Plans for a four-sports-field complex on the campus of Kenmore Middle School have started working their way through the county government’s advisory process.
One of the key challenges still to be worked through as the process moves forward: How to manage parking issues around the new facility.
Members of the Park and Recreation Commission on Dec. 10 received an update on the $10.1 million project, which will transform the existing, somewhat dilapidated natural-turf fields on the site into two baseball/softball fields and two rectangular fields for soccer and other sports.
All the new facilities are expected to have synthetic turf, although that was a contentious issue for some residents during the first round of public engagement over the summer.
As for now, the planned timetable to wrap up the design phase and move to construction remains on track, county staff said.
“Our goal is to break ground in the spring of 2026,” said Bernadette Grullon of the Department of Parks and Recreation, who is serving as project manager.
Construction is expected to take about a year.
Under the current design scenario, each of the two ballfields — one with an outfield depth of 225 feet and the other of 350 feet — will overlap with portions of the 210-foot-by-340-foot rectangular fields.
Each year from mid-February through mid-July, when temporary outfield fences will be up to accommodate baseball and softball, one of the rectangular fields will be out of commission, but the other will be usable, staff said.
The design also includes a one-third-mile walkway circling the fields. Its width and functionality were among the issues brought up by parks-commission members during the presentation.
Concerns also were raised about parking, given that those using the new facilities will be encouraged to park in the Kenmore Middle lot when school is not in session.
To exit that lot and turn onto S. Carlin Springs Road at 3rd Street S., drivers have to wait at a traffic light. Given the signalization timing, “people find that [lot] very frustrating, especially to get out,” said commission member Adam Rasmussen.
Those wishing to avoid the lot might end up adding to congestion on 2nd Street S., a neighborhood street just north of the park site, by parking there instead. It was a scenario members of the commission wanted to see avoided.
Staff said the county government has been working toward solutions at the S. Carlin Springs/3rd Street S. chokepoint.
“I know it’s frustrating for a lot of folks,” county staff member Tim McIntosh said of the middle-school parking lot. “They’ve done some improvements to the intersection there, but the light remains a tricky thing.”
There would also be the option to access the fields from the parking lot at Carlin Springs Elementary School, immediately south of the parcel, staff said.
In September, County Board members ratified agreements with the Arlington Soccer Association and the Arlington Sports Foundation, each of which has committed to provide $1 million for the project. Of the remainder, the county government will fund 70% and the school system 30%.
Residents of the Glencarlyn neighborhood, where the parcel is located, have expressed concerns about the increase in traffic congestion due to longer hours of play that synthetic-turf fields will bring. And during a public-engagement session held in July and August, concerns over the safety of synthetic turf was raised.
McIntosh said an additional community-engagement effort would take place in early 2025, and Grullon said the feedback provided so far has assisted in getting the plan where it is.
“It was very helpful hearing from all of the stakeholders,” she said.
