Civic Association Meeting Tuesday 17th June

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The next meeting of the Douglas Park Civic Association will be held Tuesday 17 June 2014 at 7.30p in the downstairs meeting room of Firehouse 9, 19th Street South at South Walter Reed Drive.

On the agenda:

  1. An update on the 2014 Virginia General Assembly session. Forty-Ninth District Delegate Alfonso Lopez will be on hand to review the activities of 2014 session of the Virginia General Assembly.
  2. Bike Boulevards Update.  As has been discussed in several Civic Association meeting over the past few years, Arlington County is installing improvements along 9th, 11th, 12th and 13th Streets South to create ‘Bike Boulevards’ paralleling Columbia Pike.  Plans include changes to pedestrian crossings at South Glebe Road, South Walter Reed Drive, and South George Mason Drive.  The proposed improvements include
    • HAWK signal at South George Mason Drive and 13th Street South
    • HAWK signal at  South Walter Reed Drive and 9th Street South
    • Rapid flashing beacon and crosswalk at South Glebe Road and 9th Street South
    • Other intersection curb and crosswalk improvements.

    Christine Simpson of Arlington DOT will be on hand to review the latest plans.    Additional information is online at http://www.arlingtonva.us, search ‘Bike Boulevards.’
    The Executive Committee of the Civic Association voted on 22 May to oppose the portion of the Bike Boulevard between South Glebe Road and South Walter Reed Drive until the County develops a plan to address ongoing pedestrian, cyclist and motorist safety issues in the corridor.

  3. Proposed Traffic Changes near Randolph Elementary School.  Arlington County and Arlington Public Schools (APS) have been working to address perceived traffic circulation and safety issues around Randolph Elementary School.  Proposals include:
    • Two to three additional student loading and unloading spaces along South Quincy Street.
    • Updated school warning signage and ‘End School Zone’ signs along South Quincy Street.
    • School crosswalk signage at 13th Street South and 14th Street South.
    • ‘No U-Turn’ signage at South Quincy Street and 14th Street South.
    • Turn restrictions during arrival (8–8.30a) and dismissal (3–3.30p) at the intersection of South Quincy Street and 14th Street South.

    Stephanie Taylor of Arlington Transportation Engineering will be on hand to review the proposal and answer questions.

  4. Fourth of July Parade and Picnic.  Most of the details are nailed down, but we’ll spend a few minutes to review the plans to be sure that everything is ready to go.
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All are welcome to attend.

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Metro Seeks Comment on Consolidation of Certain Stops on Metrobus Rte 23

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From Gregory W. Potts, WMATA Virginia Government Relations Officer:

Metrobus is working to improve bus service for its customers. One way to make buses run more on-time and reliably is by combining bus stops that are very close together. When buses spend more time moving and less time stopping, everyone enjoys a faster, more reliable trip.

WMATA is proposing bus stop consolidation on the 23 Metrobus route. This route runs from Crystal City to Tysons Corner. A map of the full route is here [PDF].

The proposed stops for consolidation are listed here as a map [PDF] or a table [PDF]. All of the proposed stop changes are in Arlington with the exception of two located in Fairfax County. Most of the average boardings at these stops are less than ten customers per day. The removal of a stop will never result in a customer having to walk more than an additional 2 blocks.

WMATA planned to put up signs at the stops on Monday 2 June alerting customers that the stop is proposed for consolidation (see the notice here [PDF]). Signs will also be posted in Spanish. The signs will be up for a three week period until 23 June. Customers have several options to provide comment:

  • Call the Office of Bus Planning at 202.962.2440
  • Call Customer Service at 202.637.7000
  • Using the contact form at wmata.com/betterbus
  • Comment on Metro’s blog post at planitmetro.com/23_consolidation
  • Send a letter to: WMATA Office of Bus Planning, Bus Stop Consolidation Program, 600 5th St NW, Room 7B, Washington DC 20001

After receiving input from customers and assuming there is agreement to move forward, a second notice will be put up saying that the bus stop will be discontinued. The proposed effective date of the consolidation is 24 August 2014. WMATA staff has coordinated with Arlington County staff on this effort.

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School Board Candidates’ Forum In Leiu of Civic Assn Meeting, Tuesday 22d April

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In lieu of our normal April meeting, the Douglas Park Civic Association and co-sponsors Arlington Heights Civic Association, Columbia Heights West Civic Association and Barcroft School and Civic League, will conduct a School Board Candidates’ Forum on Tuesday evening, 22 April 2014 at 7.30 pm in room 527A/B of the Arlington Mill Community Center, 909 South Dinwiddie Street. Three candidates vying to fill the seat of retiring member Sally Baird on the Arlington School Board—Greg Greeley, Barbara Kanninen and Nancy Van Doren—will join us to talk about how their vision for Arlington schools will support South Arlington students. The forum will also feature questions from Pike Neighborhoods civic associations and an opportunity for questions from the audience attending the forum.

The general format of the forum will be as follows:

  • Call to order
  • Introductions
  • Opening Statements (2 min per candidate)
  • Questions from Pike Civic Associations (approximately ½ hour)
  • Questions from the floor (approximately 1 hour)
  • Closing statements (2 min per candidate)

The evening should conclude around 9.45 pm.

The sponsoring civic associations would like to note that this is a nonpartisan event. We respectfully ask for no applause, cheering, jeering or other verbal replies by audience members in response to candidate statements. Applause for all participants should be held to the end of the evening. Mobile phones should be turned off or silenced for the duration of the forum.

Please make plans to attend this informative event.

This month’s newsletter is available here.

 

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Civic Association Meeting Tuesday 25th February

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The next meeting of the Douglas Park Civic Association will be held Tuesday 25 February 2014 at 7.30p in the downstairs meeting room of Firehouse 9, 19th Street South at South Walter Reed Drive.

On the agenda:

  1. Elections. This meeting will include our annual election of civic association officers. All current officers (AdamHenderson, President; Chris Worden, Vice-President; Al Fox, Treasurer and Annette Pigott, Secretary) are running for re-election. However, new nominations are open for all these offices as well. If you would like information about the role of civic association officers, please contact Adam Henderson at president<at>douglasparkca.org.
  2. Arlington Schools 2015-24 Capacity Development Plan/Capital Improvement Plan. The Arlington School Board is currently in the planning process for capacity and capital for the ten year cycle beginning in 2015. There have been many discussions in the community regarding the need for elementary school space in South Arlington and whether the updated plan will address this need. Civic activist Monique O’Grady will give an overview presentation on the topic and conduct a short question and answer session.
  3. Other business.

All are welcome to attend.

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Civic Association Meeting Thursday 12th December

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The next meeting of the Douglas Park Civic Association will be held Thursday 12 December 2013 at 7.30p in the cafeteria of Randolph Elementary School, 1306 S Quincy St.  Please enter the building through door 10.

On the agenda:

  1. An update on various construction projects around the neighborhood and in the Columbia Pike corridor.
  2. A brief presentation by John Vihstadt, chair of the Arlington Urban Agriculture Task Force regarding ‘backyard’ hen-keeping.  As you may know, the County Board has charged the Arlington Urban Agriculture Task Force with reviewing regulations regarding hen-keeping on private property in the county, as part of updating agricultural regulations in general in Arlington.  Mr Vihstadt will update us on the current status of the review and the forthcoming recommendations to the County Board.
  3. A brief presentation by Deborah Albert of Arlington Planning regarding the proposal to allow ‘jumbotron’ outdoor video screens in certain commercial zones.
  4. Other business.

All are welcome to attend.

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Civic Association Meeting Tuesday 19th November

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UPDATE: This meeting has been postponed. We will attempt to reschedule the presentation at a later date.

The next meeting of the Douglas Park Civic Association will be held Tuesday 19 November 2013 at 7.45p in the cafeteria of Randolph Elementary School, 1306 S Quincy St.  Please enter the building through door 10.

On the agenda:

  1. An update on various construction projects around the neighborhood and in the Columbia Pike corridor.
  2. We have a presentation by John Vihstadt, chair of the Arlington Urban Agriculture Task Force regarding ‘backyard’ hen-keeping.  As you may know, the County Board has charged the Arlington Urban Agriculture Task Force with reviewing regulations regarding hen-keeping on private property in the county, as part of updating agricultural regulations in general in Arlington.  Mr Vihstadt will update us on the current status of the review and the forthcoming recommendations to the County Board.
  3. Other business.

All are welcome to attend. The Douglas Park Neighbor News will be delivered to your doorstep the weekend of 16/17 November. The digital PDF copy is here.

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Civic Association Meeting Tuesday 17th September

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The next meeting of the Douglas Park Civic Association will be held Tuesday 17 September 2013 at 7.30p in the downstairs meeting room at Firehouse Nr 9, South Walter Reed Dr at 19th St South.

On the agenda:

  1. A brief overview of Capital One’s Use Permit Application to allow the completion of 11th St South between S Glebe Rd and S Monroe St. While the Association approves of the street construction, as it has long been a part of the approved Columbia Pike FBC plans, and appreciates Capital One’s cooperation in this regard, we are concerned that County staff has proposed that the 11th Street South connections with Monroe and Glebe be ‘driveway’ style connections rather than standard intersections. Further details may be found in this post.
  2. We will hand over some time to the two candidates for this November’s 49th Virginia House district elections: incumbent Democrat Alfonso Lopez and challenger Terrence ‘Terry’ Modglin of the Independent Green party. We will not be conducting a debate; rather we will allow each candidate fifteen minutes for remarks then allow for ten minutes of questions from the audience.
  3. Other business.

All are welcome to attend. The Douglas Park Neighbor News will be delivered to your doorstep the weekend of 14/15 September. The digital PDF copy is here.

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Civic Association Meeting Tuesday 18th June

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The next meeting of the Douglas Park Civic Association will be held Tuesday 18 June 2013 at 7.30p in the downstairs meeting room at Firehouse Nr 9, South Walter Reed Dr at 19th St South.

On the agenda:
1. A presentation by County staff on the 16th St South ‘Green Street’ bioretention project (links to more details below).
2. Recap of plans for our 31st Annual Fourth of July Parade and Picnic.
3. Other business.

All are welcome to attend. The Douglas Park Neighbor News will be delivered to your doorstep the weekend of 15/16 June. The digital PDF copy is here.

Links to more details on the 16th St South ‘Green Street’project on the Arlington County website:

Main project website
Project plan [PDF]
Drainage area for the project [PDF]

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Civic Association Meeting Tuesday 30 April

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The next meeting of the Douglas Park Civic Association will be held Tuesday 30 April 2013 at 7.30p in the downstairs meeting room at Firehouse Nr 9, South Walter Reed Dr at 19th St South.

On the agenda:
1.  An update presentation by County staff on the Doctors Run Trail Lighting project.
2.  Discussion of  a possible neighborhood cleanup day.
3.  Discussion on proceeding with the update to our Neighborhood Conversation plan.
4. Other business.

All are welcome to attend.  The Douglas Park Neighbor News will be delivered to your doorstep the weekend of 27/28 April.  The digital PDF copy is here.

 

 

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