Current ARCA Projects

Update:
ARCA-ARHA combine efforts to provide feedback to County on Crystal City Vision Plan 2050. Read the cover letter to Arlington County Board and the Comments and Recommendations document .

On October 9, Barbara Favola, Chairman of the Arlington County Board, provided a detailed response to concerns of our neighborhoods. Read the full response from the county.

Representatives from ARCA, Aurora Highlands Civic Association (AHCA) and Crystal City neighborhoods have assumed seats on Arlington County’s Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) to review the plan for the redevelopment of Crystal City. Arlington County has undertaken a comprehensive strategic development initiative focused upon the redevelopment of the Crystal City area. The Jefferson Davis corridor is the strongest economic ‘engine’ within Arlington County. Therefore, the objective of this initiative is to further develop and redevelop this area so that it not only remains healthy after the impact of base realignment and closure (BRAC), but grows as a vital office, retail, and residential area.

The ‘Crystal City Vision Plan 2050’ is currently being reviewed by the LRPC, and the current draft is available to the public for download at www.plancrystalcity.com. ARCA residents and other members of the community are strongly encouraged to download, review, and comment upon the draft document, as implementation of the plan will inevitably have an impact on many dimensions of our communities, both positively and potentially negatively.

The LRPC is meeting through the summer on the Vision Plan to provide County staff with additional comments and input. The first meeting was on 9 June 2009, and two additional meetings have been scheduled for 8 July 2009 and 30 July 2009. ARCA’s principal representative to the LRPC is Christopher Mailander. Patty Lynn is the first alternate, and Chick Walter is the second alternate.

ARCA has joined with AHCA and Crystal City neighbors to create a community-wide Working Group focused upon receiving better input from the residents throughout the entirety of the 22202 zip code. The Working Group is currently preparing a consolidated response to the LRPC for purposes of expressing the voice of the primarily residential neighborhoods within the wider geographic confines of the Jefferson Davis corridor which collectively share transportation, retail, schools, and other physical infrastructure.

It has been proposed by the LRPC that an additional chapter be drafted by the County to specifically address the issue of community benefits from the redevelopment of the Crystal City area, and to better “humanize” a strategic plan that is strongly focused upon economic and development issues. The Working Group has been specifically tasked with providing input to this additional chapter. Issues of particular focus for this exercise include addressing the potential negative effects of creating separate, non-integrated communities within Crystal City; the lack of integration of Crystal City with the neighboring communities of Aurora Hills and Arlington Ridge; the inadequacies of the traffic analysis due to its limited focus on intra-Crystal City traffic, and not the surrounding arterial routes; the impact of the increasing density on green space in Crystal City; the realization of tangible and quantifiable community benefits in exchange for the increasing density and demands on Crystal City, Aurora Hills, and Arlington Ridge; the impact of increased density and traffic on the transportation infrastructure in not only Crystal City, but also Aurora and Arlington Ridge; and the impact of increasing and changing density patterns on neighborhood schools, libraries, community centers, parks, and on other common infrastructure, as well as on emergency, fire, police and medical services. The core objective of the Working Group is to set forth a vision for what this larger community can be in terms of lifestyles, work, and play, and better address how the vision affects such diverse communities as the elderly, families, singles, and others.

There are several pathways through which ARCA and individual residents can influence and shape the development of the long-term ‘Vision’. These include attendance and comment at the planned LRPC meetings to be held on July 8 and July 30 to continue review of the draft Plan. ARCA members are particularly encouraged to attend the July 30th session, when it is anticipated that the aforementioned community issues will be specifically discussed. Individuals and civic organizations may communicate directly with staff and the planning commission at any time. There will also be future public hearings to review the Vision Plan and receive public input, which are currently anticipated to begin in late September or October.

Feedback and input from Arlington Ridge residents directly to the Working Group is sought immediately to enable it and the LRPC representatives to best share concerns and opinions with the County. Contact Chris Mailander , Patty Lynn and/or Chick Walter for any additional information pertaining to the LRPC or Crystal City Vision Plan 2050, and/or to provide immediate input and comments related thereto.

Crystal City Redevelopment Plan (links to the Arlington County website)

Arlington County Multimodal Transportation Study document (links to the Arlington County website)

In recent news: ARCA and the Aurora Highlands Civic Association (AHCA) recently sent a letter to Mr. Dennis Leach, Director of the Transportation Division of Arlington County's Department of Environmental Services, requesting the use of an estimated $60,500 of funding set aside to address traffic problems on South Arlington Ridge Road and South 23rd Street. Read the letter to find out the safety improvements ARCA is requesting.

Mr. Leach, Director of the Transportation Division of the Department of Environmental Services responded on January 7, 2010, to the letter ARCA sent in 2009. Click here to read his response.

Given the many exclusions the County’s term “Traffic Calming Program” entails, ARCA no longer uses it to describe efforts to control traffic speed. ARCA continues its 3-part approach to address pedestrian safety and traffic control in our neighborhood. Part 1 tries to follow up on the previous impressive achievements on Ridge Rd. and 23rd St., and to expand that work throughout our neighborhood. Part 2 is the development of our Neighborhood Conservation Plan which gives ARCA a chance to communicate its vision for the neighborhood to the County Board and staff. Part 3 is taking an active role in the planning phase of the Crystal City redevelopment (with the possibility of getting developer “set-aside” funds to control traffic impact).

Progress on Part 1 of the approach is as follows:

1. The Executive Board approved a formal request to the County for $60.5K of the existing $170K in developer set-aside funds (from the Potomac Yard development (thank you, Dick Herbst and past ARCA Board for this funding) for traffic control on the Ridge Rd. and S. 23rd St. arterials. Using the County’s pricing, we’ve requested:
   1. Two additional permanent speed displays on Ridge Rd., one placed northbound in the vicinity of 19th St. and the other placed southbound in the vicinity of 24th Street. A sign indicating that a school/pedestrian crossing is ahead is to be posted with the latter. Speed displays are generally placed on existing electrical poles.
   2. Pedestrian crossing bollards on Ridge Rd. (like those at 19th and 20th Streets) to replace those at Lang and 28th Streets.
   3. Two new permanent speed displays on 23rd St., one placed eastbound (downhill) just past 26th St. (opposite Kent) and the second across the street (uphill) on Kent (opposite 26th St). Both would be generally placed on existing electrical poles with extension arms for increased driver visibility.
   4. Two pedestrian crosswalks with bollards on 23rd St. at ives, Hayes, and Grant Streets. Bollards would have the same pedestrian crossing signs as those on Ridge at 19th and 20th Streets.
2. Metro bus (aka Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority � WMATA) letter: While we don’t have an official report from WMATA on our request to have bus speed clocked, unofficially bus speeds clocked by WMATA the 2nd week of May were within the speed limit range. Drivers were reminded to obey speed limits. WMATA appears to acknowledge that the visibility of their staff clocking bus speed slowed drivers down. A request for an official report was made, including a response to our request that out-of-service buses use routes other than Ridge.
3. Ridge and 23rd St.: ARCA continues to seek adequate pedestrian space on the southeast corner of this intersection � a critical school crossing for Oakridge Elementary students. In addition, we seek improvements on the southeast corner for turning buses. County staff will get back to us by the end of July on results of the County’s informal (i.e., no cost) feasibility study.
4. Ridge Rd. maintenance issues: County staff is to give us a status report before our meeting on July 16 on our requests for bollard replacements at all Ridge intersections, a modification of speed indicators to display speeds greater than 34 mpg and a repair of the loop indicator (i.e., activate traffic signal) for traffic on 23rd St. at Ridge.

Please be prepared to provide input for ARCA’s neighborhood conservation (NC) plan through the community survey scheduled to be conducted this summer. The survey is not only a requisite step for preparing the plan, but also an essential one in defining the community’s vision of our neighborhood. The survey form should arrive next month on your doorstep or email inbox. There will also be an electronic version on ARCA’s new website. Volunteers are required to help distribute the survey forms and analyze the responses.

Survey results will be tabulated and then developed into recommendations and/or projects for execution. The Neighborhood Conservation (NC) program provides funding for a variety of capital improvement projects including sidewalks, curbs and gutters, streetlights, park improvements, neighborhood art, and beautification.

With cutbacks to County budget, this is the primary source of funds to accomplish any neighborhood improvements. Projects are based on a written NC plan submitted to the County for review and acceptance. Developing our NC plan involves getting the community’s input on their long-term vision for the neighborhood through a survey (a requisite) and work sessions. A brainstorming session was held at the March meeting which generated a list of potential projects. On April 16th, Tim McIntosh, our NC coordinator, made a presentation and answered questions about the NC program. The next opportunity for input is the community survey. We also need to update the inventory of infrastructure of existing conditions, including land use, zoning, curb, gutter, sidewalk, drainage problems, street lights, traffic, housing, park and recreational facilities, schools, libraries, and other public facilities. Volunteers are needed for this time-intensive effort.

Once these steps are completed, the NC plan document can be drafted. The document will include an analysis of the community input (tabulation of survey results), recommendations, and a list of prioritized projects. A draft plan will be submitted to County staff for comments. The finalized plan will be presented to the NC Advisory Committee, the Planning Commission and the County Board. Every six months, the NCAC recommends projects for funding to the County Board. High-priority projects in a newly updated plan have a high chance of being funded.

Most importantly, the plan serves as a tool to communicate the community's vision and recommendations to the County staff and Board as they allocate funds from various sources, including developer set-asides from projects in the Crystal City and Pentagon City areas. So it is critical to get our plan written and submitted as soon as possible.

Volunteers are required to assist with the survey and development of the plan. For more information or to volunteer to support this effort, please contact Sonali Soneji (703.867.6042 or sonali_soneji@post.harvard.edu) or Michael Reamy (mreamy3@comcast.net).

In recent news: The Arlington County board approved spending on a new Spray Park in Aurora Highlands and new streetlights for Arlington Ridge. Read the Arlington County press release for more information.

The latest information on the ARCA revitalization campaign.