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Feb 2000 B
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Bluemont Civic Association BCA Officers and Representatives Safety alert for Bon Air neighborhood Recently, on at least three occasions, children in the Bon Air neighborhood have been approached by a driver who tried to coax them into his car. On one occasion, the man asked for directions and tried to persuade the child to get in his car and talk to him; on another he stopped and offered the child a ride. Fortunately, in each case, the child refused. All of the incidents occurred when children were walking home from Kenmore Middle School. The man is between 18 and 20, with black hair, possibly Hispanic, driving an old, dark blue, four-door car with Virginia tags. All the incidents have been reported to Arlington police, and Kenmore Resource Officer Schoembs is stepping up supervision of our area when school is dismissed. Since we are concerned for the safety of all children in our neighborhood, we are alerting you to these incidents and encouraging you to be watchful for the driver of a dark blue car approaching anyone. Please report any incidents to the Arlington police at 229-3600. If you have children, please tell them what happened and go over the basic warnings about not talking to strangers. Block Improvement Project-10th St. The Bluemont neighborhood recently adopted a Neighborhood Conservation Plan based on suggestions in a 1998 survey of all local households. Many respondents requested the construction of sidewalks on 10th Street North near Edison Street. The Arlington County Department of Public Works has identified this area of 10th Street as potentially eligible for a program to build missing portions of curbs, gutters, planting strips and sidewalks at County expense. Funding will be available only if local residents support this effort. The Bluemont Neighborhood Conservation Plan calls for street improvement projects to be accomplished in a way that minimizes loss of greenspace. At the February 23 general meeting of the Bluemont Civic Association, 10th Street will be discussed. All neighborhood residents are invited. Special invitations are being sent to those living on or near 10th Street. |
I-66 Update Proponents claim widening I-66 is necessary to ease traffic
gridlock, improve air quality, get traffic off local streets, and get
folks home to their families more easily. At the February 23 General Membership meeting, the Arlington coalition for Sensible Transportation (ACST) will make a presentation concerning the widening of I-66. If you've got questions; if you've got answers; if you want to get involved in fighting the proposal, or if you haven't decided whether you care, make a point of attending the meeting. Why? Because our neighborhoods will bear the impact of the Governor's widening proposal. The bicycle trail between North Jacksonville Street and Patrick Henry Drive in Bon Air Park will be eliminated. Kensington St./Jefferson St. Project In the past week the Kensington Street/Jefferson Street Project Committee initiated two phases of the project: (1) Forwarding an official request for funding to commence a design process for Kensington Street (between Carlin Springs Road and Wilson Boulevard) to study potential pedestrian safety measures and vehicular speed control solutions and devices for implementation; (2) Initiating the first of two petitions on Jefferson Street to determine each residents' vote for sidewalk improvements and multiple speed hump installations. Unlike Jefferson Street, Kensington Street provides a larger set of solutions to a highly complex road system. As such, the residents agreed that the design process was most important in order to achieve a widely accepted program for pedestrian safety and vehicular speed control. Jefferson Street (far more limited in the number of solutions available due to the lack of four-way intersections) has commenced a two-vote petition for the design and implementation of a sidewalk system, and the use of multiple speed humps. Both votes will determine how the County staff will design a pedestrian friendly/vehicular speed controlled environment that will be presented to the Jefferson Street community for a second and final petition prior to BCA approval to forward a request for the Arlington County Spring Funding cycle. The County has agreed to coordinate all solutions for both streets so as to achieve optimum success in reducing vehicular speeds and improving pedestrian safety from Carlin Springs Road to Wilson Boulevard. |
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BCA Calendar - Meetings & Events
Note: The January General Membership meeting was canceled due to snow. Therefore, all items on the January agenda have been rescheduled for the February meeting. Speaker: Anthony Collins. In an effort to save over 6,500 pedestrian lives, Virginians Interested in the Protection of Pedestrians (VIPP) President Anthony Collins met with State Senator Mary Margaret Whipple and State Delegate Jim Almand in December. At the meeting, Mr. Collins presented VIPP's three-point legislative proposal, the goal of which is to create a uniform state law to protect pedestrians. Both Senator Whipple and Delegate Almand agreed to sponsor the proposal in the upcoming Virginia State legislative session. Mr. Collins will speak at the Bluemont Civic Association meeting on February 23. All are encouraged to take part in the discussion. BCA membership costs $12 per household per calendar year. Dues are prorated $1 per month for new members who join after the beginning of the year (e.g., currently, membership is $10 for the remainder of 2000). To renew or join, send a check to: Treasurer, Bluemont Civic Association, PO Box 5134, Arlington, VA 22205 (Please include your name, postal and e-mail addresses, and phone number). |
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They
say that widening I-66 is the most cost-effective way to ease peak hour
commuting; that the widening plan will have minimal impact on adjacent
neighborhoods. Opponents maintain that a widened I-66 will increase
traffic gridlock and air pollution at a premium cost to the taxpayer
and to local neighborhoods.