Arlington County is eyeing a $1.1 million real estate purchase to expand Douglas Park.
Buying and deconstructing a home for sale at 4030 16th Street S. — listed in the Public Spaces Master Plan as a priority expansion site for Douglas Park — would add a S. Randolph Street entrance to the five-acre recreation area south of Columbia Pike. The property has a total footprint of 13,346 square feet, or about 0.31 acres, according to a county report.
County staff are seeking feedback on competing visions for a more verdant and multi-functional Gateway Park in Rosslyn.
Following an initial round of community feedback on the recreation area at 1300 Langston Blvd, which the county hopes to overhaul several years earlier than expected, a new presentation outlines three possible paths forward. All of them involve keeping popular features including Gateway Park’s lawns and dog park, while adding more greenery and new areas geared toward a variety of activities.
Arlington County staff are recommending hiring professional sharpshooters to reduce local deer populations.
The Dept. of Parks and Recreation’s draft recommendations on how to prevent white-tailed deer herds from causing further harm to Arlington ecosystems, released last week, follow a new consultant report on potential deer management methods.
Today marks the start of the Memorial Day weekend and the return of Arlington’s spraygrounds.
The kid-oriented water features at county parks are open for the season as of today — Friday, May 24. All spraygrounds will operate from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. through Monday, the county says, before returning to normal hours on Tuesday.
Arlington’s parks have maintained their ranking as some of the best in the country for the seventh year in a row.
Arlington ranks fifth in the national “ParkScore” rankings released today — the same spot that it held last year, but behind its No. 3 ranking in 2022. The county’s parks have ranked among the top 5 in the nation since 2018.
Lubber Run Park’s summer concert series is returning next month with a packed lineup of performances.
Spanning musical genres from jazz and funk to classical and “chamber tango,” the free shows kick off June 8 and continue every weekend through Aug. 2. Friday and Saturday performances start at 8 p.m. and most Sunday shows are at 11 a.m.
Community input on a planned redesign of Rosslyn’s Gateway Park is kicking off this week.
The county is inviting locals to share their thoughts on the future of the park at 1300 Langston Blvd during an open house on Thursday evening.
Construction on the planned pickleball courts for the Walter Reed Community Center is expected to begin by the end of this year.
The Arlington County Dept. of Parks and Recreation announced the next steps for the hotly contested project and unveiled 90% complete designs last week. The project is set to go out for bid this spring and a contract is expected to go to the Arlington County Board for approval in the summer.
The concentration of deer in Arlington’s parks is up to 16 times above desired levels, based on a newly released analysis of county data.
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA) has raised doubts about the new numbers, which county staff revealed at a virtual information session last Thursday. What the numbers mean for Arlington’s much-debated deer management strategy remains to be seen.
Summer camp registration is just around the corner, with yet another change to smooth out the process.
Camp registration — historically a process plagued with problems for parents — was a relatively quiet affair last year after the county and its platform vendor tweaked the technology and made a few other changes.
(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) The 50-meter pool at the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center will have shorter hours for several months for needed repairs.
The pool area will close at 8 p.m., about two hours early, on weekdays starting next Monday, Jan. 29 to replace leaky pipes and water-damaged ceiling tiles caused by a corroded sprinkler hose, the Arlington County Dept. Parks and Recreation said in a press release. Weekend hours will not be affected.
Arlington County will kick off the New Year with the next phase of engagement on its forthcoming plan to manage its deer population.
A study found two years ago that Arlington’s deer population exceeds healthy levels, with the county’s forested areas home to about 20 and 39 deer per square. About 1.5 years ago, the Dept. of Parks and Recreation began considering a management plan in response.
