Bluemont Junction Trail (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
This weekend, the Arlington County Board is set to consider a proposal to funnel nearly $400,000 into the second phase of the Bluemont Junction Trail safety project.
Phase 2 includes moving and updating three trail connectors to be accessible to people with disabilities and improving cyclist and pedestrian intersections between the W&OD Trail and the Four Mile Run Trail on both sides of Wilson Blvd, per a county report.
The plan also calls for resurfacing a 480-foot segment of Four Mile Run Trail and repairing a nearby pedestrian bridge.
In the project’s first phase, which spanned the fall of 2021 to last summer, the county and the Virginia Dept. of Transportation made upgrades to roughly 4,500 linear feet and 13 connector trails, the report said. This included reconfiguring the trail’s intersections with N. Emerson Street and N. Kensington Street.
The second phase, however, demands more “in-depth engineering” than the milling and repaving carried out in the first phase, the report said.
Rep. Don Beyer has earmarked $325,000 in federal funds for the second phase of the project, which has an estimated total cost of $711,662.
The community will have an opportunity to provide input on the designs and proposed improvements if the funds are allocated, a county staff report notes.
Participants learning how to stop bleeding in “Until Help Arrives” before the pandemic (via Arlington County)
Want to learn how to handle a life-threatening situation?
The Arlington Community Response Team plans to offer free emergency response training sessions over the next several months for those who live, work, or volunteer in Arlington. It’s part of the national “Until Help Arrives” program to teach the public how to help during emergencies, from car accidents to active shooter situations.
Locals can sign up for two courses, including a 3.5-hour full emergency response training course or a 2-hour hands-on course.
According to the county website, course graduates learn the following life-saving skills:
Maintaining situational awareness
Identifying key life threats
Stopping bleeding
Moving and positioning the injured
Providing psychological support and comfort to the wounded
Relaying essential information to 9-1-1
The full course, which includes “classroom instruction and hands-on practice of live-saving skills,” will be offered on Wednesday, Nov. 29, from 5:30-8:45 p.m. at Arlington Mill Community Center.
Residents are not required to do any preparation work in advance. Certificates will be presented following the completion of the course.
People can also register for a 2-hour hands-on course, in which they just learn hands-on techniques, such as how to use a tourniquet and stop bleeding.
This option requires participants to take an online course in lieu of a classroom session.
The 2-hour course is offered once this month and once in October:
Thursday, Aug. 31, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Walter Reed Community Center
Thursday, Oct. 19, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Walter Reed Community Center
A police officer keeps watch during Walk and Bike to School Day 2012 at Oakridge Elementary School (staff photo)
Arlington County police will be stepping up enforcement and a traffic safety education next week as students go back to school.
The first day of school for Arlington Public Schools is Monday, meaning more children walking, bicycling, and riding the bus around Arlington.
With back-to-school time around the corner, the police department is reminding people to follow the rules of the road. A new press release urges drivers to watch for students, follow posted speed limits — which have been lowered to 20 mph around several schools — and to put down their phones.
“Transportation safety is a shared responsibility and it is up to all of us to keep our students safe by following the rules of the road,” the release said. “ACPD will conduct a high-visibility transportation safety campaign in and around school zones and bus stops to ensure the trip to class is as safe as possible.”
The campaign will include enforcement as well as variable message boards with safety messages.
“With a little awareness and prevention, all travelers can arrive at their destinations in a timely and safe manner,” said ACPD.
The release also notes some new initiatives, including “Walking School Buses” with dedicated volunteers and adding more speed humps near schools.
“Reducing vehicle speeds is fundamental to reducing severe crashes, and speed humps are a useful tool for decreasing speeds on neighborhood roads,” the press release says. “Arlington has not added new speed humps in the last decade. The County plans to reintroduce speed humps through a limited pilot focused on reducing speeds in school slow zones where the introduction of 20 mph speed limits has not resulted in lower speeds.”
“The pilot will begin at three sites: S. Lang Street near Gunston Middle School, S. Queen Street near Hoffman Boston Elementary, and 19th Street N. near Cardinal Elementary,” the release continues. “The pilot will assess speeds and operations before and after the introduction of the tactical speed humps, as well as community input. Additional speed hump sites may be considered in additional school zones following the initial installations.”
More, below, from ACPD.
With students returning to the classroom on Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, there will soon be an increase in children walking, bicycling, and riding the bus to schools throughout Arlington. Transportation safety is a shared responsibility and it is up to all of us to keep our students safe by following the rules of the road. The Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) will conduct a high-visibility transportation safety campaign in and around school zones and bus stops to ensure the trip to class is as safe as possible.
Variable message boards will be placed along roadways in Arlington to raise awareness about the start of the school year and to share important safety messaging. With a little awareness and prevention, all travelers can arrive at their destinations in a timely and safe manner.
A police officer plays a game of pickup basketball with local kids in 2018 (flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf)
This evening, several neighborhoods and organizations are hosting events in an effort to make their communities safer.
The events from 5-8 p.m. tonight will feature food, lawn games and activities for kids. Arlington police officers, firefighters and other county personnel will participate in the “National Night Out” events, which are also happening across the U.S.
“National Night Out is a community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer and improve quality of life,” a county webpage says.
“During the event, residents in neighborhoods throughout Arlington County and across the nation are asked to turn on their porch lights, lock their doors and spend the evening outside with their neighbors, police officers, firefighters and other County personnel,” the page continues.
A smattering of civic associations, community groups, affordable housing nonprofit AHC Inc., and live music venue The Renegade in Clarendon are putting on events this year, according to the website.
Organizers invited ACPD and other organizations to attend and engage with participants, says police spokeswoman Ashley Savage.
She provided the following rundown of what some events will be providing.
Arlington Village: Lawn games and refreshments
Cathcart Springs Homeowners Association: Barbecue
Cherrydale Public Library: Food and games
Gates of Ballston: Bingo, kids activities and music
Green Valley Civic Association: Food, kids activities, games and educational tables
Lyon Village Citizens’ Association: Refreshments
We are so excited to see you out in the community tomorrow evening for National Night Out. Remember to lock your doors & turn your exterior lights on before joining us at events across the county. For a list of locations, visit our webpage. https://t.co/p2K9IUaodKpic.twitter.com/HixsYDW2yC
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Green Valley Civic Association hosted another event tailored to fighting gun violence.
Around 350 people attended, including three D.C. area mothers who lost sons between the ages of 8-35, says Portia Clark, the civic association president. Some 200 participants signed pledges to keep guns out of fights.
The impetus were recent reports of shots fired, a stabbing and some fights. These and similar public safety concerns over the last year have also prompted the civic association’s Public Service Work Group to meet regularly about ways to address violence in the community.
“This event was a way to help build relationships across the community and to get the community to pledge that they would not use weapons like guns to solve any disputes,” Clark said.
Coordinated by Tekhanna Hall-Harris and Javon “Blue” Harris, the event featured live bands and entertainers from Arlington and Alexandria, speakers, a prayer and a school supplies giveaway by Kingdom Fellowship Church in Alexandria.
It was a “great, family-friendly experience” and “no violence occurred,” Clark noted.
The ‘Guns Down Stop the Violence’ event in Green Valley on Sunday (courtesy Portia Clark)
A runner uses a rapid flashing beacon to cross N. Park Drive (staff photo)
In a bid to increase pedestrian safety, Arlington County may require drivers stay stopped for longer at crosswalks.
The Arlington County Board is set to consider on Saturday changing its code so that drivers will have to stop when a pedestrian enters an adjacent travel lane and heads their way. Currently, drivers need only yield right of way when a pedestrian enters their lane.
The change follows on a revision to state law that went into effect on July 1. The local change is another way Arlington aims to eliminate serious and fatal crashes — particularly for pedestrians, who made up one-third of serious or fatal crashes between 2018 and 2022.
“Pedestrians are one of our most vulnerable road users because their bodies are not surrounded with a metal frame and airbags,” a county report said. “It is critical for drivers to look for, be aware of, and stop for pedestrians to help get to Arlington’s goal of Vision Zero transportation deaths or serious injuries by 2030.”
In Arlington, the change would apply to local and state roads, says Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Katie O’Brien. This includes major arterials that see the county’s highest concentration of serious crashes, such as Arlington, Langston and Washington boulevards and Glebe Road.
The county says the intent of its ordinance change is to reflect wording changes in state law.
This March, the state put a finer point on what drivers are required to do when they see a pedestrian looking to cross.
Before, drivers were required to “yield right-of-way to pedestrians by stopping” when pedestrians are crossing in front of the drivers.
Now, state code says drivers “shall stop” when a pedestrian is within the driver’s lane or within an adjacent lane and approaching the driver’s lane. Drivers are required to stay stopped until the pedestrian has passed their lane.
Any driver who does not stop is guilty of a traffic infraction and can face a $100-$500 fine, according to the new law.
Staff intends to inform the public of the new law via a press release, emails, and social media posts on NextDoor, Twitter and Facebook, per the report.
O’Brien says new signage will be also added.
“We are working on plans to make signage and marking changes to be in compliance with the new code,” she said.
The law also lets localities require pedestrians and cyclists to stop before crossing a highway at crosswalks without signals or face a fine of up to $100.
The John Robinson, Jr. Town Square on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 (staff photo)
Apartments and retail next to John Robinson, Jr. Town Square (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A playground across from the John Robinson, Jr. Town Square (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The “FREED” Sculpture in the John Robinson, Jr. Town Square (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Amid community pressure, Arlington County is taking a closer look at ways to improve safety in Green Valley.
Some residents are pushing for more action from the county on two fronts: dealing with nuisances and more actively policing criminal activity. In response to the mounting concerns, an internal county workgroup is beginning to meet this week to find ways to do just that.
The nuisances are related to drinking and smoking as well as public urination and loud music associated with some of the people who hang out around the John Robinson, Jr. Town Square, neighbors tell ARLnow. The criminal issues relate to gun violence, which some neighbors tie to the unaddressed open-air substance use.
Throughout the day, people can be seen hanging out in the area. Yesterday (Tuesday), for instance, ARLnow observed a handful of people sitting in folding chairs outside of The Shelton, an affordable housing building, while two other groups were congregated in the town square, talking and listening to music.
Neighbors, including Yordanos Woldai, say they don’t have an issue with people hanging out. They just want people not to drink alcohol or smoke marijuana outdoors, urinate in public or play music during quiet hours.
“Having lived in Arlington for such a long time, I am not aware of any other residential neighborhood where this conduct is allowed to happen in plain sight and not be addressed by the police,” Woldai tells ARLnow. “Children have to walk on the streets at times because there is no way to pass and there are broken beer bottles on sidewalks and grass.”
A few of the people hanging out told ARLnow that nearly everyone on the square yesterday likely came from outside Green Valley to this area to be together. Many grew up in the neighborhood but have since moved away.
One man, who appeared to be drinking beer from a plastic cup, put his hand out close to the ground and raised it up slowly to show how much of early childhood, marked in growth spurts, he spent in the neighborhood.
“They feel they are very much part of the community,” Woldai said. “I love the idea that people come to Green Valley to connect with old friends… It’s the illegal activities that are bothersome.”
Woldai addressed the Arlington County Board on Saturday about her concerns and said she had the support of 37 neighbors. This includes Lily Bozhanova, a Bulgarian immigrant who has lived in the area for five years with her family.
“My children are 5 and 7-year-olds. We often go to the spray park there and I sometimes have to explain to my children why they see people smoke or drink plein air. It’s not good but they see it every day and it’s a deterrent for going in the area,” she told ARLnow.
Bozhanova says she tries to avoid the area in the evening and lately Googled whether bullets can pass through brick.
“I shouldn’t be looking up to see whether my house can sustain gunshots. Brick is relatively safe, by the way,” she said.
Although she is grateful for the life she has built, she says, “it’s not exactly the American Dream we were trying to achieve moving here.”
Frank Duncan, a longtime resident of The Shelton (3215 24th Street S.) said he was shot last summer. A relative was also shot not long after.
“That’s the story about the life we live here,” he said.
Still, he said he cannot move away because it will be hard to find space in another low-income apartment building. He says he does what he can to promote safety in part by volunteering as a crossing guard for Drew Elementary School students.
Woldai ties the shootings to the nuisance issues.
“When people know there isn’t really a police presence in a neighborhood where you can drink and smoke marijuana, it attracts more serious crimes,” she said. “That has been a serious concern for residents living near the town square.”
A new stop sign on Little Falls Road (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A new stop sign warning sign on Little Falls Road (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A variable messaging board on Little Falls Road (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
New traffic safety features on Little Falls Road (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
All-way stop sign at N. Quincy Street and 9th Street N. (courtesy Arlington County Dept. of Environmental Services)
Arlington County has converted two intersections near Nottingham Elementary to four-way stops, in the wake of last year’s fatal crash on Little Falls Road.
In October, a driver struck and killed a woman at the intersection of Little Falls and John Marshall Drive. She was the third pedestrian killed along a two-block stretch of Little Falls Road near the school over the past eight years.
In the aftermath, the county began investigating the appropriateness of an all-way stop at the intersection.
Two such traffic patterns were installed along Little Falls Road in mid-March, Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Katie O’Brien says: one at the intersection with John Marshall Drive and the other with N. Ohio Street.
“The two new all-way stop locations are located on both sides of the Nottingham Elementary School and help facilitate crossing opportunities for pedestrians and traffic control on this section of roadway,” O’Brien said. “Additional pavement markings and tactical improvements were made at the intersection of Little Falls Road and N. Nottingham Street.”
Last winter, as part of a traffic safety campaign, the county temporarily ramped up traffic enforcement on Little Falls Road, which saw twoprevious fatal crashes in 2014 and 2019.
Then, with the urging of the County Board to make safety improvements faster, it made some other short-term updates to the two intersections, says O’Brien.
The all-way stops were deemed necessary after multiple observations and on-site reviews to “assess the operations and effectiveness of the recent short-term improvements,” the spokeswoman said.
Updates to Little Falls Road and John Marshall Drive (via Arlington County)
In another step to increase safety, last week the county reduced speeds near Nottingham. It made the area around the school a “School Slow Zone,” where there is a permanent 20 mile-per-hour speed limit on a neighborhood street within 600 feet of a key access point to a school.
Earlier this week, meanwhile, at the intersection of N. Quincy Street and 9th Street N. in Ballston, an all-way stop was added in response to an extensive study and data collection effort. Pavement markings will follow soon, says O’Brien.
Safety concerns at this intersection date back more than a decade. The county has added upgrades incrementally to the originally sign-free intersection, Google Maps shows.
By 2010, ARLnow previously reported, a crosswalk and “yield to pedestrians” flags were added. Then, the county added neon yellow pedestrian signs and a repainted crosswalk.
O’Brien says the county studied whether to add stop signs given the limited impact of previous upgrades and repeated safety concerns from residents who cited the high volume of traffic at the intersection.
“This most recent study’s conclusion at this location reflects further consideration of the travel volumes and crash history at this location,” O’Brien said. “It also is part of our Vision Zero approach to safety intervention that calls for a progressive method on implementing safety measures when past efforts do not result in the desired outcomes.”
A woman and baby were struck in an intersection on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 (courtesy Mark Blacknell, blur added by ARLnow)
A driver struck a mother pushing her baby in a stroller in Ballston yesterday morning, police and a witness say.
The crash happened around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday at the intersection of N. Park Drive and N. Carlin Springs Road.
The driver remained on scene while the baby was taken via ambulance to a local hospital “for injuries considered non-life threatening,” said Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage.
“The investigation determined the pedestrian, who was pushing a child in a stroller, was crossing the street when a motorist turned and struck the stroller,” said Savage.
The driver was cited for “failure to yield the right of way,” she added.
In a Twitter thread, resident Mark Blacknell said he was on his way to chaperone a field trip for one of his kids when he saw the aftermath of the crash.
“When I saw that people in cars were still driving within inches of this mother on the street, impatient to get on their way, I stepped in to direct some traffic to down a side street, away from her,” he said. “I wasn’t the first to do that. A much older woman had, but drivers were simply rolling at her until she got out of the way. Not with me.”
He left after police arrived and onlookers helped the mother onto the sidewalk but said “her cries, those I won’t forget for a long long time.”
He told ARLnow that yesterday afternoon he saw signs of an investigation, including spray paint marks on the road where the stroller stopped. The front grill emblem from the Toyota that hit them was still in the street.
In his series of tweets, he called on Arlington County Board members to put more pressure on County Manager Mark Schwartz to prioritize pedestrian safety.
“The fix, thus far? Two little yellow signs that say ‘Cross traffic does not stop,'” he wrote. “If a mother cannot push her baby across the street in safety, all of the arts funding, tourism development, stormwater mitigation and that the rest of that is meaningless.”
“This particular intersection isn’t Arlington’s first or last transportation safety challenge,” he said. “But it’s pretty emblematic of where we are.”
The second year of Vision Zero — Arlington County’s plan to to reach its goal of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030 — is coming to a close this month. As a result, the county is asking for anonymous feedback on how Vision Zero is changing transportation safety.
Over the last two years, the county has analyzed data, installed quick safety treatments, embarked on pilots and investigated serious crashes.
“We track and investigate all critical (fatal or severe) crashes throughout the year — which lead to immediate engineering response where possible,” Arlington County says.
Concept design of a new pedestrian bridge across Four Mile Run, parallel to the Shirlington Road bridge (via Arlington County)
The location of where the Shirlington Road Pedestrian Bridge will go, parallel to the vehicle bridge (image via Google Maps)
The County Board is set to vote this weekend on a contract to build a long-awaited pedestrian bridge.
On Saturday, it is expected that the Arlington County Board will approve a $1.6 million contract to construct the Shirlington Road Pedestrian Bridge. The 15-foot-wide prefabricated steel bridge will run the length of Four Mile Run and parallel to the road with the purpose of providing safer bicycle and pedestrian access.
It will connect Shirlington and S. Arlington Mill Drive to Jennie Dean Park and the Green Valley neighborhood. It will also serve local users of the heavily-used Four Mile Run and W&OD trails nearby.
Work on the bridge could begin in the second half of this year if the contract is approved over the weekend, Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokesperson Claudia Pors told ARLnow. That would mean a completion date in mid to late 2024.
“The existing Shirlington Road vehicular bridge primarily funnels vehicles to/from I-395 and lacks safe, comprehensive accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists traveling through this area,” the report to the Board says.
“This project will provide a key missing link in the County’s bicycle network by providing a north-south protected bicycle facility that will link up with the existing Four Mile Run Trail along South Arlington Mill Drive to the west and along Four Mile Run in the City of Alexandria to the east of the bridge,” the report adds.
The bridge has been under discussion for two decades and has been the topic of conversation among county staff and the public for years.
It will be constructed in two parts, per Pors. First, the span will be built offsite, a process that will take about nine months, while abutments will be added at S. Arlington Mill Drive and Jennie Dean Park where each end of the bridge will go. Around this time, the bridge’s walls will be built and the sidewalk and crosswalk at S. Arlington Mill Drive will be shuttered. Bike and pedestrian traffic will be detoured.
The bridge, then, will be lifted by a crane and installed.
“It’s possible that lanes on the existing bridge will close to accommodate this installation, and the public would be given notice of any detours,” Pors noted.
New street lighting on each end of the bridge will be installed as well, plus median, sidewalk and crosswalk retrofits. A new Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon will be installed in the median as well.
The work is set to be done by D.C.-based Milani Construction, whose $1.38 million bid (plus $277,000 in contingency costs) actually came in under the county engineer’s estimated construction cost.
Last year, work was completed on the parallel vehicle bridge on Shirlington Road. That included resurfacing, routine maintenance, widening the sidewalk by several feet on the west side of the bridge, widening curb ramps, and adding a median at the mid-block crosswalk near 27th Street S.
A number of these improvements came as a result of public feedback.
Additionally, the county is set to study the feasibility of adding another crossing at the intersection of S. Arlington Mill Drive and Shirlington Road.
“County staff have begun study efforts and anticipate reaching out to the public for input this fall,” Pors said.
Police officer talks with driver during high-visibility enforcement along Little Falls Road (via ACPD)
Arlington County police will be out in force tomorrow along two busy roads, conducting high visibility traffic enforcement.
The action is part of the region’s annual spring “Street Smart” campaign, which “focuses on educating drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists about traffic laws and how to safely share our roadways.” The campaign will run through Sunday, May 14.
“As the warmer months approach and the days grow longer, more people will be walking, biking and operating shared mobility devices throughout our community,” ACPD said in a press release today. “To ensure all travelers can reach their destinations in a safe and timely manner, area law enforcement will participate in the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s Spring Street Smart campaign.”
“Through a two-pronged approach of education and enforcement, the campaign aims to reduce the number of traffic related crashes and injuries on our roadways by identifying and changing unsafe behavior patterns among travelers,” the release continues.
A pair of “high-visibility enforcement activations” are planned Wednesday for the campaign.
Officers will be out enforcing traffic laws along Langston Blvd in Rosslyn, between N. Lynn Street and Fort Myer Drive, from 11 a.m. to noon, according to ACPD. That’s the same block on which a woman pushing a stroller was struck by a dump truck in 2018. The woman lost a leg but the truck driver ultimately only received a traffic citation.
Later, from 4-5 p.m., officers will post up on the 2900 block of S. Glebe Road, near the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center.
Another round of traffic enforcement is planned for Thursday, May 2: from 11 a.m. to noon along N. Pershing Drive at N. Thomas Street and from 4-5 p.m. on the 5200 block of Columbia Pike.
“As part of our department’s key initiative of Transportation Safety, officers will conduct traffic enforcement throughout the campaign with the goal of compliance, even when police are not present,” ACPD said.
Students disembark from a school bus at Outdoor Lab in Fauquier County (via Outdoor Lab/Vimeo)
Outdoor Lab cabins (file photo)
Students walk in the woods at Outdoor Lab in Fauquier County (via Outdoor Lab/Vimeo)
Arlington Outdoor Lab (file photo)
Arlington Public Schools has “paused” some overnight field trips amid a law enforcement investigation.
Some fifth-grade students were on a recent overnight field trip to the school system’s Outdoor Lab in Fauquier County when an incident allegedly occurred and was reported to the local Sheriff’s Office.
In response, APS is not conducting any additional overnight field trips to the facility for fifth graders at this time, spokesman Frank Bellavia confirmed to ARLnow.
“APS has temporarily stopped overnight trips but day trips are still happening,” he said. “This is a temporary pause in overnight trips to the Lab as we review and revisit our staffing and safety procedures.”
Jeffrey Long, Public Information Officer for the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed law enforcement is looking into an incident reported on March 30. He did not elaborate on what allegedly transpired at the 225-acre wooded facility about an hour from Arlington, just that it involved “one or more juvenile.”
“As this is an ongoing investigation I am not able to provide details of the incident,” Long told ARLnow in an email. “There have been no charges filed at this time.”
In addition to one-night overnight field trips for fifth graders, the school system sponsors day trips and summer camps at the Outdoor Lab.
Owned by the nonprofit Arlington Outdoor Education Association and used by APS, Outdoor Lab celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016. It was founded with financial support from the late Arlington philanthropist Preston Caruthers.
