Wilson Boulevard | ARLnow.com

Wilson Tavern to Throw Closing Party Tonight

Published May 13, 2014 at 3:30PM

(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) Wilson Tavern, a Courthouse bar that has developed a following for theme nights like “Condoms and Candy Necklaces,” is throwing one last party tonight before it closes its 2403 Wilson Blvd location.

The bar and its neighbor, Northern Virginia Mixed Martial Arts, are being displaced so the building can be torn down to make room for a new hotel, which was approved in March.

Tonight’s party will feature “bench dancing,” 16-ounce cocktails and Fireball shot skis.

The demolition of Wilson Tavern is expected to begin soon, and construction of the hotel, slated to be an eight-story Hyatt Place, is expected to start this summer. The hotel includes a ground floor retail space for a restaurant.

Wilson Tavern opened in December 2011, replacing the former Kitty O’Shea’s.

Photo via Facebook

Rosslyn Street Gets New Name for Marathon

By Katie Pyzyk

Published October 21, 2013 at 3:00PM | Updated October 21, 2013 at 3:41PM

A Rosslyn street is getting a new name, at least for a few days.

Signs reading “Marine Corps Marathon Drive” will adorn street poles on Wilson Blvd. from N. Lynn Street to N. Moore Street in honor of Sunday’s annual marathon.

The signs will remain through race day to signify how much the Marine Corps Marathon has become a part of the Arlington community.

“It is fitting that we rename part of Wilson Boulevard ‘Marine Corps Marathon Drive.’ The renaming anticipates a day that inspires and energizes us all, while also paying tribute to our heroic U.S. Marines,” said Mary-Claire Burick, the new president of the Rosslyn Business Improvement District.

“On MCM day, Rosslyn is eager to welcome runners and celebrate their accomplishments as the host of the Marine Corps Marathon Finish Festival,” Burick said.

The Marine Corps Marathon route starts near the Pentagon and runs through Rosslyn, up Lee Highway, down Spout Run and into the District, before crossing the 14th Street Bridge into Crystal City and ending near the Marine Corps War Memorial in Rosslyn. The race, which draws more than 30,000 runners, starts just before 8:00 a.m. on Sunday.

Photo courtesy of @StayArlington

Wilson Blvd Closure Catches Business By Surprise

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 19, 2013 at 2:15PM

Wilson Blvd between N. Rhodes Street and Courthouse Road was closed this weekend to remove a crane from the “superblock” construction site, and at least one business owner says he’s out thousands of dollars as a result.

Wilson Whitney, co-owner of Rhodeside Grill at the corner of Wilson and Rhodes, estimates he lost as much as $3,000 during the closure, largely because he wasn’t given proper notification of the closure.

“I was given no notice or warning this was going to take place,” Whitney wrote in an email. “This has virtually closed down our restaurant… I could have at least staffed and stocked accordingly or maybe even closed for some of our own improvements.”

Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Laura G. Smith said the county granted a transportation right-of-way permit to Crane Rental Company to close that section of Wilson Blvd from 9:00 p.m. Friday to 5:00 p.m. Sunday.

“All permits are granted with the understanding that the company will notify all affected property owners in the adjacent work area,” Smith said. Crane Rental Company president Michael Scott told ARLnow.com that he was unfamiliar with the specific notification process undertaken.

Work on one of the under-construction apartment buildings on the “superblock” is expected to wrap up by year’s end. The other is expected to be complete by the spring of 2014.

Photo courtesy of Wilson Whitney

Armed Robbers Steal Bible, Cell Phone

By ARLnow.com

Published August 13, 2013 at 10:30AM

A pair of gun-toting men robbed someone of a cell phone and a bible along Wilson Blvd Sunday night.

The armed men approached the victim on the 6000 block of Wilson Blvd around 11:20 p.m. Sunday. Wearing ski masks, the men took the victim’s cell phone and a bible, then fled on foot into a wooded area, according to Arlington County police.

Police K-9 units, along with Fairfax County and U.S. Park Police helicopters, were brought in to try to find the suspects, who were described only as Hispanic males. The men were not located and remain at large.

Cement Spill Cleaned Up in Rosslyn

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 12, 2013 at 11:30AM

A cement truck accidentally dumped a small load of cement in the left lane of westbound Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn this morning.

The cement lay on the street for about an hour and a half before crews came to clean it up at approximately 10:30 a.m., according to a police officer at the scene. The cement was still wet when it was removed, avoiding a much longer, more laborious cleanup process had it dried.

The lane of traffic — in front of Artisphere between N. Lynn and Kent Streets — was closed for about 100 feet as the crew worked to clean up the spill.

Morning Poll: Two Left Turn Lanes on Wilson in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

Published July 26, 2013 at 9:45AM

Earlier this summer, county road crews reconfigured the eastbound (downhill) lanes on Wilson Blvd approaching N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn.

Instead of having one lefthand turn lane and two straight through lanes, the middle lane was converted to a second lefthand turn lane.

The impacts of the reconfiguration are most noticeable at rush hour. Whereas a big traffic impediment was once drivers trying to merge from the middle lane into the single turn lane, now the single through lane is backed up, at points causing jams at intersections.

Some drivers cheered the move.

“Finally… a solution to the rush hour commute,” said local resident Eric Hagerstrom, in an email to ARLnow.com. Other drivers, however, complained about the new backups.

If you’ve driven through it, what do you think of the lane change?

County Board Approves Lower Speed Limits

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 17, 2013 at 10:30AM | Updated July 17, 2013 at 11:07AM

The County Board unanimously approved lowering the speed limits on key stretches of Wilson Blvd, Clarendon Blvd, N. Sycamore Street and N. Meade Street Tuesday evening.

The Board acted in line with its Master Transportation Plan in lowering the speed limits on the key local arteries.

The speed limit on Wilson Blvd and Clarendon Blvd was lowered from 30 to 25 mph between Rosslyn and Washington Blvd.

Meanwhile, the speed limit on N. Meade Street was lowered from 30 to 25 mph between Arlington Blvd and Marshall Drive., while N. Sycamore Street from Washington Blvd. to 17th Street N. will see its speed limit drop from 35 to 30 mph.

The change in speed limit is effective immediately, and county staff said they expect the signs reflecting the change to be installed Wednesday.

“The county’s actions to lower speed limits on segments of some key roads are in keeping with the Master Transportation plan, and are intended to make these roads safer for everyone — drivers, pedestrians and cyclists,” said Board Chair Walter Tejada.

The Board also put a public hearing on the agenda for its Sept. 21 meeting to hear public feedback for lowering the speed limits on N. Lynn and Fort Myer Drive between the Key Bridge and Arlington Blvd. from 30 to 25 mph.

As part of the same resolution, the Board changed the County Code to reflect Virginia Department of Transportation’s imposed speed limits on I-66 and I-395. The speed limits of the roads were not changed but, for instance, the code will now officially reflect that I-66 is a 45 mph road between the Virginia state line and N. Lynn Street and 55 mph between N. Lynn Street and Fairfax County.

Board to Consider Decreasing Speed Limits

By Katie Pyzyk

Published July 8, 2013 at 11:45AM

The County Board may decide to decrease speed limits on a number of roads throughout Arlington, including the main thoroughfares from Rosslyn to Clarendon. Board members are scheduled to take up the issue at their meeting on Saturday (July 13).

The Department of Environmental Services conducted studies to examine the viability of changing speed limits on several streets. Information was gathered regarding factors such as vehicle speeds, collisions, traffic volumes, pedestrian and bicyclist activity and development patterns. Studies were performed in the following areas: N. Meade Street from Arlington Blvd to Marshall Drive (formerly Jackson Avenue), Clarendon Blvd from Washington Blvd to N. Oak Street, Wilson Blvd from Route 110 to Washington Blvd, and N. Sycamore Street from Washington Blvd to 17th Street N. and N. Roosevelt Street from 17th Street N. to the county line.

The studies indicated that speed limits along N. Meade Street, Clarendon Blvd and Wilson Blvd could be decreased from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour. The N. Sycamore Street/N. Roosevelt Street studies indicated the speed limit could be lowered from 35 miles per hour to 30 miles per hour.

Arlington’s Master Transportation Plan includes a policy to design streets with lower vehicle speeds without impeding or diverting traffic. Part of that involves adopting a 25 mile per hour speed limit in the county’s “downtown” areas where pedestrian traffic is high, such as along Wilson Blvd and Clarendon Blvd.

The Board also has been asked to authorize the correction of speed limit discrepancies along parts of I-395 and I-66. According to VDOT records, the speed in the regular lanes of I-395 from Alexandria to D.C. is 55 miles per hour. The county code, however, was recently discovered to list a portion of the segment as 35 miles per hour, and that the entire segment is 55 miles per hour. There is a similar discrepancy between county code and VDOT records regarding the HOV lanes. Additionally, the county code does not include speed limits for I-66, but VDOT lists the limits at 45 miles per hour and 55 miles per hour, depending on the section in question.

County staff members recommend Board approval for the speed limit discrepancy corrections and for decreasing the speeds along the four stretches of county roads.

The cost of installing new speed limit signs to reflect the changes is estimated to be $5,000. Funds are available in the Fiscal Year 2014 Department of Environmental Services Transportation Engineering and Operations operating budget.

County Mulling Wilson Blvd Lane Reduction Proposal

By ARLnow.com

Published June 25, 2013 at 3:40PM

Arlington County is mulling a proposal to narrow Wilson Boulevard west of George Mason Drive from four lanes to two through lanes and a center turn lane.

The proposal was conceived and endorsed by the Bluemont Civic Association (BCA) last fall, as part a recommendation to widen the sidewalks along Wilson Boulevard in the neighborhood.

The association’s “Task Force on Arterial Road Sidewalks and Pedestrian Safety” came up with the plan after considering various ways to widen the narrow sidewalks to Americans With Disabilities Act standards.

Two possible options — undergrounding utilities (thus removing utility poles that partially block the sidewalk) and acquiring additional right-of-way from private property owners along Wilson Boulevard — were rejected as too expensive and otherwise infeasible.

The solution endorsed by the task force and the BCA membership instead calls for a two-phase project that, in the first phase, would halve the number of through-lanes west of George Mason Drive while adding a center turn lane and two bike lanes.

The second phase of the proposed project would widen the sidewalks to ADA standards, while relocating the utility poles.

In a PowerPoint presentation, the task force said such changes would not impede the flow of traffic but would improve safety.

“Two through lanes with a center turn lane typically provides a better line of sight and safer transitions for cars entering the traffic lanes,” the presentation said. “Speeding may be reduced while maintaining the same overall travel time. Reduced crash risks for all users are expected.”

The presentation compared the Bluemont stretch of Wilson Boulevard to nearby Washington Boulevard, which has only two lanes and higher peak traffic volumes.

(more…)

APS to Sell Wilson School to Developer

By ARLnow.com

Published June 19, 2013 at 5:15PM | Updated October 8, 2013 at 7:39AM

The Arlington School Board has announced its intention to sell the Wilson School property, at 1601 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn, to a developer.

By a unanimous vote Tuesday, the School Board instructed Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy to sign a non-binding letter of intent to sell the aging building to developer Penzance.

The School Board said the property could not sufficiently accommodate a new elementary school, and thus it would best serve the school system to sell the property and use the proceeds to fund its ongoing school building projects. Those projects are intended to help APS keep up with rising enrollment, expected to surge to nearly 30,000 students by 2021.

The potential sale price has not been disclosed, but Penzance bought a nearby office building, 1555 Wilson Blvd, for $67 million in 2011.

Penzance plans to use both properties for a large-scale mixed-use development. The development plan also calls for Penzance to acquire Arlington’s Fire Station #10 and the 39-unit Queens Court Apartments, owned by the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing.

Today (Wednesday), Arlington County announced that it is beginning a formal planning process for the redevelopment. Dubbed the Western Rosslyn Area Planning Study, the process will include the formation of a County Board-appointed working group, outreach to local community groups, a charrette, and numerous other public meetings.

As detailed in a press release, the county seeks to use the redevelopment as an opportunity to create 1.5 acres of new open park space, to build a new fire station that better meets the fire department’s needs, and to add more committed affordable housing units, among other objectives.

The goal of the study is to develop a Conceptual Plan and related policy recommendations that will guide future development and achieve the following County goals that have been identified for the study area:

County park, recreation and open space that is at least 60,000 square feet in size;

New fire station;

Affordable housing;

Energy efficiency / sustainability; and

Mix of uses and compatible heights and densities.

“This is a rare opportunity to meet community goals in a dense part of the County with little available land,” said Donnellan. “I am excited about the prospects of the possibilities of future public/private development and look forward to working with the community over the next year.”

The working group is expected to be appointed in July and to deliver a conceptual plan to the County Board in early 2014. The County Board is expected to vote on the plan in the second quarter of 2014, paving the way for any future development on the site.

(more…)

Morning Poll: Lower Speed Limits on Wilson, Clarendon Blvds?

By ARLnow.com

Published June 11, 2013 at 10:00AM | Updated June 11, 2013 at 10:38AM

Next month, the Arlington County Board is expected to consider a proposal to lower the speed limit on Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards between Rosslyn to Clarendon.

As reported by the Sun Gazette, the proposal would lower the speed limit on the key arteries, between Washington Blvd and Route 110, from 30 to 25 miles per hour.

The lower speed limit is in keeping with the county’s Master Transportation Plan, which calls for a 25 mile per hour speed limit on streets with lots of development and pedestrian activity.

What do you think of the proposal?