County Board candidates have varied takes on how the local government should address gaps in neighborhood sidewalks.
Although the local government has a plan to address missing sidewalk links, it “will take years and years” to implement, County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said at the July 20 forum sponsored by the Douglas Park Civic Association.
Joining de Ferranti on the dais were his two challengers in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary, James DeVita and Julie Farnam, and independents David Sisson and Audrey Clement, who will meet the Democratic nominee in the general election on Nov. 3.
Funding for sidewalk improvements in Arlington largely comes from two funding buckets: the Arlington Neighborhoods Program and the Neighborhood Complete Streets Program. At the forum, de Ferranti said it may be time to consider the efficiency of each.
“We need to take a strategic look at both,” he said.
DeVita and Sisson expressed misgivings about expanding Arlington’s sidewalk network in an era of tough budget choices.
“There are a lot of places where you don’t need sidewalks,” DeVita said.
While he supports more sidewalks near schools and public facilities, “I’m certainly not in a rush” to place them everywhere, he said.
Sisson said sidewalks shouldn’t be imposed on neighborhoods that do not want them.
“It would have to be street by street, and you would have to get [resident] buy-in,” he said.
Farnam was also wary of a full-court press on future sidewalks, in part owing to budget pressures. However, she said that missing links should be filled in around schools.
Clement serves as the Westover representative to the Arlington Neighborhoods Advisory Committee. At the forum, she noted that County Manager Mark Schwartz’s FY2027-36 capital improvement plan called for a two-year pause in additional program funding, although Board members later added back in $2 million.
The Arlington government oversees more than 600 miles of sidewalks, according to county officials. However, many areas still go without. At the current rate at which sidewalks are being built, it would take some neighborhoods 250 years to receive full coverage, according to one estimate later in the civic-association meeting.
Candidates did not discuss whether the county should become more aggressive in taking on existing sidewalks that have deteriorated. In recent years, the local government has taken steps — including the use of robots — to improve monitoring of sidewalk conditions.
