It raises a question: should delivery drivers get special treatment and a blind eye turned to violating a given property owner’s parking rules, or should the rules apply to them too?
In the latest case, tow company Advanced Towing told ARLnow that Amazon’s van was parked in a fire lane — and, indeed, we spotted “no parking, fire lane” signs on the property.
Fire lanes are there for a reason, but the flip side of the argument is that delivery drivers have a tough job to do and only stay in one place for a brief period of time, making it less likely that they’ll end up getting in the way of something important.
So what do you think? For the purposes of this poll, we’ll set aside the issue of delivery drivers blocking lanes on public streets and instead focus on those on private property.
Neighborhood cut-through traffic near Duke Street in Alexandria (courtesy Jill Hoffman)
Cut-through traffic may not make many headlines here in Arlington, but it has been a big topic of conversation in our neighbor to the south.
Alexandria communities, particularly those along Duke Street, have long complained about drivers trying to beat the traffic on the main road by taking neighborhood streets. The city has even implemented a pilot program intended to cut down on cut-through traffic, which some residents say is made worse by navigation apps steering people around traffic congestion.
Outwardly, there has not been a similar outcry here in Arlington. In fact, the county — at least as of a few years ago — has actually seen traffic volumes decline on many major roads despite population growth.
But that doesn’t mean that cut-through traffic is not a concern for some. Last month a proposed new road segment in Douglas Park was put on hold, in part due to worries about cut-through traffic. Last year, cut-through traffic was brought up as VDOT considered various plans to turn Route 1 in Crystal City into an “urban boulevard,” which raised the possibility of some existing traffic spilling onto neighborhood streets.
In 2017, meanwhile, an Aurora Hills resident said in a letter to the editor that changes to S. Eads Street resulted in cut-through traffic in her neighborhood. (To our knowledge, that particular concern has faded in recent years.)
Typically, when traffic on local roads becomes a significant safety concern in Arlington, the go-to action for the county government is to slow rather than restrict traffic, by implementing traffic calming measures, like speed bumps, narrowed lanes and reduced speed limits. But there are still examples of local streets near schools, for instance, with restrictions intended to prohibit cut-through drivers, as well as other instances in which a road was split into two dead-end sections for similar reasons.
This morning we’re wondering whether, in 2022, Arlington residents consider cut-through traffic to be a significant problem here.
Pumpkin beer in the Clarendon Trader Joe’s on Aug. 10, 2016
It will be hot again today but things should start cooling off by the weekend, providing an early preview of the season to come.
As the calendar marches inexorably towards September, there’s a certain feeling in the still-humid air: a sense that fall will be here sooner rather than later. And that’s only enforced by what we’re starting to see on store shelves around Arlington.
Yes, like it or not, those pumpkin and Oktoberfest beers are back. As Arrowine’s Beermonger column discussed last August, it seems that fall beers arrive earlier in the summer with each passing year. And while that outrages some summer stans, those whose vibe is more a hot coffee and a warm sweater seem to like it.
After all, the breweries wouldn’t be pushing their orange-clad cases out the door if people weren’t buying them.
So this morning we’re wondering — with apologies for asking a similar poll question on this exact day in 2016 — when do you typically make your first fall beer purchase?
The store at 2607 Wilson Blvd opened on the same day that ARLnow reported on the move, according to a Facebook post.
So far, the storefront is not marked from the outside, though there is a sign on the door instructing delivery drivers not to leave boxes outside. Opposition to Nova Armory’s opening in Clarendon was more muted than its original opening in Lyon Park, which was subject to community meetings, a letter from local lawmakers and a lawsuit (filed by Nova Armory against its critics).
That all said, what do you think of a gun store operating in the Clarendon neighborhood? Does the Metro corridor location change youe opinion compared to the store’s current location near Route 50?
The new chair of the Arlington School Board has nixed the public comment section of board meetings for the remainder of the summer.
The Sun Gazette reported this week that Reid Goldstein is doing away with public comment until September to speed up meetings.
“We are not taking public comment during the summer meetings,” Goldstein said, so the School Board could “focus on conducting the necessary business promptly.”
Public comment will return Sept. 8, said Goldstein, who rotated in for a one-year stint at chairman on July 1.
A number of people have contacted ARLnow about the report, apparently upset at Goldstein’s decision, though the move is temporary and those who wish to provide feedback to the School Board in the meantime can still do so via email and other means.
Both the Arlington County Board and the School Board provide a designated time for members of the public to opine on topics of their choosing. The process can sometimes take upwards of an hour depending on the number of speakers.
The County Board also made Sun Gazette headlines over the past couple of months, as chair Katie Cristol tried to enforce a longstanding rule against multiple speakers weighing in on the same topic, then relented.
After getting pilloried a month before for what critics called a heavy-handed approach to enforcing rules on public comment, County Board Chairman Katie Cristol on July 16 loosened her grip on the gavel just a bit.
Cristol acknowledged that she was being a little more loose in her interpretation of rules for the July board meeting than she had been in June, when she shut down comment on the government’s Missing Middle housing proposal after just two speakers at the public-comment period.
County Board rules for the public-comment period allow for only one speaker per topic on items not scheduled for public hearings (which have their own comment periods later in the meeting). Board members over time have allowed, on topics of controversy, for one speaker on each side of the issue.
Today we’re wondering what the general public thinks of public comments periods at School Board and County Board meetings.
Are you okay with restrictions like this or would you like a more open forum? Alternatively, would you advocate for nixing public comment altogether or moving it to its own dedicated meeting, when agenda items are not being voted on?
Hundred dollar bills (Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash)
The Mega Millions jackpot has crossed the $1 billion mark after no big winner was selected during last night’s lottery drawing.
The estimated $1.02 billion prize is the third largest in the game’s two-decade history, according to CNN. The next drawing is set for Friday night.
This morning we’re wondering: if you won a billion-dollar jackpot, would you stay in Arlington? Or would you move elsewhere?
Assume that living “mostly” in Arlington does not preclude second, third or even fourth homes elsewhere, provided Arlington remains your primary residence.
Haze and heat over the National Mall, seen from the Netherlands Carillon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
It’s a bit of a conspicuous time to ask, given that we’re at the end of a sweltering heat wave, but do you ever wish Arlington’s climate was a bit cooler?
Or warmer, for that matter?
Many of us live in this area due to the work we do, family considerations, or other good reasons to stay put. So it’s not as simple as saying someone should just move to Miami or Buffalo if they find the local climate too cold or hot for their tastes, even with the more recent remote work trends.
Today’s poll question, however, imagines an opportunity to ask Mother Nature one temperature-related wish for the D.C. area, which would allow you to get the climate of a given eastern U.S. city where you currently live.
(No choosing the more consistently mild and/or dry West Coast climates, that’s cheating, and the do-gooders out there should assume that wishing for a cooler climate locally would not solve climate change globally. Also, to acknowledge the fairly obvious, the “warmer” cities on the list are relatively much warmer than the “cooler” cities are cooler.)
So for those who regularly grumble about the temperature in this area, what are you wishing for? Or, maybe you consider the regional climate a goldilocks scenario and want it to stay as is. Either way, here’s a chance to make your wish.
Slide from Missing Middle Housing Study draft framework (via Arlington County)
Earlier this month, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the Arlington County Board, supporting the county’s Missing Middle Housing Study.
The letter says that the proposed framework of legalizing small-scale multifamily housing in neighborhoods currently only zoned for single-family homes would be a positive step in creating new housing that’s more affordable than what would otherwise be built on single-family-only lots.
But, the Chamber suggests, the proposal might not go far enough.
The Arlington Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the goals of the County’s Missing Middle Housing Study. Allowing for more density and a greater diversity of housing types in Arlington’s single-family neighborhoods is an important step forward. It is critical to making Arlington a place where people of all backgrounds can live, and where workers can find homes near their jobs. With the overwhelming majority of Arlington’s land area taken up by single- family detached zoning, there must be opportunities to open up these neighborhoods to new housing forms if Arlington is to ever make real progress on this issue.
We are pleased to see that the proposal allows these new housing types to be built by-right. This is essential to making them viable for builders. Given the nature of the rezoning process, it is unlikely that many builders would go through the trouble of rezoning when they can build more expensive homes by-right without the hassle and expense. However, we are disappointed by the projections of how many units this change will bring forward. The consultant’s study projects the redevelopment of 20 lots per year, divided into approximately 100 units. While that would represent a step forward, it barely scratches the surface of the problem of housing affordability in Arlington.
Further, we are concerned that the study may be overestimating the viability of some of these units. By requiring the structures to fit into the same footprint required for single-family detached homes, builders’ options for new housing types can be very limited. By requiring building heights to be no higher than 35 feet, stacked townhomes are effectively blocked, despite being there being a proven market for them in neighboring jurisdictions at reasonable price points. By requiring lot coverage standards to be the same as those required for single-family detached homes, sufficient on-site parking may be very difficult to install for larger projects.
The letter predicts that most of what will be built, should the zoning change be made, will be townhouses, duplexes, and triplexes. The proposal calls for allowing up to 8-unit homes, but only on sufficiently large lots and no larger in terms of building size than what is currently allowed for single-family zones.
In order to realize the goal of making housing more attainable, more flexibility should be granted. That would mean increasing building heights by just five to ten feet to allow stacked townhomes to be considered as an option. That might also mean allowing increases in lot coverage to allow for parking that meets the demand of prospective residents further away from transit. Existing zoning rules allow 56% lot coverage for duplexes, townhomes, and multifamily housing, which, if applied here, would enable a more diverse type of units to be constructed on larger lots than we would likely see at single-family detached standards.
While allowing for the construction of more duplexes and three-unit townhomes is a positive, and much needed change, the price points for these units could still be over $1 million. This is especially true in many areas where the County would allow more units per lot under the proposed changes, but which might not come into fruition without more flexibility. Duplexes and triplexes are great, but will accomplish less than other types in improving Arlington’s affordability. We are worried that given the proposed height and lot coverage rules, they may end up being a significantly larger portion of the missing middle units that get built than currently projected.
The Chamber strongly support the goals of this study, and we urge the County not to give in to the demands of opponents who want to shut this down prematurely. However, we think it is important that the County get this right, and would go further to bring real options to residents who would otherwise be unable to find them in these neighborhoods. As you move through the process, please consider what it would take to build units, that the County wants to allow with these changes, at a lower cost based on market conditions, and ensure that the development standards are imposed allow for that. Thank you for your consideration.
The Chamber joins the Arlington chapters of the NAACP and the Sierra Club in endorsing the “Missing Middle” plan. But there has also been plenty of pushback, with many residents expressing concern about increased traffic, overcrowded schools, loss of tree canopy, noise and a loss of neighborhood “character.”
The concern for the latter was expressed last night in one of numerous emails to the County Board, opposing zoning changes, that ARLnow has been CCed on recently.
As a 10 year resident of Lyon Village, I have appreciated the quiet tree-lined streets which our neighborhood offers as well as the convenience to the high density and vibrancy of Clarendon. Unlike many in our neighborhood, I have personal experience with the effects of higher density living as our backyard abuts a multi-family dwelling at 1325 N. Hudson. Over the past decade, we have been witness to hearing drunken altercations in the parking lot, as well as the late arrival and early departure of vehicles with loud mufflers or loud stereos, and even salacious activity in the open between residents who deemed it appropriate behavior to do so in the apartment buildings parking area.
While all of these events are possible in any urban/suburban neighborhood, the likelihood of any occurring increases with greater population density.
I urge you to consider alternative means to provide housing opportunities in Arlington that do not include changing the character of single-family home neighborhoods which many of us cherish.
The County Board is set to wade into the debate in July when it votes on whether to advance the Missing Middle study to a third phase. The push and pull of advocates and opponents pushing for more or less density raises a question: is there a middle ground?
This morning’s poll question asks whether there’s an upper bound on the number of units per multifamily building that would be acceptable to readers.
A BP gas station in Shirlington (file photo by Jay Westcott)
The Fourth of July is almost here and if there’s one thing on the minds of people traveling for the holiday, it’s gas prices.
The average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded in Virginia is currently $4.73, though in Arlington you’re more likely to find prices around $5. Only one Arlington station tracked by GasBuddy has a price lower than the state average.
One would think that the high price of fuel would keep more people at home for the holiday, but AAA recently predicted that 2022 will set a new record for Fourth of July car travel.
Earlier this year, an ARLnow poll found that fewer people were planning to travel for Memorial Day (25%) compared to 2013 (35%), when we posted a similar poll. Another ARLnow poll in March, when gas prices were about $4.20 per gallon, found that 25% of respondents reported driving less due to high gas prices.
So some combination of gas prices and other factors — the pandemic, perhaps, either as a result of precautions or practical things like someone testing positive for the virus — is likely to keep some people at home. But how many? Let’s try to find out.
A boat in the Potomac as clouds move in over Rosslyn (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
A group is seeking to make it legal to swim in the Potomac again.
The Potomac Riverkeeper Network is working to get D.C. to lift its decades-old swimming ban, saying that the Potomac is now clean enough for safe swimming in certain parts of the river. From the group’s website:
Swimming has been illegal in the Potomac in DC since 1971, when the river was plagued with sewage and toxic chemicals. Passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972 led to gradually improving water quality, and our community science monitoring shows that the Potomac in DC is often clean enough to swim at public access points such as the Tidal Basin, Hains Point and Fletcher’s Cove. PRKN will mark the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act in 2022 by seeking a formal commitment by Mayor Bowser and the DC Council to lift the ban on swimming in the Potomac and to work with the National Park Service to identify safe places for people to swim.
As the Potomac is under the jurisdiction of D.C. from shoreline to shoreline, the swimming ban applies to waters adjacent to Arlington and Alexandria as well.
Boat traffic, dangerous currents, and other hazards mean that not everywhere on the river is suitable for swimming. But the idea of a public beach with lifeguards on the river could be appealing, especially during the hottest summer days.
(For the record, the group advocating for an Arlington boathouse says a public beach adjacent to the facility — which will be near Roosevelt Island and Rosslyn — has not been under consideration. “That has never come up before in our discussions as a group,” George Kirschbaum of the Arlington Boathouse Foundation tells ARLnow.)
Given the ongoing swimming discussion, we’re wondering what percentage of readers would actually go for a dip in the river, if given a chance.
Boeing HQ in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Arlington is becoming a bonafide destination for corporate headquarters.
Three of the top 100 largest U.S. companies now have a headquarters — in the case of Amazon, a second headquarters — in the nation’s smallest self-governing county.
Those are in addition to other companies that top Fortune lists which already all Arlington home: utility company AES (#333), conglomerate Graham Holdings (#804), apartment developer AvalonBay Communities (#960) and the U.S. operations of Nestle (global #79).
The Raytheon and Boeing moves come with an asterisk, however — they’re more of an address change and will mostly utilize office space the companies already have here. Few employees will be moving here for either HQ, besides the CEO. And the primary reason Arlington was chosen was proximity to a certain five-sided building here, as well as a white building and a domed building across the river.
Still, there is a prestige factor that comes with being the headquarters for a major international company, including lots of nationalheadlines, plus ancillary economic benefits like more business travel and lodging, greater interest from other potential relocating companies, etc.
In statements, Arlington County officials are touting the news as a point of pride.
Statement from Katie Cristol, Arlington County Board Chair
“We welcome the decision of Raytheon Technologies, a leader in the aerospace and defense industry and long-standing member of our business community, to bring its global headquarters to Arlington,” said Katie Cristol, Arlington County Board Chair. “Today’s announcement demonstrates how Arlington’s proximity to the decision-makers of D.C. and its welcoming, business-friendly climate are key factors for top companies. We are honored to work alongside Raytheon and welcome its global headquarters into our community.”
Statement from Shannon Flanagan-Watson, Interim Director, Arlington Economic Development
“Raytheon’s announcement, as well as that of Boeing last month, show that more companies are choosing Arlington for their headquarters. Our skilled, highly-educated workforce, key investments in public infrastructure, and our exceptional tech ecosystem are factors companies desire when locating a company. We welcome Raytheon’s global headquarters and look forward to their continued presence in Arlington.”
This morning we’re wondering how locals are reacting to all of this. Are the new headquarters boosting your sense of civic pride? Or do you view the news as neutral or negative for Arlington?
