Plans for parking at Arlington County’s future boathouse in Rosslyn have drawn concern from the county’s Disability Advisory Commission.
Commissioners have raised fears that the location of parking spaces on the National Park Service land would be an impediment for those who participate in adaptive-rowing activities.
“The parking lot is a long distance from the boathouse itself. This is very alarming,” said commission member Justin Boatner at the panel’s Sept. 15 meeting.
Boatner said the situation was like many in which a project may meet requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but still not provide full access.
“What is compliant on paper with ADA is not [always] true in the physical results,” he said.
Boatner gave an example of a rower with physical limitations returning exhausted from a day on the water, only to face a long trek back to a parking space.
“That’s going to physically wear you down,” he said. “It is very, very, very alarming and concerning.”
Elizabeth Priaulx, who was chairing the Sept. 15 meeting, agreed with Boatner that, sometimes, what meets ADA requirements does not truly solve accessibility challenges. That can be the case with parking, she said.
“The ADA only requires that whatever parking structure they build, the two closest [disability-accessible] spots are closest to the location,” Priaulx said.
In some situations, “that doesn’t help you, or anyone, at all,” she said.
Still, Atkins noted the parcel planned for the boathouse and related facilities isn’t very forgiving when it comes to incorporating all the necessary design elements.
“The challenge … is the geography of the site,” he said.
Priaulx said commission members should take the initiative in proposing better parking options on the site, located adjacent to N. Lynn Street on the Potomac shoreline, fronting Theodore Roosevelt Island.
“We have to be able to [suggest] where to move it,” she said.
Boatner suggested going directly to County Board member JD Spain, Sr., who serves as liaison to the commission. But others thought it better to ask relevant county staff to come in for a discussion first.
“If we’re skipping staff … I think it weakens our approach,” commission member Bryant Atkins said. “We’ve got to do our homework first — understanding where we’re at.”
Others agreed, and efforts are underway to schedule a discussion at a future meeting. The next commission gathering is set for Oct. 20.
The county government since the early 1990s has attempted to find a location to build a boathouse that would serve local high-school crew teams and community rowing programs. Last year, county officials signed a memorandum of intent with the National Park Service to use its land, several years after the site passed requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act.
Plans call for approximately 14,000 square feet of boat storage and accessory space on federal land, plus the possibility of an ancillary facility about half that size on nearby land that the county owns.
A path would link the rigging area to a 300-foot-long floating dock used for launching rowing shells and other paddlecraft into the Potomac.
Under the plan, the county government is responsible for funding the entire project, which is estimated at just under $20 million, and it’s likely to seek financial support from groups that will use it. The facility would remain available to the county for at least 30 years.
The current timeline for getting to a finished product:
- Winter 2026: The county government will collect feedback on existing conditions
- Spring 2026: Feedback will be solicited on draft design concepts
- Spring/summer 2026: Feedback will be gathered on the final draft design
- Summer/fall 2026: County Board action on the master plan is anticipated
If that timeline holds, construction on the project could start in 2027, county officials say.
Photo via Joseph Corl/Unsplash
