Archive for June, 2009
Arlington’s Smart Growth Journey- Part 5 Life After Metro
June 30th, 2009 Categories: Around Arlington County, Commuting, Going Green, Rossyln, Virginia Square
The late 1970s– I66 was being built through Arlington along with the metro. Now the Arlington planners take advantage of it’s new metro stations with a 20 year plan for growth around the metro stations. These planners have given us the Arlington we know today.
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Arlington’s Smart Growth Journey Part 4- The Fight for Metro
June 26th, 2009 Categories: Around Arlington County, Commuting, Going Green
It’s hard to imagine Arlington with it’s metro- it is why people like living here. In this chapter you hear the battles to get metro stations built in Arlington. What a difference there would be today if Georgetown had a metro stop!
Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to watch the next chapter of Arlington’s Smart Growth journey.
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Arlington’s Smart Growth Journey- Part 3 The 1960s
June 22nd, 2009 Categories: Around Arlington County, Commuting, Going Green, Rossyln
In the 1960s, Arlington was out. Moving away from the city to Fairfax county was in. But– everyone still worked for the Federal Government in DC. The only way to get to DC from Fairfax county was the drive through Arlington. Even today- every road connecting Virginia to DC is in Arlington. The Arlington County Board stood strong and was not going to let Arlington be just a overpass from Fairfax. You gotta love these guys! They are the reason why I66 is still only 2 lanes through Arlington.
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Arlington Smart Growth Journey- Part 2 The Boom
June 17th, 2009 Categories: Arlington Urban Villages, Around Arlington County, Clarendon, Commuting, Neighborhoods, Pentagon City, Rossyln
In this chapter of Arlington’s Smart Growth Journey you’ll hear from long-time Arlington residents and their lives after WWII. I love these long-time residents- their oral histories are a treasure to the history of the county. Here you’ll learn about the start of its development plans with Rossyln.
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Open Sunday 1-4PM Cameron Station Gem
June 12th, 2009 Categories: Buyers, Cameron Station, Listings
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The Rap On Arlington
June 12th, 2009 Categories: Arlington Urban Villages, Around Arlington County, Ballston, Clarendon, Condos, Neighborhoods, Rossyln, Shirlington, The Native Tourist, The Road Less Taken
A big shout out to GoRemy for a funny look at Arlington on the Orange Line. He puts the urban in urban village! Check out his website for other raps.
He’s already been on the local news. Hey– Remy– come to Shrilington and let us know what you think!
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Arlington Smart Growth Journey – A Series
June 12th, 2009 Categories: Around Arlington County, Commuting, Courthouse, Going Green, Neighborhoods, Virginia Square
I love the history of Arlington County. If you are a client of mine– you will often get a histroy lesson as we drive around the county looking at homes. I love Arlington County for its history, for its mix of old and new; for its ever changing neighborhoods. I love its vision.
Arlington’s Video Channel has documented its Smart Growth plan dating back to the 1940s. I will share it here with you over the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy it. This first edition sets the ground work for the post-WWII era of the Northern Virginia suburbs. Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog so you can watch each chapter of Arlington’s Smart Growth History.
Thinking about living in Arlington?– contact me to find just the right place.
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Clang..Clang…Clang Went The Trolley
June 11th, 2009 Categories: Arlington Urban Villages, Around Arlington County, Columbia Pike, Commuting, Going Green
The Columbia Pike Trolley project hit a milestone today when the metro board approved a $5M environmental and engineering study. But- will it ever get built? WTOP was running the story today while I was driving(!) around the county– any trolley won’t appear before 2014.
The Columbia Pike Trolley will run between the Pentagon in Arlington & Skyline Business park in Fairfax county. It’s not far– and that’s the controversy– should Virginia spend its precious transportation money on a short light rail route when it should be looking at expanding metro beyond the beltway?
For me- the answer is YES! Why? because
- The Pentagon is a major metro hub– it will connect a lot of people who work in Skyline to metro;
- Columbia Pike is a major commuter route without any metro access. South Arlington has been neglected for too long;
- Arlington County has major revilization plans for the Columbia Pike corridor– this residential & business density is only going to increase.
- It’s a low cost option to building a new metro line. If you look at a metro map– this area is sorely under-served. I think it should continue down Columbia Pike through Annandale to Fairfax City. All these areas have no metro access– and would reduce traffic! Imagine that!
I’ll be watching this one. It’s taken more than 20 years to get a metro line out to Dulles airport– and that project is only just starting. Let’s see if it takes another 20 years to get this.
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