Monday, November 17, 2008
Proposed Mixed-Use Replacement for Goodyear
Crimson Urban, Inc., owners of 650 N. Glebe Rd., are looking to redevelop that parcel of land where the Goodyear Auto Service Center now stands.
“This application is requesting approval for a five (5)-story approximately 115 unit residential building with approximately 9,234 square feet of ground floor retail,” a letter from the owner’s lawyers states.
Current zoning allows for a four-storey mixed use building, which means the developer will have to go before the county’s Site Plan Review Committee, a sub-set of the Planning Commission, for approval. The letter says that the apartments will be “reasonably priced,” that the building will have 146 parking spaces, and that the building will try to receive 26 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design credits from the U.S. Green Building Council. County planners and residents have long wanted to improve pedestrian safety at the corner of N. Glebe and N. Carlin Springs roads where the building sits. “This may be our chance to negotiate the overhead crosswalk over N. Glebe we've been discussing for years. I hope to make this part of the discussions,” wrote Pat Hope, the Buckingham Community Civic Association president in an email. That crosswalk would connect to the Goodyear site to the Ballston Common Mall parking lot. Mr. Hope forwarded the attorney’s letter to the HeraldTrib. The U.S. Green Building Council, an independent group, has four levels of certification. A LEED credit score from 26 to 32 is “certified,” from 33 to 38 is “silver,” from 39 to 51 is “gold,” and platinum buildings range from 52 to 69 possible points, according to the council’s web site. The current zoning allows for four storeys. The building under construction on N. Thomas Street, near the Goodyear, is covered under the same zoning and is being built “by right” meaning basically that it is staying within current zoning. Labels: Carlin Springs, Glebe, intersection, pedestrian, redevelopment
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Tuesday, July 17, 2007
“SOS” at Glebe and Carlin Springs
This special detail came about as a consequence of a recent meeting between citizens and county staff regarding the state of pedestrian life at that corner.
“[The] next couple of days, should see more [officers] there” at the intersection, Lt. Griffith said.
The officers on the special detail are different from ones who normally patrol the neighborhood.
Officers on the special detail keep a tally of citations made at the intersection and hand them up to supervisors. Officers who normally patrol the area are also allowed to take part in the tally.
“At the end of 30 days, we see what we get,” said Lt. Griffith. He said he should see the tally sheets about mid-August.
Labels: Carlin Springs, Glebe, pedestrian, Police
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
A Decade for New Lights and Curb Cuts
Wait just another year. Or more like 16 months. Then, THEN, the corner of N. Glebe Road and N. Carlin Springs Road should have gotten new traffic signals, new paint on the crosswalks, wider islands (and shrubs removed) in the middle of Glebe Road, and wider sidewalks with better curb cuts (for those people who drive wheelchairs). These improvements, part of the North Glebe Road Pedestrian Improvements Project, have been in the works since 1999—by the time they are completed it will have been nearly a decade to get new lights and curbs. “Isn’t that incredible?” asked Tom Hutchings rhetorically. He is the county project manager overseeing the renovations. “I can talk about this without any apologies…I’m as frustrated as the community is.” The $1.9 million project, funded by federal and state money, also covers the Glebe Road intersections at N. Fairfax Drive and Wilson Boulevard. The Carlin Springs intersection was the topic of a meeting June 29 at The Carlin, a senior independent living center on Carlin Springs Road about half a block from Ballston Commons mall.
The "apron" of the curb where this woman stands will be enlarged over the next 12 to 16 months.
Like other officials and project managers in Buckingham and the county, Mr. Hutchings sited difficulties dealing with VDOT and collecting all the proper easements from property owners. “It’s shear process that’s part of VDOT design and approval. And Arlington, Arlington trying to establish urban standards on all our roads,” Mr. Hutchings said. He said the process has included trying to educate VDOT, trying to get them to see that Glebe is not Arlington Boulevard somewhere in Fairfax County, but a dense urban corridor with extreme pedestrian volumes. Seniors who live in The Carlin walk through the intersection a lot. As well, residents such as Mick Pulliam, have complained about the speed of cars on Carlin Springs Road and the lack of visibility exiting The Carlin’s parking lot. To be fair, Mr. Hutchings said he hopes some new paint will delineate crosswalks more clearly as soon as two weeks from now. He also said that the county tried to complete the relatively minor repairs at Glebe and Carlin Springs with its own money, but VDOT said that would put in jeopardy the funding for the entire project.
The shrubs that block the driver in the gold car from seeing the entire crosswalk will be removed.
Shrubs will be removed from the island on Glebe Road to increase pedestrian visibility. The county first has to figure out who “owns” the shrubs; that is, who put them in and maintains them, Mr. Hutchings said. Sidewalks and the islands that run down the middle of Glebe Road will be widened. The islands may get their own crossing lights. Curb "cuts" for wheelchair accessibility will be upgraded.
This island in the center of Glebe Road will be widened.
At one point, a pedestrian overpass was considered for the corner, but that was ruled out years ago for many reasons, the main two: the corner really does not have the space to install one, and people tend not to use overpasses, preferring street-level crossing, Mr. Hutchings said. Someday, the Goodyear Tire Company site might be redeveloped, and a new building might include an overpass. Mr. Hutchings said the county has decided to make traffic “behave itself” so that pedestrians are safe. [Notes from the June 29 meeting with tasks and other information were not available at the time of this post. I assume they will contain information of value; I’ll be sure to update this story. –ST.]
Labels: Buckingham, Carlin, Carlin Springs, Glebe, intersection, pedestrian
