plaza along Columbia Pike.

Fences have gone up around the construction site — a small grass field in front of the Penrose Square apartment complex, on the 2400 block of Columbia Pike. The first construction phase of the $2 million Penrose Square public plaza is expected to be completed this fall.

“Penrose Square is the first of three squares that will eventually be located along the Pike Corridor and will be an active pedestrian center and community gathering spot within the corridor’s Town Center,” said Arlington County parks department spokeswoman Susan Kalish.

Among the plaza’s planned features:

The first phase of development calls for a tree-covered, upper terrace with movable tables and chairs; an inner plaza with a water feature; a unique two-piece sculpture called “Echo”; an inscription of the historic significance of the site, and a grass mound area shaded with trees for informal seating.

Continuing Arlington’s goal of a sustainable environment, the tree terrace area will have Silva Cells installed beneath the surface to facilitate stormwater runoff filtration into the soil while providing maximum soil volume for root growth. The Silva Cells prevent compaction of the soil so that tree roots are protected and also help to retain water to sustain the trees during dry periods.

What’s more, a portion of the square will have a water feature designed to shoot thin jets of water 5 – 12 feet into the air from the pavers. The water feature will enhance the square by providing the movement and sounds of water and make an enjoyable place for people to visit. The water from the fountain will be collected, treated and then reused in the fountain again to conserve water.

And finally, the square will also have a new Super Stop Station located along the front sidewalk that will support the current Pike Ride system as well as future generations of transit that are planned for Columbia Pike.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Board Approves Penrose Square Public Plaza — The Arlington County Board last night formally approved a $2 million public plaza at the Penrose Square apartment complex on Columbia Pike. “This flexible, vibrant public square is an important part of the community vision for Columbia Pike… a place for people to relax, gather and host events,” said Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman. The plaza is expected to open next fall. [Arlington County]

Board Green Lights Boeing HQ — After more than 3 hours of discussion, the County Board — somewhat reluctantly — approved a plan by aircraft maker Boeing to build a new, 450,000 square foot regional headquarters on a plot of land between Crystal City and the future Long Bridge Park. ARLnow.com will have a full recap up later today.

Moran Fired Up About Occupy Wall Street — Arlington’s congressman, Democratic Rep. Jim Moran, is fired up about the Occupy Wall Street protest movement. “Good for them!” he said emphatically at a Falls Church Chamber of Commerce luncheon. “This is what democracy is about.” Moran also decried the level of partisanship on Capitol Hill. “There used to be 353 centrists in the House in the 1980s.. Now there are zero,” he said. [Falls Church News-Press]

Dulles Signs on Route 50? — Why are there still signs to Dulles Airport on Route 50? “I suspect these signs date from before I-66 was built, since no one would take Route 50 to get to Dulles with I-66 available,” writes blogger and environmental consultant Steve Offutt. [Commuter Page Blog]

Police Service Counter Cuts Hours — The Arlington County Police Department service counter at 1425 N. Courthouse Road is reducing its hours. Starting Monday, Oct. 31, the counter will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekends, and will be closed on county holidays. “They studied it for a number of months and they just weren’t getting enough traffic to justify the staffing,” police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal said of the cut-back. [Arlington County Police Department]

Penrose Square to Get $2 Million Public Park

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 12:40 p.m.) The small grassy field in front of the new Penrose Square apartments on Columbia Pike will likely be transformed into a considerably less grassy, $2 million public plaza over the next year.

Over the weekend, the Arlington County Board will vote on whether to approve a construction contract and a public art contract for a “Penrose Square Public Plaza” at 2503 Columbia Pike. The 17,360 square foot plaza will be a central focus of the revitalized Columbia Pike “town center,” and will serve “as a meeting and gathering spot in the Corridor’s new urban fabric.”

The construction contract, worth some $1.6 million, will create “a tree-covered terrace with movable tables and chairs; an inner plaza with a water feature… an inscription of historical significance of the site; and a grass mound area shaded with trees for informal seating.” The water feature will be made sustainable “by collecting, treating and then reusing water from the fountain again to minimize daily water consumption.”

Yearly operating costs for the plaza are estimated at just above $100,000 per year, including $68,290 for grounds maintenance, $20,000 for fountain maintenance and $13,000 for utilities like water and electricity.

The plaza will also feature a public art installation. Dubbed “Echo,” the installation by artist Richard Deutsch will consist of two large granite slabs, each with a parabola carved out of one side. The slabs will be arranged so that someone at the end of one parabola will be able to clearly hear someone speaking at the other parabola, 30 feet away.

“The artwork is inspired by the significant role that Arlington’s Three Sisters Radio Towers, formerly located on the nearby Navy Annex property, played in the development of the nation’s trans-Atlantic communication capabilities,” the County Board report says. The sole-source contract to create the installation is worth $425,000.

Echo is expected to be installed in the spring of 2012. Construction on the plaza is expected to wrap up in the fall of 2012. A second construction phase — which will eventually extend the plaza into what is now the adjacent CVS parking lot — is also in the works.

Doggone Good Time Planned for Pooches in Park

By Katie Pyzyk

Looks like Saturday is going to the dogs. Animal lovers will gather at Lacey Woods Park at 1200 N. George Mason Drive for the Dogtober Day dog show.

Some categories for the show include Best Kisser, Best Tail Wagger and Best Costume. First, second and third place winners will receive ribbons.

This year the event also includes the “Barkers Bash” skills tests for dogs and owners. One of the games is called “Chicken Chase,” which is a toss and retrieve test with rubber chickens. First and second place finishers in the games receive ribbons and prizes.

Festivities start at 1:00 p.m. and last until 3:00 p.m. On-site registration starts at 12:15 p.m. The cost is $6 per category or $25 for unlimited categories. It’s $2 for each attempt in the Barkers Bash. Click here for a registration form.

Clarendon/Courthouse Verizon Outage Continues

By ARLnow.com

Hundreds of Verizon landline phone and DSL internet customers in the Clarendon and Courthouse area are still without service today, a week after a contractor taking a soil sample struck several cables buried under Rocky Run Park.

“Our restoral efforts continue,” Verizon spokesman Harry J. Mitchell told ARLnow.com this morning. “We’ve replaced and completed work on one of the damaged cables, and we’re at work on the second cable. We also found that a third cable was damaged, and we’ll be replacing a section of that one as well.”

The cables contain thousands of individual copper lines, which carry phone conversations and internet service to hundreds of Verizon customers in the area. Each copper line must be painstakingly spliced together to restore service. On Wednesday, Mitchell said employees were working around the clock to perform the repairs.

“We will keep at it until we’ve restored all services,” he said today.

One tipster, whose phone service was knocked offline last week, says he has been told to expect a prolonged outage.

“I was told that customers could easily be out of service through Friday,” the tipster said.

Verizon Outage Hits Clarendon/Courthouse Area

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 8:35 p.m.) Hundreds of Verizon landline phone and DSL internet customers in the Courthouse/Clarendon area may be without service after two underground cables were accidentally cut.

According to Verizon spokesman Harry Mitchell, a contractor taking a soil sample in the area of Fairfax Drive and N. Barton Street cut through a pair of large underground cables containing 4,500 copper lines. Of those, about 1,600 active lines that carry phone and internet service are affected, Mitchell said.

A tipster tells us the soil sample was being taken in the county’s Rocky Run Park on Monday afternoon, and that Verizon crews have been “working all day and night… since about 9:00 p.m. Monday night.” Entire office buildings in Clarendon have lost phone service, according to another tipster.

Mitchell confirmed that crews are working in two 12-hour shifts to repair the lines. They’ve reached the cables — 20 feet below ground — but are now beginning the “very labor intensive” process of splicing all 1,600 lines together.

Service will gradually be restored to customers “over the next several days,” Mitchell said. Customers affected by the outage are asked to call 1-800-VERIZON or go to www.verizon.com/repair to report it.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington’s Biggest Redskins Fanatic — Charlie Clark has tracked down perhaps the biggest Redskins fan of them all. North Arlington resident Mary Holt, age 87, owns about “1,500 team knickknacks ranging from napkin holders to clocks to team photos to Redskins Wheaties cereal boxes.” The tchotchkes are displayed across “every inch of her ‘woman cave'” — where she watches the burgundy and gold every game day. [Falls Church News Press]

Lyon Village Park Ribbon Cutting — Residents and county officials will celebrate the completion of improvements to Lyon Village Park (1800 N. Highland Street) over the weekend. Park upgrades include new tennis and basketball courts, backboards and a living green picnic shelter canopy. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 11:00 Sunday morning.

Bricks Missing in Rosslyn — The Ode Street Tribune spots a number of missing brick pavers at a pedestrian crosswalk in Rosslyn. [Old Street Tribune]

Eden Center Controversy — Vietnamese merchants in the Eden Center in Falls Church are complaining about police intimidation after a raid last month that resulted in 19 arrests for alleged gang activity. Earlier this year, Arlington authorities — the county provides fire department services to the City of Falls Church — raided the Eden Center and confiscated illegal fireworks. [Washington Post]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Construction Planned for New Penrose Square Park — Construction is set to begin on a new public park in front of the Penrose Square apartment building on Columbia Pike. Included in the park will be a 50-ton granite sculpture of a “concave elliptical parabola.” [Pike Wire]

Free Pizza Offer — For some reason, Papa John’s and the Washington Post are giving away thousands of free pizzas over the next three days. Papa John’s has three Arlington locations. [The Capitol Deal]

A-SPAN Launches ‘Street Soccer’ Team — The Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network has set up a soccer team for its homeless clients. The team was created as part of the Street Soccer USA program. [Shirlington Village Blog Spot]

Flickr pool photo by Christaki

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