public forum

Arlington Mill Demolition Set for January

By ARLnow.com

Arlington is preparing to demolish the old Arlington Mill Community Center to make way for a brand new community center in 2013.

Due to some expected minor disruptions, Arlington County staff will be presenting information about the demolition plan at a public meeting next week. Update at 1/3 — The meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 4 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Greenbrier Baptist Church (5401 7th Road South).

In case you can’t make it, here’s an executive summary:

  • No explosives will be used in the demolition, which will begin in January
  • No road closures are expected
  • Traffic and transit on Columbia Pike will not be affected
  • Pedestrian access will be maintained on surrounding streets
  • The demolition will take 30 to 45 days, weather permitting
  • Debris from the site will be hauled from South Dinwiddie Street to Columbia Pike to South Four Mile Run Drive
  • Construction on the new Arlington Mill Center is expected to begin in the spring
  • Another informational meeting will be held regarding the construction plan

Westover Farmers Market Meeting Tonight

By ARLnow.com

An open community meeting will be held tonight to discuss the possible formation of a farmers market in Westover.

Organizers say the farmers market would be held outside the Westover Library on either Saturday or Sunday mornings. They would like to launch the market in the spring.

Anyone interested in shopping at or helping to operate the market is asked to attend tonight’s meeting, which will be held at 7:00 p.m. at Westover Library (1644 McKinley Road).

Dominion To Hold Public Meeting About Transmission Line

By ARLnow.com

Arlington is still growing, population-wise, and that larger population is requiring more and more electricity to serve its needs.

To help meet demand, Dominion is planning a major project to run a 3.7 mile underground transmission line from Pentagon City to the power substation at 3245 Wilson Boulevard in Clarendon. The project also proposes to construct a new Radnor Heights power substation on the grounds of Ft. Myer.

The project “will support growth in Arlington County,” says Dominion spokesperson Le-Ha Anderson. But progress will come at a cost — burying the line will be an intensive 18 month process that will result in open-cut trenching and street closures along the proposed route.

“Because this is underground, we’re going to have to dig up the roadways,” Anderson said. “We’re going to do everything we can to minimize traffic and community disruption.”

Dominion is holding a public meeting a week from today to provide information about the project. The meeting will take place from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Nov. 29 at the Lyon Park Community Center (414 North Fillmore Street). The company held a public meeting for the Ft. Myer community last week.

If all goes as planned, construction will begin in January and end in June 2012. The end result, Anderson says, will be worth the temporary hassle.

“We’re improving service reliability to our customers in the Arlington area,” she said.

Flickr pool photo by Alykat

Streetcar Forum Lacked Fireworks But Revealed Substance

By Barry Skidmore

About 150 people crammed into Walter Reed Community Center last night to discuss the current state of planning for the Columbia Pike streetcar project.

Planners revealed that the streetcar line is expect to go into service in 2016 and is expected to cost $160 million to build. Of that, Arlington will pay $135 million and Fairfax County will pay $25 million, according to planners. However, county staff warned those cost estimates will change as further planning is done. The Pike Transit Initiative, as the project is called, is also seeking funding from the Federal Transit Administration, which could cover part of the cost of construction.

The streetcar would travel east from Skyline/Bailey’s Crossroads, down Columbia Pike, past the Air Force Memorial to end at South Eads Street. The plan also calls for one of two extensions to be built, either to the NOVA Community College campus near Skyline or to Long Bridge Park, near the Pentagon, to accommodate a streetcar storage and maintenance shed.

The public forum was expected to be contentious, as a number of streetcar critics had announced in advance they would attend. There were no fireworks or shouting matches, but during a question and answer session a few people did pelt planners with questions about the value of having a streetcar line at all.

Steven Del Giudice, head of transit operations and planning for Arlington County, suggested that there were other means for critics to express their dissent and that this meeting was “not the forum” to discuss the value of having streetcars on the Pike.

“Reasonable people can disagree,” said Del Giudice after the meeting, shrugging off the criticism.

Streetcar skeptic and Pike resident John Antonelli said he was concerned about the project’s cost, which some critics believe could reach past $300 million (Del Giudice disputed this, saying a quoted $336 million figure included 30 years of operating costs).

Antonelli argued the streetcar won’t save much money on existing bus service (Del Giudice says it will likely eliminate two to three bus lines), and noted that service could easily be disrupted by road repairs, a traffic accident, or a stalled car. He called the forum “a typical Kabuki theatre Arlington meeting.”

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Public Forum on Proposed Pike Streetcar — A public meeting will be held tonight to discussed the proposed Columbia Pike/Crystal City streetcar. The meeting will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Walter Reed Community Center (2909 16th Street South). We’ve heard from a few streetcar critics who plan on attending the meeting. They might be surprised to learn that their sentiments aren’t shared by Gov. Bob McDonnell, who told WTOP that Arlington is doing “a good job” with the streetcar project.

Capitol City Brewing Co. Expanding in Shirlington — After losing the lease on its Capitol Hill location, Capitol City Brewing is planning on moving its brewing operations to Shirlington. The company is taking over an adjacent property to enable the expansion, which will make it one of the 10 largest brewpubs in the County. More from Shirlington Village Blog.

Comic Art Show Debuts Tomorrow — Are comic books art? That question will be answered tomorrow, when the Arlington Arts Center debuts its latest show. Party Crashers will feature “fine artists who mimic the appearance of comic art.” More from Clarendon Nights.

George Mason Drive Reopens — George Mason Drive has reopened near Virginia Hospital Center. It was closed for most of the day yesterday, following a powerful storm that knocked over trees and snapped power lines.

Flickr pool photo by Philliefan99

Public Forum on Columbia Pike Streetcar Planned

By ARLnow.com

The Columbia Pike Transit Initiative is planning a series of public meetings do discuss the proposed Columbia Pike streetcar.

One of the meeting will be held at the Walter Reed Community Center at 2909 16th Street South, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 18. The other meeting will be held in Falls Church on Monday, Nov. 15.

The schedule of the Arlington meeting is as follows:

  • Presentation and Question/Answer Session 7:00 – 7:45 p.m.
  • Break-Out Discussions on Alignment, Station Stops, Facilities 7:45 – 8:45 p.m.
  • Reconvene and Recap 8:45 – 9:00 p.m.

Here’s a letter that’s being sent to area Civic Associations:

Arlington County and Fairfax County are proposing a streetcar line in the Columbia Pike corridor. The two counties have engaged the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (also known as Metro) to prepare a combined Environmental Assessment/Alternatives Analysis and are in coordination with the Federal Transit Administration for Federal environmental procedures and capital funding.

The project, known as the Columbia Pike Transit Initiative, would extend along Columbia Pike (Route 244) from the Bailey’s Crossroads/Skyline area in Fairfax County to Pentagon City in Arlington County. Alignment and yard options extend to the Northern Virginia Community College within the City of Alexandria, which is participating in the project.

We want to inform you about the Initiative and receive your input. Please plan on attending one of these important meetings! For more information, visit www.piketransit.com. Spanish translation will be provided at the meetings. For special assistance for persons with disabilities, please call me at (202) 962-1027, at least 10 days prior to the meetings. Feel free to share this invitation (see enclosed bilingual flyer) with your family, friends, and neighbors. We sincerely appreciate your participation and look forward to seeing you soon!

John M. Dittmeier, Project Manager, Metro
[email protected]

Mary Hynes to Lead Helicopter Forum

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County board member Mary Hynes will lead a panel discussion about helicopters and local helicopter regulations Wednesday night at the Arlington County Board Room (2100 Clarendon Blvd, third floor).

Hynes, who chairs the Aviation Policy Committee for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, says there has been a noticeable uptick in complaints about helicopter noise in the past couple of years. She says Wednesday’s forum will allow residents to learn more about the rules that govern helicopter flights in the national capital region.

Hynes says she hopes the forum will also lead to the development of a better system for handling citizen complaint about helicopters, especially military helicopters, which are the most prevalent over Arlington.

“The focus is to have a good conversation about the impacts of the helicopter traffic on the residents, and see if there’s some way we can work with the military to lessen that impact,” she said.

Military helicopters usually fly defined routes from the Pentagon to other military installations. The flight paths are typically major highways like I-395 or waterways like the Potomac River. Even if the helicopters pilots stick to the path, however, they sometimes fly lower than they’re supposed to, irking residents.

Homeland Security and local law enforcement flights are also fairly common around Arlington, Hynes noted. News helicopters typically don’t fly over Arlington because the county is within a no-fly zone around Reagan National Airport, put into place after 9/11.

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Metrobus Service To Be Discussed At Public Meetings

By ARLnow.com

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is planning a series of public meetings to discuss Metrobus service on certain routes. Two of the meetings will take place in Arlington.

One meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 21 at the Shirlington Library (4200 Campbell Ave). Another is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 23 at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association building (4301 Wilson Blvd). Each meeting will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

At both meetings, service on the 23A, 23C, 25A, 25C and 25D routes (The McLean-Crystal City and the Ballston-Bradlee-Pentagon City lines) will be discussed. WMATA is reviewing the travel time and reliability of the routes.

Other meetings are planned for Oxon Hill, Northeast DC, and McLean.

Flickr pool photo by Aaron Webb.

County Leaders Get Earful About Proposed Pike Library Move

By ARLnow.com

Update on 6/18 — The proposal to move the library has been withdrawn.

County leaders got an earful about the proposed relocation of the Columbia Pike Branch Library at a town hall meeting last night.

“An angry standing room crowd” holding “signs and banners” loudly engaged library and county officials at the Arlington Career Center, a resident who attended the meeting tells us.

Career Center and Patrick Henry Elementary School students were among those speaking out against the move. Officials in attendance included new County Manager Michael Brown and Library Director Diane Kresh.

The proposal to move the library from Walter Reed Drive to Arlington Mill Drive, further down Columbia Pike, has attracted a torrent of criticism from those who live near the library. One post about the move on the Arlington Library Blog has attracted more than 100 comments, most of them negative.

Deputy County Manager Marsha Allgeier, who also attended the town hall, had this to say about the meeting:

Last night’s meeting was productive. We will continue this conversation with the community on whether it makes sense to move the Columbia Pike Branch library from its current location on Walter Reed Drive to the Arlington Mill Community Center on Columbia Pike. Staff will continue to listen to the community until the County Manager feels he can make a recommendation to the Board. The decision on the design of Arlington Mill can be made without a final decision on whether the library branch should be moved. We will take as much time as needed to make a good recommendation to the Board on the future of the branch library, a library meant to serve all of Columbia Pike.

The Sun Gazette reports that change-of-government supporters took advantage of the public anger and gathered “several dozen” petition signatures outside the Career Center.

Photo via the Library Blog.

Kojo Comes to Arlington, Finds That People Like it Here

By ARLnow.com

WAMU 88.5 FM’s Kojo Nnamdi hosted his “Kojo in the Community” program in Arlington last night. The show just finished airing, and there were so many topics raised over the course of two hours that it’s hard to summarize everything. Look back over this web site for past four months and you’ll get a taste for about half of the discussion.

Kojo started out by talking about the past and present of Arlington. Long-time residents spoke in wonder of the pace of development over the past 20 or so years. Many people lamented that the development is hurting the area’s diversity by making it more expensive to live here. Despite Arlington’s push for affordable housing, it seems there are many who feel that not enough is being done.

There were other assorted complaints, but almost universally, those in attendance at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Parish said that they really like it here. Of course, many of the speakers were people who either work for the county or are part of community organizations — people who are in their positions in the first place because they are passionate about the community.

During the course of the discussion, one thing became clear: we in Arlington think we’re pretty smart. Multiple speakers referenced how intelligent the residents of Arlington are — which is empirically true, if you look at census data. But it was notable how many people raised it as one of Arlington’s key characteristics.

Another part of the program focused on the future of Arlington. From the redevelopment of Crystal City to revitalization and streetcars on Columbia Pike, to the ever-present change-of-government debate, the discussion was wide-ranging and all-inclusive, like a community planning stream-of-consciousness.

There was no shortage of residents with something to say during the two hour discussion. This community is vibrant and interesting (and, dare I say, intelligent) enough that Kojo could have probably been here for 20 hours and people would have still had new topics to raise. Thanks to WAMU for the giant pat on the back for Arlington. It is nice to live here, after all.

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