Exactly two months after closing amid the pandemic, Arlington’s parks are partially reopening in time for Memorial Day weekend.
Arlington County made the announcement shortly before 1 p.m., noting that a number of park amenities will remain closed.
Arlington officials are asking residents to refrain from dumping their yard waste in county parks.
The request, which is being made via neighborhood newsletters, comes after the county suspended the curbside collection of yard waste due to the pandemic. Collection crews have been strained by significant increases in residential trash and recycling collection volumes, necessitating the temporary suspension.
Arlington County’s parks are closed, a safety precaution intended to prevent overcrowding and the spread of the coronavirus.
While trails are open, the closure of parks has reduced recreation options for those seeking to get outside as the weather gets warmer. That, along with the county deciding against closing vehicle lanes for extra space, may be factors contributing to more crowded sidewalks and trails.
One year after Robert E. Lee’s name was stripped from what is now Washington-Liberty High School, Arlington County is preparing to name a new park after an enslaved person Lee’s household.
Selina Gray Square is a park planned for the north end of a residential development called The Trove, an addition to Wellington Apartments at 1850 Columbia Pike that was approved in 2016.
Despite repeated reminders to stay out of closed parks and keep a six-foot distance from others while outside, police are still getting calls to report violations in various parts of the county.
Yesterday, with warm and sunny weather encouraging outdoor recreation, police received numerous calls to report people congregating in closed parks, from Virginia Highlands Park near Crystal City to Williamsburg Middle School in North Arlington.
There are now 63 known coronavirus cases in Arlington County, up from 54 yesterday.
That’s according to the latest data from the Virginia Dept. of Health, which now lists 604 cases, 83 hospitalizations, 14 deaths and 7,337 people tested statewide. The cases in Arlington as of Friday represent a nearly four-fold increase since a week ago.
Some people hoping to get out of the house and get some exercise are defying government efforts to maintain social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak.
On Monday, Arlington County and Arlington Public Schools closed all athletic fields and courts, as well as playgrounds and other outdoor recreational facilities where people congregate.
(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) More than 800 new residential units are coming to Crystal City.
The Arlington County Board on Saturday approved a site plan for a new development at 1900 Crystal Drive. Developer JBG SMITH is tearing down an aging office building and planning to build two residential towers with ground-floor retail space in its place.
A stone’s throw from Crystal City is Roaches Run, a waterfowl sanctuary on the northern flight path to and from Reagan National Airport.
The body of water, surrounded by woods, is home to birds, ducks and dragonflies. Accessible primarily from a small parking lot off the southbound GW Parkway, most human activity is confined to fishing and birdwatching.
(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) A bevy of new development is coming to Clarendon and Virginia Square, prompting Arlington County to update its plan for the former.
The county’s busy planning division, which is working its way through a crush of post-Amazon HQ2 development applications, is also gearing up to review and perhaps refine the 2006 Clarendon Sector Plan.
Pike Lane Closures Prompt Apology — “Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz has apologized that residents, business owners, and commuters weren’t informed how their lives would be temporarily affected by a road construction project on Columbia Pike, near the Fairfax County border,” per WTOP. County officials will be holding a press briefing about the lane closures on the Pike this morning. [WTOP, Arlington County]
Park Near HQ2 May Have Security Features — “Amazon.com Inc. is weighing methods for securing its second headquarters and appears to be looking across the pond for ideas. The U.S. embassy in London… avoids fences in favor of a number of ‘defense strategies’ disguised as a ‘welcoming landscape that is experienced as a public park,’ an Amazon representative told Arlington County officials.” [Washington Business Journal]
