Wilson Boulevard

New Wilson Boulevard Traffic Lights Should Turn On Soon

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 1:50 p.m.) The long-awaited unveiling of the new traffic signals on Wilson Boulevard at N. Pollard Street should be happening soon. In fact, they should be working before the start of the weekend.

The lights were installed a couple of months ago, but have remained covered up. Concerned about pedestrian safety, some residents have been emailing ARLnow.com to ask when the lights would begin functioning. One reader compared crossing the intersection to maneuvering through a video game.

“Too many people play ‘Frogger’ at night trying to go to and from the Gold’s Gym,” the reader wrote.

Arlington Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel said the county’s installation of the lights has been completed, and Dominion Virginia Power just needs to supply electricity. Dominion tells us the lights should be turned on either today or tomorrow, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Today a crew was at the intersection repairing the sidewalk that had been torn up to install the lights.

 

Improvements Coming to Tricky Clarendon Intersection

By Katie Pyzyk

A widely disliked Clarendon intersection will be revamped in the next couple of years. The County has released preliminary plans for the area sometimes referred to as Clarendon Circle.

Based on a study of the intersection at Washington, Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards, the plan provides safety improvements for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians. Eight other nearby intersections would also be affected by the changes in traffic flow.

The study offers numerous suggestions and sketches of possible redesigns. Some ideas included adding lanes to Washington Blvd, removing left turn lanes, adding bike lanes, adding curb extensions near Liberty Tavern and Sam’s Diner and moving traffic more toward the Silver Diner’s property.

The geometry of the intersection, which is often described as “awkward” and “confusing,” would be normalized by the revamp. The overall size of the intersection would decrease, and better traffic signals and signs would be installed.

County staff examined the study’s suggestions and narrowed down the ideas into one design proposal. Feedback is currently being accepted on the initial proposal via an online survey.

The first round of public forums addressing the improvements will be scheduled soon and will continue throughout the spring. A finalized plan and ground breaking is expected sometime in 2014, at the latest.

Traffic Signal Installation on Wilson Blvd in Bluemont

By ARLnow.com

A new set of traffic lights and pedestrian crossing signals are being installed at the intersection of Wilson Boulevard and N. Wakefield Street.

The traffic signals are located next to the Murphy Funeral Home and a new residential development, in the Bluemont neighborhood near Ballston. A developer agreed to pay for the traffic signals in 2008 as part of the development’s site plan process. At the time, county staff argued that increased traffic from the development would necessitate the installation of traffic signals.

No word yet on when the traffic lights might be switched on.

Traffic Signals Installed at Wilson Blvd Intersection

By ARLnow.com

New traffic signals were being installed today at the busy intersection of Wilson Boulevard and N. Pollard Street in Ballston, near the Gold’s Gym and the Wiinky’s burger restaurant.

The installation comes about three months after the Sun Gazette reported, in an article entitled “Residents Find Developer Payments Don’t Translate Into Traffic-Signal Installation,” that a developer had agreed to contribute $150,000 toward the addition of traffic signals at the intersection back in 2004. At the time of the article, the County Manager Barbara Donnellan promised to investigate why the traffic signal had not yet been installed.

Though the signals were installed today, we’re told it may be a “couple of weeks” until they’re switched on.

Road Closures Planned for Charity 8K on Sunday

By ARLnow.com

Cool, sunny weather is expected Sunday morning for the Acumen Solutions Race for a Cause 8K.

The race will shut down a number of major Arlington streets — from Ballston to Clarendon to Columbia Pike — for much of the morning. Among the expected closures:

  • N. Quincy Street from Glebe Road to Wilson Boulevard (5:30 to 10:00 a.m.)
  • Eastbound Wilson Boulevard from Quincy Street to N. 10th Street (7:45 to 10:00 a.m.)
  • Eastbound N. 10th Street from Wilson Boulevard to N. 10th Street (7:45 to 10:00 a.m.)
  • Southbound Washington Boulevard from N. 10th Street to Columbia Pike

The Race for a Cause 8K, which also features a 1-mile Family Fun Run, benefits a number of local charities. Runners get to choose which charity they want to support with their registration: Greenbrier Learning Center (the only Arlington-based nonprofit benefiting from the race), the Boys and Girls Club, Build Metro DC, Education Pioneers, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School, For Love of Children, Literary Council of Northern Virginia, Medical Care for Children Partnership Foundation, National Fatherhood Initiative or The Women’s Center.

Registration for the race is $30 online, $35 on race day.

The race will kick off at 8:00 a.m. Runners and walkers alike are encouraged to participate. The flat, out-and-back course starts and ends on N. Quincy Street in Ballston.

Photo via Facebook

“Ray’s Hell Burger III” Now Hiring in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

“Ray’s Hell Burger III” is getting closer to opening in Rosslyn.

Interior construction on the new restaurant, located at 1650 Wilson Boulevard, appears to be complete. A permit for 22 outdoor tables and 44 outdoor seats was approved by the county late last month. And “now hiring” signs (for managers, bartenders, servers and hosts/hostesses) are currently posted in the windows.

The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is still processing an application to serve wine, beer and mixed drinks at the restaurant. According to the permit application, “Ray’s Hell Burger III” will seat at least 150 people.

Little else is known about the restaurant, which is located a block away from Ray’s Hell Burger I and II. “Ray’s Hell Burger III” is now the name on all of the restaurant’s permits, but the ABC permit used to list the name as “The Lobster Pot” — hinting at a possible seafood restaurant. A Washington Post article from 2010, however, may shed some light on the true plans.

“[Ray’s Hell Burger II] will move across the street to an even bigger location that will accommodate more people more comfortably,” the article said. “It will also have a kitchen large enough to turn out house-made french fries, instead of the frozen ones customers largely have deemed unworthy of the burgers.”

At the time, the article predicted that the move would take place within a matter of months, which obviously hasn’t happened (yet). This afternoon, Ray’s Hell Burger employees told us that they had not been told anything about the plans for the restaurant across the street, whatever it may be.

Ill-Fated ‘Goth’ Restaurant in Va. Square Torn Down

By ARLnow.com

It couldn’t have looked more out of place. An old building near the Virginia Square Metro station, dressed up in black paint and Gothic-style accents.

What would have been a restaurant, bar and lounge called “Haze” is now being reduced to a pile of rubble. Arlington County purchased the property at 3540 Wilson Boulevard one year ago with the intention of tearing it down, and the demolition is finally happening today.

The property will be used to connect Maury Park and Herselle Milliken Park, two tiny swaths of recreational space located on the same block between N. Monroe and Lincoln streets. So what happened to Haze?

Last year we were told that the owner undertook renovations on the building before any county permits were issued or even requested. Obviously, a county that put the kibosh on a dog mural located next to a dog park is going to take issue with a business trying to pull a fast one with a gaudy black bar across from an apartment building. The owner finally decided to shutter the restaurant-that-never-was instead of trying to to get the building back into compliance.

At least for now, the prime Wilson Boulevard property will be used as a park.

“The entire parcel will be used as park space in the near term, although the immediate frontage on Wilson Boulevard may be reconsidered in the long term if the remaining retail/commercial parcels on the block are consolidated and redeveloped,” Arlington Park Division Chief Lisa Grandle told the Ashton Heights Civic Association last year.

H/t to Bill Colton

Bluemont Residents to Debate Development Plans

By ARLnow.com

A controversial development plan will be debated at the Bluemont Civic Association meeting tonight.

The plan, which we reported on in April, envisions a “Bluemont Village Center,” featuring new mixed-use developments along a stretch of Wilson Boulevard (west of Ballston) currently flanked by single-story shops, restaurants and an older Safeway supermarket. The plan was generated by the Bluemont Civic Association, with the volunteer help of a Virginia Tech graduate student, as part of its Neighborhood Conservation plan process.

The plan is only intended to guide future development along Wilson Boulevard, but its renderings of imagined 4 to 5 story buildings has elicited a strong response from residents who object to the potential increase in density.

“Is this your ‘vision’ of Bluemont?” asks a flyer (after the jump) that has been widely distributed in the neighborhood. The flyer argues that the plan could result in the displacement of existing small businesses (like Two Chefs, Pupatella and Body Dynamics), the addition of 100 to 200 apartments, greater competition for on-street parking and “at least 200 more cars flooding neighborhood streets each morning and evening.”

The flyer also cites a Bluemont Civic Association survey, which found that 54.5 percent of respondents objected to building heights over 3 stories. The same survey, however, found that 69.7 percent of respondents favored a “‘village center’ type development” — defined as “a mix of retail, office, residential, and cultural uses in a compact, pedestrian-oriented center.”

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Old Red Light Camera in Rosslyn To Be Taken Down

By ARLnow.com

The red light camera that once issued tickets at the intersection of Wilson Boulevard and N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn is set to be taken down.

While the camera hasn’t been functional in years, its housing is still keeping a constant vigil at the busy intersection. Police tell us, however, that they’re planning on taking the camera down in about a month.

Arlington currently has four working red light cameras: NB N. Lynn Street at EB Lee Highway, SB Ft. Myer Drive at WB Lee Highway, NB N. Glebe Road at Fairfax Drive and NB Washington Blvd at Lee Highway. In Virginia, the fines from red light cameras are limited to $50.

Wilson Boulevard Repaving in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

A bumpy stretch of Wilson Boulevard is being repaved this week.

The Rosslyn stretch of Wilson Boulevard from N. Arlington Ridge Road to N. Oak Street is in the process of being repaved. Part of the repaving east of N. Lynn Street has already been completed. Much of the rest of the road has been milled, awaiting repaving.

The milled surface will make for rough driving until it can be covered with blacktop. The repaving is being done as part of Arlington’s summer street repair program, which seeks to repair “old, substandard streets.” N. Arlington Ridge Road is also being repaved as part of the program.

Bluemont Civic Association Mulls Development Plan

By ARLnow.com

County Board Member Mary Hynes seemed a bit surprised at last night’s Bluemont Civic Association meeting when she started fielding questions about a development plan for the North Arlington neighborhood.

“It’s not on the county’s radar,” she told anxious residents and businesses owners who had gathered in the library of the Arlington Traditional School.

It turns out that the plan everybody wanted to talk about was not a county plan at all, but a private plan commissioned by the leaders of the civic association. The 32-page document, which includes renderings of an imagined “Bluemont Village Center” along Wilson Boulevard, was created after civic association leaders decided just over a year ago that it would be prudent to begin thinking of the neighborhood’s long-range (10-20 year) future as part of its upcoming neighborhood conservation plan.

The reasoning, as explained by the civic association’s president, was that the Bluemont Safeway (5101 Wilson Blvd) — which seems to be serving fewer and fewer customers lately — may decide to sell its large property. If that were to happen now, the neighborhood wouldn’t have much of a say in the kind of business they sell it to. A plan could help guide the use of the land so that it — and properties around it — could be gradually transformed into an attractive, pedestrian-friendly commercial district.

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