Approximately forty-five people attended the Civic Association meeting on Tuesday evening 18 November at the Arlington Mill Community Center.
The agenda included:
We had a forum with eight representatives from the US Postal Service
The purpose of this forum, which lasted approximately seventy minutes, was to discuss numerous issues with misdirected and undelivered mail and other service issues that have sharply increased in Douglas Park over the past year. Postal service officials listed to our concerns, apologized, and relayed some of the steps that they have undertaken in attempt to bring the issues under control. These include:
- A new Customer Service Manager at the South Glebe (Arlington South) Station
- Increased training for mail carriers in Douglas Park
- A review of carrier routes in Douglas Park
Postal services officials acknowledged that these are only initial steps in addressing the problems. In addition, the postal service intends to bring in a review team to track carriers in Douglas Park for a period to ascertain whether they are performing route deliveries correctly and efficiently. Most importantly in this meeting, however, was the request for real-time data so that postal officials can track problems to specific personnel. The Arlington Postmaster, Mr Walter Daniels, has requested that residents email him directly with misdelivery or other issues on the day of or the day following the incident, letting him know the date, time, nature and address of the occurrence. Mr Daniels also indicated that where feasible, it would be helpful to include a photograph attachment of the mail panel of the misdirected piece, which will allow officials to determine if there are machine-sorting issues that are contributing to our problems. UPDATE FEBRUARY 2015. Mr Daniels has moved on at USPS. Our new contact for mail problems is the new South Arlington Station Manager, Marcus Clinkscale. He may be reached at marcus.c.clinkscale@usps.gov.
In summary, the Postal Service now seems to be very aware of the ongoing issues in Douglas Park and has expressed a firm desire to address the situation. It’s now our job to make sure they follow through by providing the ongoing data they need to find the root causes. Postal officials have agreed to attend a future meeting of the Association, likely in February 2015, to update their progress and receive more feedback from residents.
We had an update from Alison Tomlinson and Allegra Jabo; our representative and alternate to the Thomas Jefferson Middle School Working Group (TJMSWG).
The TJMSWG is charged by the County Board with evaluating the Thomas Jefferson Middle School site and making a recommendation as to the feasibility of building a new 725-seat elementary school on the campus. The TJMSWG will present a preliminary report to the County Board in December and a final report in January 2015. An overview of the group, along with supporting documents, is available here.
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Recap of 18th November Civic Association Meeting
Civic Association Elections, Civic Association Meetings, Civic Association Recaps, Schools, USPSApproximately forty-five people attended the Civic Association meeting on Tuesday evening 18 November at the Arlington Mill Community Center.
The agenda included:
We had a forum with eight representatives from the US Postal Service
The purpose of this forum, which lasted approximately seventy minutes, was to discuss numerous issues with misdirected and undelivered mail and other service issues that have sharply increased in Douglas Park over the past year. Postal service officials listed to our concerns, apologized, and relayed some of the steps that they have undertaken in attempt to bring the issues under control. These include:
Postal services officials acknowledged that these are only initial steps in addressing the problems. In addition, the postal service intends to bring in a review team to track carriers in Douglas Park for a period to ascertain whether they are performing route deliveries correctly and efficiently. Most importantly in this meeting, however, was the request for real-time data so that postal officials can track problems to specific personnel. The Arlington Postmaster, Mr Walter Daniels, has requested that residents email him directly with misdelivery or other issues on the day of or the day following the incident, letting him know the date, time, nature and address of the occurrence. Mr Daniels also indicated that where feasible, it would be helpful to include a photograph attachment of the mail panel of the misdirected piece, which will allow officials to determine if there are machine-sorting issues that are contributing to our problems. UPDATE FEBRUARY 2015. Mr Daniels has moved on at USPS. Our new contact for mail problems is the new South Arlington Station Manager, Marcus Clinkscale. He may be reached at marcus.c.clinkscale@usps.gov.
In summary, the Postal Service now seems to be very aware of the ongoing issues in Douglas Park and has expressed a firm desire to address the situation. It’s now our job to make sure they follow through by providing the ongoing data they need to find the root causes. Postal officials have agreed to attend a future meeting of the Association, likely in February 2015, to update their progress and receive more feedback from residents.
We had an update from Alison Tomlinson and Allegra Jabo; our representative and alternate to the Thomas Jefferson Middle School Working Group (TJMSWG).
The TJMSWG is charged by the County Board with evaluating the Thomas Jefferson Middle School site and making a recommendation as to the feasibility of building a new 725-seat elementary school on the campus. The TJMSWG will present a preliminary report to the County Board in December and a final report in January 2015. An overview of the group, along with supporting documents, is available here.
General DPCA Meeting—Tue 18th Nov 2014
Civic Association Agendas, Civic Association Meetings, Schools, USPSThe next Douglas Park Civic Association (DPCA) will be held on Tuesday evening 18 November 2014 at 7.30p in the Senior Room (Room 205) of the Arlington Mill Community Center, 909 S Dinwiddie St at Columbia Pike. You can park for up to four hours free of charge in the public car park under the community center (turn on Dinwiddie, then follow the signs to the back of the building).
On the agenda:
• A forum with post office officials regrading mail delivery problems in the ‘hood
• An update on the TJ Middle School site Elementary School review process from our Douglas Park reps.
Special DPCA Meeting—Thu 6th Nov 2014
Civic Association Agendas, Civic Association Meetings, Use PermitsDouglas Park Civic Association (DPCA) will hold a joint meeting with Barcroft School and Civic League (BSCL) on Thursday 6 November 2014 at 7.30p at the Barcroft Community House, 800 South Buchanan Street. The purpose of this joint meeting is to review plans for a new Form-Based Code development proposed for the NE corner of Columbia Pike and South Buchanan Street (4707 Columbia Pike). This is the current site of El Tutumaso and previously the site of Sâuçá, Bob and Edith’s II and Roy Rogers.
The proposal is for a four-storey building with 78 market-rate units (likely condos) in a mix of 18 studios, 42 1-bedroom and 18 2-bedroom units. The building will also hold 8,000 sq ft of ground-floor retail and an underground car park with space for 87 vehicles.
Further detailed plans are available at the links below:
FBC Checklist
FBC Diagrams & LEED Scorecard
Civil Plans
Landscape Plans
Architectural Plans
Color Elevations
If you are interested in learning more about the proposal, please make plans to join us Thursday evening when County Staff and representatives of the site developer will be on hand to speak and answer questions.
Outdoor Café Seating Application for 2900 Columbia Pike (Blanca’s)
Uncategorized, Use PermitsThe owners of the former Blanca’s Restaurant at the corner of Columbia Pike and S Walter Reed Dr have recently applied for an outdoor café seating use permit in hopes of attracting a new restaurant tenant to the property. The application will be heard by the County Board at their regular December meeting. Details on the proposal are available here [PDF, 1.3 MiB].
3d Annual Douglas Park Trail of Terror, Sat 25th Oct, 7-8.30p
Community Events, Trail of TerrorPrepare to meet your doom!
The 3d Annual Douglas Park Trail of Terror is coming up Saturday evening 25 October 2014 from 7–8.30p. Entrance adjacent to 1620 S Quincy St. Please bring a canned goods donation to benefit AFAC.
Check out more on the event’s Facebook page!
Open House on Elementary School Plans at TJMS Site, Sat 18th Oct
SchoolsAn open house will be conducted by the Thomas Jefferson Working Group (TJWG) on Saturday 18 October at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, 125 S Old Glebe Rd.
Upcoming Fora on Randolph ES Expansion Plans; DPCA Special Meeting
Civic Association Agendas, Civic Association Meetings, Schools, UncategorizedDouglas Park residents will have two opportunities in October to weigh in and learn more about Arlington Public Schools (APS) plans for Randolph Elementary School.
Background:
As many of you are aware, the School Board is seeking to place additional elementary schools seats in South Arlington. Early this summer, the grounds of Thomas Jefferson Middle School (TJMS) was identified as APS’s preferred location to build a new South Arlington elementary school. The County Board has commissioned a working group to evaluate the site with a report due to the County Board in January 2015. The Douglas Park community is represented on that working group. In August, APS identified Barcroft and Randolph Elementary Schools as preferred candidates for expansion should the County Board reject siting a new school at TJMS.
On Mon 20 Oct at 7p at Gunston Middle School, 2700 S Lang St, APS staff will conduct a community-wide forum on South Arlington elementary school expansion options, including TJMS, Barcroft and Randolph.
On Thu 23 Oct at 7.30p in the cafeteria of Randolph Elementary School, 1306 S Quincy St, the Douglas Park Civic Association (DPCA) will conduct a special meeting to discuss the specific options for Randolph Elementary and their impact on Douglas Park. John Chadwick, APS Assistant Superintendent for Facilities and Operations will be among the APS staff in attendance.
All interested Douglas Park residents are encouraged to attend either or both fora.
Washington Gas Work, Summer 2014
Construction, Roadwork, Washington GasWashington Gas has announced the next phase of its line replacement schedule. Work will be occurring in the following neighborhood locations this summer:
Columbia Pike at S Glebe Rd
Portions of Westmont Gardens
3700 block of 12th St S
13th St S at S Monroe St
14th St S at S Glebe Rd
1700 block of S Quincy St
S Quincy St at S Walter Reed Dr
S Randolph St at 16th St S
S Stafford St at 16th St S
Further details are in the attached PDF (10pp, 1,8 Mbyte).
Civic Association Meeting Tuesday 17th June
Bike Boulevards, Civic Association Agendas, Civic Association Meetings, Construction, Schools, Virginia RepresentativesThe 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:
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.
Stephanie Taylor of Arlington Transportation Engineering will be on hand to review the proposal and answer questions.
.
All are welcome to attend.
Metro Seeks Comment on Consolidation of Certain Stops on Metrobus Rte 23
Civic Association Agendas, Civic Association Elections, Metrobus, TransitFrom 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:
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.