parks department | ARLnow.com

Renovated Rocky Run Park Re-Opens

Published April 7, 2014 at 2:30PM | Updated April 7, 2014 at 6:05PM

(Updated at 6:05 p.m.) The $3 million renovation to Rocky Run Park in the Courthouse area are complete and the park is now open to the public.

The renovations, which were approved by the County Board in November 2012, include two lighted basketball courts, a lighted synthetic turf for drop-in play, a new playground area with equipment for 5-12 year-olds, a picnic shelter and bathrooms. The park, at 1109 N. Barton Street, had its mature trees preserved while the equipment and facilities were reorganized around them.

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County Board to Consider Dedicated Funding for Baseball, Softball Fields

By Ethan Rothstein

Published March 13, 2014 at 5:00PM

Currently, the county collects fees from all leagues that use county fields — for youth, it’s $8 per resident and $20 for non-residents. It’s $100 per team per season for adults — but there is no dedicated funding stream for the improvement of baseball and softball fields. The fees have, to this point, been used to fund the replacement of soccer and other rectangle fields with artificial turf.

If approved, the Field Fund would be segregated, and fees collected from using diamond fields would be reserved just for those fields. In addition, staff is asking the Board to dedicate $85,000 in seed funding for the field improvements.

News

Snowy Trails Frustrate Bike Commuters

By Courtney Battle

Published January 28, 2014 at 6:05PM | Updated January 28, 2014 at 7:49PM

(Updated at 7:50 p.m.) The effects of last week’s winter storm were felt by one group of commuters for days following the last snowflake.

The inconvenience of traveling in the cold and sometimes icy conditions proved not only difficult for those traveling by car, but also for local cyclists. At Saturday’s Arlington County Board meeting, resident Gillian Burgess expressed her concerns about clearing bike trails after snow storms occur in the area.

Around Town

Arlington to Conduct Deer Census

By Ethan Rothstein

Published January 17, 2014 at 12:00PM

Arlington’s Department of Parks and Recreation is organizing its first “Deer Day” on Tuesday, Jan. 28 from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. Parks officials are attempting to take “a snapshot census of the deer population in Arlington.”

Arlington Natural Resources Manager Alonso Abugattas said if residents can “go to the nearest park” or just spend a half hour looking through their backyard and count the number of deer they observe, it will help Parks and Recreation officials estimate the number of deer in the county.

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Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 11, 2013 at 8:30AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 3:22PM

Home Prices Fall — Arlington was the only jurisdiction in the D.C. metro area to see a drop in home prices last month. The median Arlington sales price in November was $498,500, down 2.1 percent from last year. [Washington Business Journal]

Big Difference Between ‘Near’ and ‘Next To’ Metro Stations — It’s no surprise that real estate closer to Metro stations is more valuable, but what may be surprising is for how high a price such properties can be sold. Looking at the five stations along the Orange Line’s Rosslyn-Ballston corridor — which is deemed one of the hot areas for development — researchers found that properties one-twentieth of a mile from a station (264 feet) can fetch more than a 30 percent premium over those just a quarter mile away. [Washington Post]

News

County Offers Explanation for Higher Aquatic Center Costs

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 10, 2013 at 10:30AM

The aquatics center, scheduled to open in the summer of 2016, had been projected to have an annual operating deficit of $1 million to $1.3 million. That number has been upped to $4.3 million. But Department of Parks and Recreation Director Jane Rudolph said in a statement that comparing those numbers is not comparing “apples to apples.”

Rudolph explained that the original numbers published in the 2012 Capital Improvement Plan were in “2012 numbers,” whereas the new estimate is adjusted for inflation with “2020 numbers.” The statement reads, in part, “The 2012 tax support number — of $1.1 to $1.4 million if presented at a 2020 level would range from $1.4 million to $1.9 million. The 2020 tax support number presented in the November 2013 revenue and expense forecast ($4.3 million) was at the maximum of the range (as it should have been). The apples to apples increase in estimates is $2.4 million.”

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Nonprofit Bike Shop Plan Picking Up Opposition

By ARLnow.com

Published December 3, 2013 at 4:55PM

Opposition flier (courtesy photo)

A plan to build a new headquarters for Phoenix Bikes has picked up some neighborhood opposition.

Phoenix Bikes is a nonprofit focused on empowering youths by teaching them bicycle repair and entrepreneurship. The organization wants to move from its present cinder block building in Barcroft Park to a new location on county-owned land adjacent to the W&OD Trail, near the intersection of Walter Reed Drive and Four Mile Run Drive.

Around Town

Phoenix Bikes Plans New Building Along W&OD Trail

By Ethan Rothstein

Published November 19, 2013 at 9:45AM

Phoenix Bikes — a nonprofit focused on empowering youths by teaching them bicycle repair and entrepreneurship — wants to build a new location for itself at an estimated cost of $1 million, according to county Department of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Susan Kalish. The facility will include public restrooms.

The organization currently has its headquarters in Barcroft Park, not far from the proposed location, but being adjacent to the W&OD Trail is key because it “is accessible by bike and near the community it serves,” Kalish wrote in an email.

Around Town

Revamped Clarendon Park Will Open Tonight

By ARLnow.com

Published August 30, 2013 at 12:45PM

The $1.6 million park has both dog- and people-friendly features like a community canine area, pathways, a picnic area, demonstration garden, public art, lighting, and solar panels that power the irrigation system. Crews have been putting the finishing touches on the park this month, according to Arlington Department of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Roberta Korzen.

“Over the past few weeks remaining amenities have been installed and all final inspections were approved,” Korzen said in an email. “Accordingly, County staff conducted a walk-through inspection late this week and declared the park safe for use.”

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Aquatics Center Construction Pushed Back

By ARLnow.com

Published August 14, 2013 at 12:30PM | Updated August 14, 2013 at 1:20PM

Work on the approximately $80 million facility, located just north of Crystal City near I-395, is now not expected to begin until early 2014, according to Arlington Department of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Susan Kalish.

“To ensure that we have quality general contractors bidding… we decided to undertake an extensive pre-qualification process,” Kalish explained. “That process is now complete and we have our selected pool of contractors. The bidding process will take place over the next several months. We anticipate that construction will begin in early 2014.”

Around Town

Fall Parks and Rec Class Sign-up Opens This Week

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 12, 2013 at 2:15PM

This year, registration for gymnastics classes opens at 7:00 a.m., while all other classes open for registration at 7:30. The change was meant to accomodate working adults, according to Parks and Recreation Business Analyst Deborah Hay.

“We’ve seen the number of logged on users at the start of registration grow by more than 40 percent in the past year alone,” Hay said.

News

Clarendon Dog Park Opening Delayed Again

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 26, 2013 at 3:35PM

The dog park in Clarendon county parks officials hoped would open in spring, then was delayed until July, has had its opening date pushed back again.

This time, Parks and Recreation Department spokeswoman Susan Kalish said the main features of the park have been installed, but issues with fencing and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance have pushed the park further off schedule. Kalish this time did not give an expected date, but said the park should open by the end of the summer, and “hopefully sooner.”