A resident’s complaint about a sidewalk closure led to action by county officials on Friday.
Arlington Ridge area resident Ted Billings snapped the photo above, showing a woman pushing a double stroller in the northbound lane of Army Navy Drive. The woman and her children were in the path of fast-moving traffic due to the closure of the only sidewalk on the long stretch between S. Nash Street and 20th Street S.
The sidewalk is being built along the north side of a five block stretch of 8th Street S., between S. Cleveland Street and S. Courthouse Road. Before the project, only two of the blocks had sidewalks, and those sidewalks were narrower than Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
Now, the street is getting a five foot wide, ADA-compliant sidewalk, plus water main upgrades, curb and gutter improvements, new landscaping and a repaved roadway. But while the sidewalk was requested by the Penrose Civic Association, not everybody who lives in the area has been happy with the project.
The Board is expected to vote on the restaurant’s request to set up 6 tables and 18 seats on the sidewalk along the 2300 block of Columbia Pike. County staff is recommending the request be approved, since it maintains a minimum 6 foot wide clear section of sidewalk for pedestrians to walk by the seating area.
Staff is also recommending, however, that the restaurant’s request to add sidewalk cafe seating along S. Adams Street be deferred to the July 21 County Board meeting. Staff says the Adams Street sidewalk seating request, as is, may not comply with Americans with Disabilities Act access requirements.
The total cost of the projects — which are expected to improve the appearance and safety of the streetscape — is estimated at $2.8 million. Of the five projects, all but one are in North Arlington.
The Neighborhood Conservation program allows neighborhoods to compete with one another to receive funding for public improvements requested by residents. The five projects expected to receive funding over the weekend include:
Legal Sea Foods’ sidewalk cafe in Crystal City seems a bit fishy to one local.
The outdoor seating area has “taken over almost the whole sidewalk on 23rd Street,” an anonymous reader tells ARLnow.com. “The pedestrian area is now down to a single file lane to get past the restaurant. The other restaurants on that part of 23rd have not pushed their outdoor seating out that far… what gives?”
You might have noticed them around town: brick sidewalks torn up by utility work or some other sort of construction project. You’ll see a small pile of bricks (or “pavers”) by a street lamp and patches of asphalt where the bricks were removed.
We were recently asked whose repsonsibility it is to put the bricks back by a reader who was unhappy with the fact that the brick sidewalk in front of the Hyde Park Harris Teeter had been torn up more more than a month (it has since been fixed).
Illinois Prosecutor to Address Arlington-Linked Murder Case — Arlington rape suspect Jorge Torrez may learn today whether he will face additional scrutiny in the case of a five-year-old double murder in his former hometown. The Lake County, Ill. State’s Attorney is scheduled to hold a press conference this morning with “new information” about the case. Another man, Jerry Hobbs, has been held awaiting trial for the murders since 2005. But DNA evidence in the case was reportedly linked to Torrez last month.
Man Falls at Construction Site — A worker suffered serious injuries after falling at the Adams Square construction site on Columbia Pike around 3:30 yesterday afternoon. He was taken a local hospital and is expected to recover.
Crystal City dwellers may soon have another place to enjoy a bite and a beer outside. Hamburger Hamlet (1601 Crystal Drive), a long-time resident of the Crystal City Underground, is looking to expand its presence beyond its darkened front windows.
The restaurant, which brought in new management last year, has asked the county to allow it to knock down the trees and shrubs in front of the restaurant in order to build a small sidewalk patio with four or five tables. It’s also seeking permission to install new outdoor signage.
