Crystal City | ARLnow.com

Published October 23, 2019 at 9:15AM | Updated October 23, 2019 at 10:00AM

(Updated at 10 a.m.) The 44th Marine Corps Marathon returns to Arlington and D.C. this Sunday, October 27, bringing thousands of runners to the area along with lots of road closures.

Opening ceremonies for the races begin at 6 a.m. along Route 110 between the Pentagon and the Arlington National Cemetery. The 5oK race kicks off at 7:30 a.m., then the wheelchair/hand cycle race starts at 7:40 a.m., and finally the marathon and 10K begin at 7:55 a.m. Approximately 30,000 runners are participating in the race.

News

New National Landing Booster Group Forms

By ARLnow.com

Published October 22, 2019 at 5:00PM | Updated October 22, 2019 at 5:18PM

A group of large local employers and small local businesses has formed a new group intended “to support National Landing’s transformation.”

The Arlington Community Coalition says the arrival of Amazon’s HQ2 is a golden opportunity to bolster housing and transportation options in the National Landing area, which includes Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard. The group also wants to build a sense of community and support local businesses as the area grows.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 22, 2019 at 7:30AM

New Trail Bridge Work Progressing — “Bridge girder installation is occurring this week during daytime hours for the new Washington & Old Dominion Trail Bridge over Route 29 (Lee Highway) in Arlington. This work is taking place west of Lee Highway, and will not impact roadway or trail users. Work will continue the week of Oct. 28, and will require nighttime hours and an additional trail detour.” [Press Release]

Chick-fil-A to Blame for Blocked Bike Lane? — Delivery drivers picking up orders from Chick-fil-A in Crystal City may be at least partially to blame for frequent bike lane blockages along Crystal Drive. [Twitter]

News

Spin Adding Docks and Parking Incentives for its Dockless E-Scooters

By Airey

Published October 21, 2019 at 11:15AM | Updated October 21, 2019 at 12:21PM

Spin's dockless scooters pictured earlier this year (Photo courtesy of Spin)

(Update at 12:20 p.m.) Dockless e-scooter company Spin is adding more designated parking spaces and discounts around Arlington.

The San Francisco-based company said it has nearly a dozen “Spin Hub” charging stands for parking — mostly around Crystal City and Pentago City, near Amazon’s new headquarters — and is now testing out financial incentives for users to stow scooters there.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 21, 2019 at 6:00AM

Shucking oysters at Shucktoberfest in Shirlington (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)

Scooters May Be Allowed on Arlington Sidewalks — “The Board voted unanimously to advertise a public hearing at the Nov. 16, 2019 County Board Meeting to consider proposed regulations of shared mobility devices. The proposed revisions include allowing the [scooters] to be used on County streets, sidewalks and multi-use trails and putting in place a permit fee structure for private companies offering the devices. During the pilot program, the devices have been prohibited on County sidewalks.” [Arlington County]

Clarendon Cafe Rebrands as ‘Three Whistles’ — “CoworkCafe founder Ramzy Azar rebranded the space this week. In addition to a new name, Three Whistles (2719 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia) has a new look and a new menu. Azar expects to roll out a menu full of Mediterranean small plates in the next few weeks. He says sharable dishes help create the feeling of a gathering place.” [Eater]

News

Activists Count 300 Vehicles Blocking Three Bike Lanes on One Day

By Airey

Published October 18, 2019 at 3:30PM

Cars blocking a bike lane in Crystal City (photo by Chris Slatt)

More than 300 instances of vehicles blocking bike lanes were recorded during yesterday’s data collection project in Rosslyn, Ballston and Crystal City.

A map of the violations from the D.C.-based ‘How’s My Driving?’ app indicates volunteers spotted 307 bike lane violations on sections of N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn, Fairfax Drive in Ballston, and Crystal Drive in Crystal City yesterday (Thursday).

News

County Board Poised to Advance Virginia Railway Express’s Crystal City Station Project

By Airey

Published October 17, 2019 at 1:30PM | Updated October 18, 2019 at 3:32PM

VRE train in Crystal City (Photo by Chris Rief)

(Updated on 10/18/19) This weekend, the Arlington County Board will consider whether to help advance the overhaul of the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) Crystal City station.

The County Board is poised to vote this Saturday, October 19 on a resolution supporting the VRE’s application for $15.8 million in regional funding, which would help pay for the long-discussed plans to expand and redesign the station.

News

County Board to Consider Nixing Path as Part of Crystal City Development

By Airey

Published October 17, 2019 at 10:15AM

Land that developer LCOR Inc wants the county to sell near S. Eads Street to help construction on the 12th Street Apartments project (Image via Arlington County)

The Arlington County Board is set to consider a developer request to get rid of a little pathway in Crystal City to make room for a new construction site.

Developer LCOR Inc. is offering the county $125,436 to nix a small pedestrian pathway near S. Eads Street near the Crystal City-Pentagon City border. The county’s vacation of the pathway will allow LCOR’s Verizon site project on 1400 11th Street S. to move forward.

Events

Local Cycling Safety App Planning An All-Volunteer Car Violation Tracking Event

By Airey

Published October 16, 2019 at 11:00AM | Updated October 16, 2019 at 1:09PM

(Updated at 1:10 p.m.) The “How’s My Driving” cycling safety app is planning an event in Arlington tomorrow to collect data on bike lane violations.

App co-creator Mark Sussman told ARLnow that a team of about 40 people are gearing up to hit streets in Crystal City, Ballston, and Rosslyn on Thursday to count the number of times vehicles block bike lanes. The volunteers will track the bike lane violations on S. Crystal Drive, Fairfax Drive, and N. Lynn Street by reporting blockages through the app, which will share the data through a live dashboard.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 15, 2019 at 6:00AM

Cards Coach Has Good Day in Arlington, At Least — “Cardinals pitching coach Mike Maddux hit not one, but two holes-in-one during a morning round of golf at the Army Navy Country Club, manager Mike Shildt revealed to reporters on Monday. The country club later confirmed the achievement to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.” [Yahoo]

Real Estate Market Awash in HQ2 Hype — “As of the first week of October, there were nearly 70 active listings for single-family detached homes in Greater Washington that mentioned Amazon’s HQ2 in their description… The median driving distance for the homes was about 7.4 miles.” [Washington Business Journal]

News

JBG Has Big Plans for 23rd Street S. in Crystal City, But Redevelopment Could Displace Jaleo

By Airey

Published October 9, 2019 at 1:35PM

Rendering of JBG Smith's proposed new development at 2300 Crystal Drive (Image via Arlington County)

Two new, towering buildings have been proposed for the northwest corner of the intersection of Crystal Drive and 23rd Street S.

The pair are part of JBG Smith’s massive mixed-use development in Crystal City, which includes thousands of new apartments across five new buildings, along with a new office building. With Amazon’s HQ2 staffing up, the large-scale redevelopment could help house thousands as new workers flock to the area.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 8, 2019 at 7:30AM | Updated October 8, 2019 at 9:10AM

ACPD Provides Crystal City Shooting Update — “The Arlington County Police Department continues to investigate a non-fatal officer-involved shooting which occurred on August 28, 2019. The police department is committed to providing professional law enforcement services to the Arlington community while remaining transparent with the public regarding our operations. As a matter of transparency, the officer involved in the August shooting is Officer J. Clark.” [Arlington County]

Favola Endorses Dehghani-Tafti — State Sen. Barbara Favola writes in an endorsement of Democratic Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney nominee Parisa Dehghani-Tafti: “Parisa will work day and night to bring balance to a justice system that has relied excessively on jail time when diversion programs and common-sense drug laws would better serve us. I look forward to working with Parisa as I continue to fight for expunging the records of juveniles and decriminalizing marijuana.” [Twitter]