Aquatic Center from Roaches RunPotential NPS Plan for Roaches Run
From 7-8 pm, we will have a presentation by the County on the opening of the Aquatic Center at Long Bridge Park around July 1 and meet the new facility manager.
From 8-9 pm, the National Park Service will make a presentation on upcoming changes in our area and possible projects, including Roaches Run.
Enter this password – including the period: zvykS8w. The speaker also shared a link to the SURJ NoVa Alternatives to Calling the Police resources for Arlington: English, Spanish.
Well, those who responded to our survey on the Newsletter indicated that they want the Newsletter to be as long as necessary to cover the news—so I guess 14 pages is ok! The highest votes for what to include were the Timeline of Meetings and Development, followed by CCCA, Livability and Surrounding Area News. So we must be doing something right. We may make format changes in the future to liven up the text. Thanks to those who responded.
May 19 CCCA Meeting Join us from 7-9 pm on Zoom. From 7-8 pm, we will have a presentation by the County on the opening of the Aquatic Center at Long Bridge Park and meet the new facility manager. From 8-9 pm, the National Park Service will make a presentation on upcoming changes in our area and possible projects. Details and a registration link will be sent the week before the meeting. Stay tuned.
See the list of other upcoming meetings in the Newsletter.
1. Survey: We are gradually modernizing our CCCA procedures and media. We will be issuing more frequent emails to keep you up to date on meetings and issues in coming weeks. In this issue, we are including a survey to ask members what you like, dislike, or would like to see in the Newsletter in the future. Please help by by filling out the attached survey.
2. Construction Coming Up:
1900 Crystal Drive: Construction to Close Lane and Sidewalk. The general contractor will begin closures associated with 1900 Crystal Drive construction on March 29th and they will continue progressively over the next two weeks.
2000/2001 S Bell: Preparation work for demolition of 2001 Richmond Hwy starts April 12 with the Underground passage from 20th to Crystal City Shops closed; when demolition of the tower starts end May, Underground passage will close for about 3 ½ years
3. Earth Day Clean Up – 17 April 2021 (rain date 24 April): Join the National Landing BID and Livability 22202 to clean up the wooded area along the GW Parkway south of the Mount Vernon Trailhead at the Crystal City Water Park to the access road on 26th St South. (And get a look at some what may someday become accessible open space for our 22202 community.) Sign up now to help keep National Landing green and clean!
4. National Cherry Blossom Festival in 22202: See the Newsletter for all of the art work and events from now till April 11.
5. Meetings, Development, and Other Issues: See the Newsletter for a detailed list.
You can see the presentation on Project Journey at National Airport by the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) here. The new terminal will open by summer. The work on the security checkpoints is ongoing.
National Airport
You can see the presentation by the Arlington County Police Department about Outreach and prevention in 22202 here, crime statistics compared for the first 3 months of 2019-2021 here, and crime statistics for the entire years of 2018-2020 here. The lists are broken down by civic association in 22202 and by the crime established by Virginia statutes.
COVID has shown us how important it is to have parks, trails, and open spaces. Yet 22202 is very lacking in those amenities, except for Virginia Highlands Park and Long Bridge Park. The Livability22202 working group created an open space report in December 2020, but this is no time to rest on our laurels. There is so much more to be done. This is not a roll up your sleeves and dig the ground working group. We are looking for your ideas and input. Join the working group: email [email protected] for more details.
As demonstrated by three recent meetings, we’re starting to have an impact. See the current status here: https://livability22202.org/open-space/ But it’s soooo important to expand membership of the working group to ensure participation, not only geographically across 22202 but also demographically, with emphasis on renters in high rise multifamily buildings needing access to open space. And not just during the COVID pandemic, but year round. An Arlington County Civic Federation White paper shows residents in multifamily units have some of the least access to open space in the County.) Not a surprise to us, is it?
(FYI, this is the first Newsletter going by email only to renewed members for 2021.)Click here to download.
So many issues, so many meetings, so little time! We need members to become and stay engaged.
Highlighting Upcoming Meetings: Please attend the following and lend your ears and voice to ongoing work. These are our most important activities right now.
March 2 Livability Open Space Working Group Meeting (discussed below) The meeting will be mostly informational. If afterwards, you’d like to stay engaged, great! But join us March 2 to learn what’s happening and where you could join in, if you’d like to. We really want/need to expand the working group membership, to promote diversity (demographics, housing, opinions?).
March 3 VDOT Public Meeting on Route 1 Feasibility Study (discussed below) Is this what we want for Route 1 in National Landing? Come to the VDOT public meeting on March 3rd and find out!
March 9 Sustainable Mobility for Arlington (SUSMO) meeting at 7:30 (discussed below) Come learn what is wrong with the proposed Crystal City Bike Network.
March 17 CCCA Meeting The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) has agreed to provide a video and PowerPoint update on all the work that is being done at National Airport and which is expected to be completed by summer 2021. Stay tuned for more details. The Arlington County Police Department will also present on crime statistics and car jackings.
Good meeting February 22 with VDOT. Although the Livability Working Group on Route 1 provided VDOT with 19 pages of comments and requests for more data on their feasibility study, they responded only to a few comments at this meeting and promised more substantive reply on data later on. We took the opportunity to review the scope of the study, community concerns, and possible alternatives or ideas on how to deal with Route 1. You can view the recorded meeting here and see the Livability slide show and VDOT slides here.
According to the VDOT project website, the study on Route 1, from approximately 12th Street to 23rd Street South, will explore an at-grade urban boulevard, but also review and compare potential improvements to the current elevated condition, and the elevated urban boulevard described in the Crystal City Sector Plan. Ultimately, the study aims to provide sufficient information to make the best decision on a future project on Route 1 in Crystal City. However, from comments at the February 22 meeting, it appears that VDOT is only focusing on whether it is feasible to bring Route 1 down to grade and not on other options. This is disappointing and we will continue to advocate for a variety of alternatives and emphasize safety issues for crossing Route 1 without making it a major highway.
There will be a Task Force meeting February 25 (in which several Livability representatives participate) and a public meeting March 3. Register for the March 3 VDOT meeting here.
Agenda (Feb 22)
1. Introduction to Livability22202 and the Route 1 Working Group role in the VDOT study
2. Overview of VDOT Route 1 Multimodal Improvements Study scope and status
3. Issues the Working Group identified through the L22202 survey and workshops
4. Review of suggested alternatives for Route 1
5. VDOT Responses to Livability22202 input
5. Review of Working Group requested data & analysis (Us) (7:40-7:50)
6. Scope and purpose of next VDOT public engagement March 3
7. Q&A and discussion of next steps
On January 11, 2021, the presidents of the three civic associations in 22202–Arlington Ridge, Aurora Highlands, and Crystal City–forwarded to VDOT the Livability22202 comments on the VDOT feasibility study. These comments provide feedback to the VDOT Public Information Meeting on the Multimodal Improvements Study for Route 1 on 16 December 2020. The covering letter and the four extensive Appendices are linked here.
7:30 pm: Kimberly Driggins, Executive Director of the Washington Housing Conservancy, explained what the WHC is, its funding by Amazon to acquire Crystal Houses for $377M, and the affordable housing parameters for Crystal Houses. The acquisition will lead to the preservation and creation of 1,300 affordable homes.
8:00 pm: The Livability22202 Housing Working Group provided a summary and highlights of the Livability Housing report issued in December, the ongoing county Missing Middle Study and Housing Report, and the Working Group’s meetings with County Board members.
The meeting was recorded and can be viewed here when available. Currently viewable on the CCCA Facebook page.
Don’t forget to renew your membership here and stay involved. After February 1, you may not get your Newsletter or email updates if not paid. This is the last Newsletter for those paid only in 2020.
1. January 27 CCCA Meeting: Read the summary of the meeting on COVID and Development and click on the links to see the full meeting and the slide presentations.
2. Development: Each month, a listing of all upcoming development and other major issues will be included i the Newsletter.
3. Upcoming Meetings: February 2: JBG Pre-Construction Meeting on 1900 Crystal Drive February 9 Livability22202 Meeting on County Planning and Affordable Housing February 15 virtual workshop on the Pentagon City Planning Study February Livability22202 Meeting with VDOT on Route 1 Feasibility Study, Date TBD March 17 CCCA Meeting with MWAA on Project Journey at the airport
