public forum

Changes Proposed for Gravelly Point, Roaches Run

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) The National Park Service is seeking public input on a series of changes proposed for Gravelly Point and the Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary, which are located along the George Washington Parkway near Crystal City.

The proposed changes, which have been in the works since 2008, are intended primarily to improve access to Roaches Run and reduce trail use conflicts along the Mount Vernon Trail at Gravelly Point. Other changes will “enhance the visitor experience… and enhance the safety of pedestrians, motorists, and cyclists.”

The proposal includes:

  • The addition of a boardwalk/pedestrian trail from the Crystal City pedestrian underpass to Roaches Run
  • A removable, floating boat launch at Roaches Run
  • Either widening the congested trail area at Gravelly Point or building two separate trails — a “through route” and a “pedestrian route”
  • A permanent “waterless restroom” located in the southwest corner of Gravelly Point
  • Converting the dusty, over-used field at Gravelly Point into two rotating fields or one permanent field with either reduced use or more intensive turf management
  • “Interpretive sites” at Gravelly Point that will include “signage detailing cultural and natural histories of the area”
  • Improved landscaping at Gravelly Point that will remove invasive species and “frame parkway views across the Potomac to Washington, D.C. based on historic planting plan”
  • Additional safety features along the Mount Vernon Trail where it parallels the GW Parkway near Reagan National Airport. Safety features may include reflective lines, protective barriers, or protective plantings.

The National Park Service will be holding a public meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5 to gather input on the options  for the Gravelly Point field and the Mount Vernon Trail safety improvements. The meeting will be held at the Indigo Landing Restaurant on Daingerfield Island, located off of the GW Parkway near Alexandria.

Interested parties can also submit comments via the project website. Comments will be gathered through June 22. There will be another opportunity to comment on the options later this year, after an environmental assessment is released for the project.

Once the environmental assessment is released and final project decisions are made, park planner Thomas Sheffer says it could “take a number of years” until the entire project is complete. The timeline is still very much up in the air, and depends on the project’s ability to receive federal funding. Some work, however, may be completed sooner.

“Smaller actions would be considered for more immediate completion by Parkway work crews,” Sheffer told ARLnow.com.

Public Feedback Requested on Pike Streetcar Plan

By Katie Pyzyk

Arlington and Fairfax counties are teaming up to gather public comment on an analysis of alternatives to building a streetcar line on Columbia Pike.

An Alternative Analysis/Environmental Analysis (AA/EA) was performed as part of the Columbia Pike Transit Initiative, which addresses transit along the five mile corridor from the Pentagon City area to the Skyline area in Fairfax. It’s the plan that includes the controversial streetcar system, now believed to cost between $242 million and $261 million.

The AA/EA looked at four alternatives and analyzed how each would satisfy the community’s need for improved transit, and how each would affect the environment. One of the options was a “No Build Alternative,” which is designed to provide a baseline comparison to the other ideas. Two of the other plans involve beefing up bus operations, and the final is the streetcar option.

Arlington and Fairfax had to devise the AA/EA in order to qualify for federal funding, per the Federal Transit Administration. The documents are available for review on the Columbia Pike Transit Initiative website, and comments can be left there as well. Comments can also be sent to [email protected].

Public input will be accepted through Thursday, June 21. In addition to providing comments online, there will be an informational public meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 6, at Patrick Henry Elementary School (701 S. Highland Street), where feedback will also be accepted.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Low Attendance at Tax Rate Hearing — At a public hearing last night, it only took half an hour for the County Board to hear all the speakers for and against raising Arlington’s real estate tax rate. In the end, those in favor of  raising the tax rate to pay for additional government services outnumbered those who wanted less spending. [Sun Gazette]

Frida Kahlo Exhibit Closes Sunday — Arlington’s exclusive and much-publicized exhibit of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s personal photos will come to a close this weekend. Hours have now been extended on Sunday, the last day of the exhibit at Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd). The remaining hours are: Friday 4:00 to 11:00 p.m., Saturday 12:00 to 11:00 p.m., Sunday 12:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Zimmerman: Metro Needs More Support — Arlington County Board member and former Metro Board member Chris Zimmerman says Metro needs more funding from governments, especially from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the federal government. Zimmerman also recommends keeping any potential fare increase small and making sure it doesn’t “punish the folks who take the shortest trips.” [Greater Greater Washington]

Crystal City Apartment Building Sold — The 442-unit Buchanan apartment building in Crystal City has changed hands for $175 million. The property was sold by Archstone to Dweck Properties, the same firm that bought the Crystal Plaza Apartments from Archstone last year. [CoStar]

Green Games Saved Some Green — Forget the Hunger Games, Arlington County says its “Green Games” competition was a blockbuster in terms of savings. The sustainability challenge saved $2 million in avoided energy and water costs, the county announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday. [Arlington County]

Feedback Wanted on Bikeshare Expansion Plan

By Katie Pyzyk

Earlier this year, Arlington announced plans to create a six-year plan for the growth and utilization of Capital Bikeshare in the county. Now, the public is being asked to weigh in and give suggestions on the plan.

An online forum has been set up for gathering feedback about the plan, which will cover fiscal years 2013-2018. Four scenarios were created and posted on the BikeArlington website as a general guide for expansion. Users are asked to comment about the favorable and unfavorable aspects of each scenario. Designers expect that none of the existing scenarios will be strictly adopted, but rather that elements of each will contribute to the final proposal.

One of the goals of the plan is to project costs and adjust budgets accordingly. All transit agencies in Virginia are required to complete a transit development plan every six years.

Comments can be posted at the online forum until April 13. There will also be a public meeting to address expansion on March 29, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at George Mason University’s Arlington Campus (3351 N. Fairfax Dr). The public is encouraged to attend and provide input.

Proposed Pike Improvements To Be Presented

By ARLnow.com

Work is underway to design improvements to the streetscape of Columbia Pike. On Monday, March 26, county staff and consultants will present their partially-completed design to the community.

The Columbia Pike Multimodal Street Improvements project has the goal of transforming the 3.5 mile Pike corridor, running from Fairfax County to S. Joyce Street, into a “complete street — a street designed to be more livable and safer by accommodating all users.”

The design seeks to not only make the Pike more accessible to pedestrians, but to get it ready to “support future high-quality, high-frequency transit service” — which may include enhanced bus service or the proposed Columbia Pike streetcar.

The current design, which is 50 percent complete, will be presented from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on March 26, at the Walter Reed Community Center (2909 16th Street S.). All interested community members are encouraged to attend and provide input.

Among the changes proposed in the initial designs:

  • New left-turn lanes for better traffic flow
  • New planted medians
  • Sidewalk greenery and landscaping
  • Improved bus stops
  • Undergrounding of overhead utilities
  • Wider sidewalks
  • New crosswalks
  • Eight additional traffic signals
  • Bike accommodations and facilities

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Marine Corps Marathon Sets Registration Record — The Marine Corps Marathon has recorded the fastest sellout of any U.S. marathon, ever. Registration for this year’s marathon, which starts and ends in Arlington, opened at 3:00 p.m. yesterday. It ended 2 hours and 41 minutes later, after selling all 30,000 of available online entries. “The MCM staff and U.S. Marine Corps sincerely thank each of the 30,000 participants for such an enthusiastic start to this year’s events,” marathon director Rick Nealis said in a statement. [Marine Corps Marathon]

New Apartment Building Coming to Ballston — Funding has been secured for the residential component of the new Founders Square development in Ballston, across from Ballston Common Mall. A $71.1 million construction loan will help build The Place, a 17-story, 257-unit luxury apartment building at 4000 Wilson Boulevard. The Place, which is expected to open in 2013, will feature “studio, one- and two-bedroom units with open floor plans and floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of Washington, D.C.” [Citybiz Real Estate]

Metro Complaints Include Employee Harassment — During a public forum in Arlington about proposed service changes and fare hikes, Metro customers got a chance to express their gripes about WMATA. In general, riders complained the fares were going up at a time when service seems to be deteriorating. Among the more specific complaints: long wait times for trains, confusing bus schedules, rude Metro employees, and even “regular occurrences of sexual harassment by Metro employees and other riders.” [Arlington Mercury]

Flickr pool photo by Christaki

Community Forum to Address Bullying of LGBT Youth

By ARLnow.com

How can students and teachers help reduce the bullying of LGBT youth in our schools? That’s the subject of a public forum to be held in Arlington next weekend.

The Northern Virginia chapter of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is inviting all interested parents, teachers, administrators, community leaders, residents and youth to discuss “what can be done to make schools safer for all students.” The forum is being held from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 10, at the Unitarian Church of Arlington (4444 Arlington Blvd).

David Aponte, chair of the GLSEN chapter that’s organizing the forum, says that even in Arlington, bullying of LGBT students is a problem.

“We hear about it all the time,” Aponte said. “Luckily, here we haven’t had any cases… of school violence or anything like that, but we do definitely know there’s verbal bullying of LGBT students on a regular basis.”

Aponte says his organization tries to “give students the leadership abilities they need and the tools and resources they need so they can go back to their schools and make them safer.” The forum will also seek to engage teachers and figure out things they can do “to work with students to make things better.”

GLSEN is asking interested attendees to pre-register for the event.

Metro Holding Public Hearings Regarding Budget, Fare Increase

By Katie Pyzyk

Metro has has drawn up a fiscal year 2013 budget and has plans for another fare hike this summer. But before pushing forward with these two measures, the agency wants to hear your input at a series of meetings.

Meetings start tonight and will be held throughout the region, with Arlington’s taking place next Monday, March 5. An open forum will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the cafeteria at Washington-Lee High School (1301 N. Stafford St), and the public hearing will begin at 7:00 p.m.

The open forum will have several stations to provide information to the public. Tables staffed by senior workers of Metrobus, Metrorail, MetroAccess, SmarTrip and police will be set up to give specific information and answer individual questions. In another area, a video presentation will be shown regarding Metro’s rebuilding program. There will also be a station with computers where participants can take an online survey and submit comments about Metro’s priorities.

Metro’s $1.6 billion FY2013 budget is an increase of $116 million over the last fiscal year. It shows a net decrease in revenue of $3 million over last fiscal year. The proposed fare increases are expected to generate $66 million. An additional $53 million increase in funding would come from jurisdictions.

In looking at the breakdown of the $116 million increase in the budget, Metro reports that $61 million is needed for higher expenses for existing operations. Half of that is due to the higher cost of fringe benefits, such as health care and pension benefits. The other half is due to an increase in contracted labor costs. The remaining $55 million is for improvements in safety, security and reliability.

The budget would cover projects designed to bring Metro in line with some NTSB recommendations, such as upgrading the signal system and replacing the oldest rail cars. Track rehabilitation and replacement of the system’s escalators and elevators is also planned.

Along with the fare increase, Metro plans to simplify the fare structure and do away with the current “peak of the peak” pricing, which was deemed too confusing. The Metro Board is expected to act on the budget in June, and fare changes are expected to go into effect on or around July 1.

Along with detailed information about the budget and fare increases, information about registering to speak at the public hearing or submitting written comments can be found online. There’s also an online survey regarding the budget and fare increases.

County Board Candidate Forum Scheduled

By ARLnow.com

(Updated on 1/3/12) The six announced candidates for County Board will have an opportunity to publicly make their case to fellow Democrats next week.

The Arlington County Democratic Committee has scheduled a candidate forum for Wednesday, Jan. 4. The forum will be held during the ACDC meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the NRECA building in Ballston (4301 Wilson Blvd) George Mason University Law School’s Founders Hall in Virginia Square (3351 Fairfax Dr.).

To date, the candidates who have announced their intention to seek the Democratic nomination for County Board are: Melissa Bondi, Peter Fallon, Libby Garvey, Kim Klingler, Elmer Lowe, and Terron Sims.

The deadline for filing to seek the nomination is 7:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9. Democrats will choose their nominees during caucuses on Thursday, Jan. 19 (at Washington-Lee High School) and on Saturday, Jan. 21 (at Kenmore Middle School).

The County Board special election — to fill the seat being vacated by state Senator-elect Barbara Favola on Dec. 31 — will be held on Tuesday, March 27. So far, no Republicans have announced their intention to run for the seat.

Library Looks to Future at Upcoming Public Sessions

By Katie Pyzyk

Arlington Public Library is looking to the future, and wants the public to speak up with ideas and suggestions. A series of public gatherings called “Invent the Future of the Library” is being held to examine where the library is headed, and what steps need to be taken to get there.

The first session is tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the Walter Reed Community Center (2909 16th St. S.). The second is next Thursday, Nov. 3, at 7:00 p.m. at the Fairlington Community Center (3308 S. Stafford St.), and the last is Thursday, Nov. 10, at 7:00 p.m. at Washington-Lee High School (1301 N Stafford St.).

Tonight’s session will have a significant focus on technology and which trends are shaping, or will shape, the library. The results from the recent Library User Satisfaction Survey will also be discussed. You can take part in the new, very short, online survey regarding services and programming by clicking here.

APS to Discuss School Capacity Challenges

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Public Schools will be hosting a public meeting next week about the school system’s looming capacity crisis.

The forum will be held next Wednesday night at the Washington-Lee High School auditorium, not far from where several new trailer classrooms were installed over the summer. School officials will discuss the steps they’re taking to address the burgeoning student population, which is expected to reach 3,400 seats overcapacity by 2016.

Among the possible solutions to be discussed are “building opportunities” on existing Arlington Public School sites. The APS press release is below.

Arlington parents and the community are invited to a presentation about facility planning and steps taken to address the space needs due to increasing enrollment. The meeting will be held on Wed, Oct. 5 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Washington-Lee High School auditorium (1301 N. Stafford St.)

At the meeting, the community will hear about the current process to address the increases in enrollment and which APS sites may be reviewed for potential building opportunities. APS officials will outline the next steps and talk about opportunities for further dialogue between school communities, staff and the School Board.

The event is open to the community. Simultaneous translation services will be provided.

Background

APS is facing increased enrollment for the foreseeable future. By 2013, there will be over 800 more students than available seats. By 2016, APS faces an even greater shortage of 3,400 seats. As the division continues to exceed capacity limits, APS has been using a variety of solutions to create additional teaching space including adding relocatable classrooms at a number of schools until more permanent solutions can be implemented.

Over the course of the summer, the School Board worked with staff and Decision Lens to build a criteria-based model for evaluating potential capacity-building options. Planning for the 2012 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and future CIPs provides an opportunity for APS to look at where to build additional, permanent capacity for students.

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