A perilously perched tree has prompted the temporary closure of a playground near East Falls Church.
The severe rain storms of the last few days has caused a “tree-mergency” in Madison Manor Park (6225 12th Street N.).
Susan Kalish, a spokeswoman for the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation, says the rain managed to so thoroughly soak the ground at the park that the tree eventually tipped over. She says workers will be removing it “first thing” tomorrow morning (Thursday).
“After they have finished, parks crew will clean up any mess and refasten a section of fence that has been removed,” Kalish wrote in an email. “None of the play equipment has been damaged. One section of the perimeter timber has been dislodged by the tree’s roots and will have to be repaired once the tree is removed.”
Kalish said the county hopes to reopen the playground by “close of business tomorrow,” or Friday morning at the latest.
Parks and recreation workers plan to announce exactly when it will re-open on the department’s Twitter account.
Photo via @arlparksrec
Region Sets Heat Record — The National Weather Service reports that Arlington and surrounding areas set a heat record yesterday. The temperature at Reagan National Airport reached 91 degrees, which tops the previous record of 89, set in 1930. [Twitter]
Co-Working Space Opening Soon — TechSpace, a new co-working space, will hold a grand opening event and happy hour in Ballston on May 15. The 20,000 square foot office will open in the Two Liberty Center building (4075 Wilson Blvd) across the street from the under-construction Ballston Quarter Mall. [PR Newswire]
Playground Design Meeting — County staff will present the two concepts for the new playground at Rosslyn Highlands Park and take feedback from the public at a meeting tonight. It takes place in the library at Key Elementary School at 7 p.m. [Arlington County]
Theodore Roosevelt Island Survey — The National Park Service is seeking feedback via a survey for improvements to Theodore Roosevelt Island, including possible bridge and comfort station upgrades and the addition of a boat dock. Today is the last day to submit comments. [National Park Service]
Reduced Parking in Fairlington — As the Fairlington Park Project enters its final stages, 19 parking spaces will be occupied for construction equipment staging. Visitors should plan ahead for the parking challenges.
New Marymount President — Dr. Irma Becerra has been chosen as the new Marymount University president and will take over the position on July 1. She comes to the school from St. Thomas University. [Marymount University, InsideNova]
Children already are climbing on equipment at the two newly renovated playgrounds at Woodlawn Park, ahead of this weekend’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The ceremony will take place at the park (1325 N. Buchanan Street) this Saturday, April 22, at 4 p.m.
Members of the community — including kids — helped design the new playgrounds. As part of the renovation process, the new equipment was installed farther away from the creek than the previous fixtures had been.
Invasive plants were removed and the area along the creek has been reforested with native trees, shrubs and perennials. The park also now offers better accessibility. Lawn aeration and overseeding will be completed next week.
The County Board approved funding for the $795,000 neighborhood improvement project in 2014, and construction began last August. A federal grant funded part of the reforestation.
The park remains open and usable in the time leading up to the ribbon cutting.
Chestnut Hills playground at 2807 N. Harrison Street is the best playground in Arlington, at least according to a new guide to the county’s playgrounds.
H.K. Park and his two children, Avery and Spencer, created “The Arlington Playground Guide!!,” a review book of 70 playgrounds in the county.
“It’s a Zagat’s guide for kids written by kids,” Park said.
The Parks visited each playground, excluding ones at schools, and ranked them on the different features, like how challenging the playground was, how much shade each has and if it had bathrooms, Park said.
Each playground was giving a ranking out of five stars, with five stars denoting an “epic” experience.
“For a small county, there are a lot of playgrounds,” Park noted.
Park’s kids liked playgrounds that had more challenging features, like rock climbing walls or climbing nets.
Six-year-old Spencer Park gave the playground at Penrose Park (2200 6th Street S.) four stars, saying it had a good jungle gym. His sister gave it five stars.
“Cool! This is really big but not shady. It was super hot but it was worth it,” Avery Park, 9, wrote in the book.
Avery and Spencer liked the bigger playgrounds, Park said. They also liked ones with swings and seesaws, as well as newly-installed equipment.
The playground at Quincy Park (1021 N. Quincy Street) received two stars from the Park kids, who wrote it was too small.
“This place is boring,” Spencer wrote. “Sometimes I think it’s a little cuckoo.”
Park also included “Dad views” for each playground, which looked at the amount of shade at a park or how many bathrooms it had.
Park gave a copy of the book, which contains pictures of each playground, to Arlington Public Library. Families can also request a copy from Park, he said.
County to Seek Ballston Mall Partnership — Arlington County is moving quickly to try to come up with a public-private partnership for the redevelopment of Ballston Common Mall. County Board members said Tuesday that they believe the redevelopment will bring important economic benefits. “To not reinvest is to watch the death, I think, of Ballston,” said County Board Chair Mary Hynes. [InsideNova, Arlington County]
Crash Near Kenmore Middle School — A five-vehicle crash occurred around 5:30 yesterday evening on S. Carlin Springs Road, just south of Kenmore Middle School. Scanner reports suggest a driver mistook the gas pedal for the brake at an intersection, leading to the multi-vehicle wreck. [Twitter]
Playground Contracts Awarded — The Arlington County Board has voted unanimously to award two contracts, together worth about $2 million, for new playgrounds at Long Bridge Park and Tyrol Hills Park. Construction on both is expected to begin later this summer and will take about four months. [Arlington County]
Panhandlers Stake Out Turf in Arlington — There’s “an ongoing turf war” among panhandlers in Arlington County, who seek to hold certain lucrative, traffic-laden roadsides and medians. The “war” has resulted in the occasional fist fight and accusations that rival panhandlers are making up their sob stories, which often revolve around being a veteran or losing a home. [Falls Church News-Press]
Free Chips and Guac at Cal Tor Today — California Tortilla locations, including the eatery in Courthouse, are offering free chips and guacamole to customers today. A purchase is required. [California Tortilla]
Flickr pool photo by airamangel
Arlington County may get a new playground after the next County Board meeting.
The board will vote to approve construction contracts for two playground projects — one at Long Bridge Park and one at Tyrol Hills Park — on Saturday.
The Long Bridge Park playground will be located at the south end of the park by 6th Street. If approved, it is expected to cost just under $1.1 million to construct. All told, with design and project management costs factored in, it comes with a $1,324,300 price tag.
The proposed playground will offer an area for children ages two to five and one for ages five to 12. The play area for preschool children will include a shade structure, according to the County Board’s report.
The new playground will also have:
- a cooling “fog” system
- sculpted play forms
- tunnels and bridges
- fencing where the park meets the street
- benches
According to the planned layout of the park, kids can expect new play structures like a play tube, a play cocoon, tube slide and a double slide.
The playground was included in the already-approved master plan for the park, and the playground’s conceptual design fits in with the current aesthetic of the park, the report said. The county also gathered input from children on what should be included at the new playground.
“The sessions were lively and produced interesting feedback,” according to the report.
The County Board will also vote to approve a playground project at Tyrol Hills Park expected to cost $878,635. The project will replace current playground structures with new equipment.
The new improvements will include new equipment, new porus pavement, a new picnic shelter and accessible playground surfacing.
The Tyron Hills Park playground will also have a play area for children ages two to five and one for children ages five to 12.
New Tot Playground Opens — An upgraded tot playground with “education-themed amenities” has opened at Chestnut Hills Park, at 2807 N. Harrison Street. [InsideNova]
H-B Woodlawn Student Scores School Musical — Calista Garcia, an 8th grade student at H-B Woodlawn, produced the score for the school’s fall musical, “Lizzy Strata.” Garcia is also the lead singer and guitarist for an all-girl rock band, the Diamond Dolls. [Washington Post]
ART Gets Bigger Buses — Arlington Transit has started using its first full-length, 40-foot buses. The service started in 1999 with vehicles similar to airport rental car shuttles. [Greater Greater Washington]
Double Decker Buses on the Pike? — A “taxpayer activist in Arlington” wants the county to consider using double decker buses — like the kind you would see in London — on Columbia Pike, in lieu of the streetcar. [Watchdog.org]
Chestnut Hills Park’s pre-school playground, near Yorktown High School, is expected to be torn down and replaced.
The existing playground (2807 N. Harrison Street) is “one of the most popular playgrounds in the county” according to Arlington Department of Parks and Recreation staff. It is also more than 26 years old and “beyond reasonable repair.”
The Arlington County Board will likely award a construction contract of $521,064 at its meeting this Saturday, Feb. 22. About $489,000 of the contract is for construction and design, while the remaining $31,000 is for contingency purposes.
The new playground, designed for children from ages 2-5, will have a climbing arch, crawl tunnels, “talk tubes,” sound columns, “abacus-like arches with moveable foam blocks” and a sand play area with a water feature. A swing set will remain. There will also be a new track that encircles the park, complete with traffic signs.
Images courtesy Arlington Parks and Recreation
County Board Approves Glencarlyn Park Playground — The Arlington County Board on Tuesday approved a $485,000 construction contract for a new playground at Glencarlyn Park. The playground is intended for 5-12 year olds and includes a swing set and a “treehouse” log play structure. [Arlington County]
Demand Rises at AFAC — The Arlington Food Assistance Center “has seen a 20 percent surge in families visiting the food pantry in need of groceries over the past six months.” The director of AFAC says cuts in food stamp (SNAP) benefits has increased need in the community. Those cuts are expected to deepen if Congress passes a new compromise farm bill that includes $800 million in annual food stamp reductions. [Patch]
Grant Accepted for Innovation Initiative — Arlington County has accepted a $350,000 from the state to help fund “an innovative public-private initiative that will connect fast growth technology product companies with national security agencies headquartered in Arlington and the Commonwealth of Virginia.” Arlington will contribute a $175,000 matching grant to the project. [Arlington County]
Dem Caucus Is ‘Basically About the Streetcar’ — On its Twitter account, the blog Greater Greater Washington opines that this week’s Democratic Arlington County Board caucus is “basically about the streetcar.” Alan Howze and Peter Fallon, who GGW recommends voting for, generally support the Columbia Pike streetcar project while Cord Thomas has spoken out against it. [Twitter, Greater Greater Washington]
New African American Book Club — Arlington Public Library has launched a new African American Book Club. The club will “discuss the novels of both new and well-known authors, thought provoking non-fiction about the African American experience.” [Arlington Public Library]
Pageview Problem on ARLnow.com — We are currently trying to resolve a problem that is causing the pageview counter on each article to significantly undercount the actual number of views. The problem is impacting articles published within the past 24-48 hours.
Flickr pool photo by Mrs. Gemstone
A new playground is coming to Glencarlyn Park, pending Arlington County Board approval on Saturday.
The playground, for children 5-12 years old, will complement an existing tot playground at the park for 2-5 year olds. It will feature a “treehouse” log play structure, a swing set, seesaw, a dry creek bed adjacent to a sand/boulder play area, benches, interpretive signage and cattail spinners.
The lowest construction bid for the project was $441,000, with a $44,000 contingency, for a total contract authorization of $485,000. County staff is recommending that the Board approve the contract, even though it’s considerably higher than expected.
Combining the construction contract with other expenses associated with the project, the total cost is expected to be well above half a million dollars.
“The original cost estimate for Glencarlyn Park of $485,000 has increased due to higher construction bids, bringing the total project cost to $579,255,” according to the staff report. “The additional amount of $94,175 can be funded from savings of other [Neighborhood Conservation] projects that were completed under budget.”
Metro Keys Stolen from Arlington Fire Truck — Two men wearing masks and black clothing stole keys to secure areas of the Metro system from an unattended Arlington County fire truck last week. The theft happened during a medical call in Crystal City, and the thieves also stole a forcible entry tool called a Hydra Ram. [NBC Washington]
New Wakefield Aquatics Center Debuts — A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the new aquatics center at Wakefield High School on Sunday. The center is expected to draw a larger crowd than the aging, existing Wakefield aquatics facility it replaces. The cost of entry is up to $5.50 per day for Arlington residents. [Sun Gazette]
Ft. Myer Heights Playground Opening Imminent — A new playground in Ft. Myer Heights, with slides made to look like hollowed-out logs, is set to open as soon as Wednesday. The playground also features a sand pit and picnic benches. [Ode Street Tribune]
New Poll Shows McAuliffe With Lead in Gov. Race — Democrat Terry McAuliffe is leading Republican Ken Cuccinelli 47-39 among likely votes in the Virginia governor’s race, according to a new Washington Post poll. Cuccinelli had a 10 point lead in a poll conducted this spring. [Washington Post]
Lt. Gov. Debate in Arlington Tonight — The candidates for Virginia lieutenant governor — Republican E.W. Jackson and Democrat Ralph Northam — will face off in a live debate in Arlington tonight. The 90-minute debate will take place at 7:00 p.m. at George Mason University’s Founders Hall Auditorium in Virginia Square. [George Mason University]
Flickr pool photo by ddimick
