County Board candidates have varied takes on how the local government should address gaps in neighborhood sidewalks.
Although the local government has a plan to address missing sidewalk links, it “will take years and years” to implement, County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said at the July 20 forum sponsored by the Douglas Park Civic Association.
Falls Church leaders later this month will take a look at regulations related to clearing snow on sidewalks adjacent to commercial properties.
Like Arlington, Falls Church has ordinance requirements mandating that snow must be removed from sidewalks within a specified time after a winter event. Because of the intensity of a heavy snow and ice storm in January, which was followed by a deep freeze, adherence to the rules was even more spotty than usual this year.
A Falls Church middle school student won a region-wide “If I Were Mayor” essay competition through a plea for sidewalk improvements.
Willa Thom, representing Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School, was honored for her achievement at the June 22 Falls Church City Council meeting. She had competed in the Virginia Municipal League’s Region 5, which includes much of Northern Virginia.
A company that uses self-driving robots to deliver food, groceries and online purchases has begun mapping out the streets and sidewalks of Arlington County.
Avride, a Massachusetts-based company that produces autonomous cars in addition to delivery bots, has deployed at least one “personal delivery device” to chart a two-mile radius in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. The initial phase is expected to last for about two weeks, according to a county webpage about the devices.
A set of pedestrian-oriented upgrades to sidewalks, lighting and seating is getting underway in the Village at Shirlington.
Construction work, which was proposed in May 2025 and is intended to “improve connectivity, enhance public spaces, and preserve the property’s historic character,” is expected to last through November.
The county government has issued 15 citations for failure to clear snow and ice after last month’s storm and responded to hundreds of complaints.
Nearly 630 complaints about violations were recorded by county officials in the days and weeks after the winter storm, county spokesman Ryan Hudson told ARLnow.
County Board members voted unanimously on Saturday (Jan. 24) to approve redevelopment of the vacant Inn of Rosslyn motel site for new apartments.
“We are facing a housing crisis. This crisis is today,” Board member Takis Karantonis said in support of the proposal by Monument Realty to construct an eight-story building totaling 141 units, including 13 committed-affordable units.
Arlington’s summertime experiment using high tech to evaluate the state of sidewalks delivered mixed results.
The county used Kiwibots — laser-equipped robots — to roll up and down the sidewalks of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor for two weeks in July, assessing conditions.
Work on a permanent roundabout at the intersection of Military Road and Nelly Custis Drive is moving forward, but it won’t be finished for a couple years.
The project, which follows temporary changes to the intersection in 2021, will involve widening sidewalks, upgrading utilities and installing a rain garden at the center of the roundabout.
A sidewalk chalk protest at the North Arlington home of a top Trump administration official became a talking point for powerful Republican voices this week.
The Sunday demonstration around the home of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller involved a handful of activists writing in chalk on sidewalk slabs with messages like “hate has no home in Arlington,” “no white nationalism” and “Stephen Miller is destroying democracy.”
Arlington officials say they’re aware of deficiencies affecting pedestrians and bicyclists along stretches of N. Glebe Road between I-66 and Langston Blvd.
“The sidewalks belong to a different era — terrible and definitely not adequate,” County Board Chair Takis Karantonis said on Saturday.
A fleet of robots has begun wandering the sidewalks between Ballston and Rosslyn, searching for any defects to report back to the county’s Department of Environmental Services.
The bots, which went live at the start of this month, use a combination of laser scanners, mobile mapping, AI and machine learning to look for defects like cracks, weeds or gaps of at least half an inch.
