Bicyclist killed, County still appears to ignore repeated requests to improve safety at. S. Rolfe, Queen, Washington Blvd Intersection³²⁹:

Arlington View, Penrose, and Columbia Heights requested improved pedestrian safety and restoration of Rolfe Street bus stop on the East bound side of Columbia Pike. Walk through held with County Board Member Eric Gutshall and Director of Transportation, Dennis Leach, on November 30, 2018 during opening of bike trail. Washington Boulevard bike trail brings more multi-modal traffic into the intersection. Concerns appeared to be dismissed. Public requests continue to present. Meetings held periodically with Columbia Pike Multimodal project lead, Susan Finotti and her team.

³²⁹ https://wtop.com/arlington/2018/05/pedestrian-hit-killed-arlington-county/

Street safety concerns appear to be unaddressed and dismissed.

In the summer of 2020, DES-TEO added stop signs to the intersection of N Barton St and Fairfax Drive, which resulted in map applications increasing traffic patterns through the community resulting in an increase in pedestrian/cyclist/car incidents³³⁰, including several children. In 2021 the County Board Chair, Matt de Ferranti, confirmed that the Arlington County Transportation Engineering & Operations (TE&O) team has received the multiple requests for investigation and is at work reviewing the material the community

provided. DES-TEO Andrea Wilkinson communicated, “Your disappointment is noted.” Several months later after no improvement, the police captain of SOS responded to community follow up suggesting to “stop calling. It is not that bad.” Below email is an excerpt from Andrea Wilkinson (Transportation Engineer/C3 Officer, Customer Care & Communications (C3) Team, Transportation Engineering & Operations Bureau) to a community member on November 9, 2021:

Eighteen months after the street safety issue was brought to the County’s attention, the County has still taken no action.

³³⁰  https://www.arlingtonva.us/About-Arlington/News/Articles/2021/Police-Investigate-Critical-Crash-in-Clarendon

Pedestrian safety improvements have “not been implemented fast enough”

There was another fatal crash near Nottingham Elementary School in October 2022.^{331, 332,333} It is reportedly the third fatal crash in that two block area since 2014.^{334, 335}

There have been other pedestrian safety near schools and other locations in recent months.336, 337, 338

Additionally, reports are that the community has made many appeals for additional pedestrian safety measures in the County.^{339, 340, 341} The October 2022 County Board Meeting implies that the changes have not been implemented fast enough.^{342, 343}

The Department of Environmental Services is responsible for traffic and safety engineering. DES has a significant role in designing the safety aspects of Vision Zero. The community is hopeful that there is near-term progress on resolving the safety issues in the area and throughout the County.

The current crash investigation was not complete at the time this text was written. Please see the County Board meeting^{344, 345}, Vision Zero^{346, 347, 348} and local media for additional information on community engagement related to the tragic incident. While understanding the need for planning and analysis, such planning was reported to have been underway for years prior to the most recent incidents.

³³¹https://www.arlnow.com/2022/10/19/county-board-wants-swifter-action-after-most-recent-pedestrian-death/

³³² https://wjla.com/news/local/arlington-county-85-year-old-pedestrian-crash-gwendolyn-hayes-accident-safety- neighbors-demand-changes-virginia-stop-sign-little-falls-road#

³³³ https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/arlington/elderly-woman-dies-after-being-struck-by-car/65- 2defda8e-04a0-4d43-83a2-287ef8e20717

³³⁴ https://www.arlnow.com/2014/02/24/breaking-woman-struck-by-dump-truck/

³³⁵  https://www.arlnow.com/2019/09/11/just-in-pedestrian-dies-after-crash-near-nottingham-elementary/

³³⁶  https://www.arlnow.com/2022/10/19/county-board-wants-swifter-action-after-most-recent-pedestrian-death/

³³⁷  https://www.arlnow.com/2022/08/02/breaking-a-woman-has-died-after-a-hit-and-run-crash-monday-evening/

³³⁸  https://www.arlnow.com/2022/05/12/arlington-evaluates-first-year-of-vision-zero-traffic-safety-plan/

³³⁹ https://www.arlnow.com/2022/10/07/advocates-call-for-safer-conditions-after-bicycle-crash-on-s-carlin- springs-road/

³⁴⁰  https://www.arlnow.com/2020/03/11/peters-take-pedestrian-safety-at-risk-on-carlin-springs-road/

³⁴¹ https://www.arlnow.com/2022/09/14/county-locals-focus-on-drunk-driving-risky-intersections-after-fatal- crash/

³⁴² https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OowL3l_G2YM&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=2742

³⁴³  https://www.arlnow.com/2022/10/19/county-board-wants-swifter-action-after-most-recent-pedestrian-death/

³⁴⁴ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OowL3l_G2YM&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=2742

³⁴⁵  https://www.arlnow.com/2022/10/19/county-board-wants-swifter-action-after-most-recent-pedestrian-death/

³⁴⁶ https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Programs/Transportation/Vision-Zero

³⁴⁷  https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Programs/Transportation/Vision-Zero/Partnerships#section-3

³⁴⁸ https://www.arlnow.com/2022/03/07/what-arlington-the-hoboken-of-d-c-can-learn-from-the-city-about- pedestrian-safety/

The Courthouse West project³⁴⁹ consists of a developer’s application for a Special GLUP Study to transform the Courthouse West parking lot into a 16-story building, originally zoned for up to 4 stories. Four civic associations (Clarendon-Courthouse Civic Association³⁵⁰, Lyon Village Civic Association³⁵¹, Lyon Park Citizens Association³⁵², and Ashton Heights Civic Association³⁵³) united in their appeal to the County Board for 6 stories maximum. On July 16, 2022, 10 out 12 residents spoke before the County Board^{354, 355} against such height and density. Again, on September 17, 2022,^{356, 357} 7 of 11 residents who represented themselves supported 6 stories, citing unsuitability of the location, congestion, lack of facilities, traffic, surrounding structures and the impacts from a tall building on abutting low-rise residential neighborhoods. The Arlington Chamber of Commerce,³⁵⁸ the Apartment. & Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington³⁵⁹ and representatives of property owners³⁶⁰ on that block supported maximizing the height per their special and/or financial interests. At the June County Board meeting, the President of the Lyon Village Civic Association noted how the process ran roughshod over the residents, contrasting it with past practice of the board. (See issues in the process documented in Sections 6.4.1 and 7.4.1)

The County Board ultimately decided on 14 stories, despite County Staff’s unwavering support for a maximum of 12 stories^{361, 362, 363, 364} throughout the process. The County Board ignored the four united Civic Associations who requested six stories, including the Civic Association within which the property is located, and the majority of the residents who spoke. Additionally, the County’s own survey revealed that the highest number of participants wanted a maximum height of 6 stories/70 feet³⁶⁵. At the hearing, all members of the County Board zeroed in on the testimony of one resident³⁶⁶ who represented the needs of young professional renters despite other testimony refuting it. The County Board did not appear to address the needs or issues raised by other population in the area, including senior citizens and families.

³⁴⁹ https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Projects/Plans-Studies/General-Land-Use-Plan/Studies/Courthouse- West

³⁵⁰ http://www.clarendoncourthouseva.org

³⁵¹ https://www.lyonvillage.org

³⁵² https://lyonpark.org

³⁵³ http://ashtonheights.org

³⁵⁴ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1q6gdLdKMk&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=14706

³⁵⁵ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1q6gdLdKMk&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=15912

³⁵⁶ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY_5oEluops&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=3254

³⁵⁷ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY_5oEluops&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=4324

³⁵⁸ https://www.arlingtonchamber.org

³⁵⁹ https://www.aoba-metro.org

³⁶⁰ https://arlington.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=4137&meta_id=212784

³⁶¹ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1q6gdLdKMk&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=15226

³⁶² https://arlington.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=4123&meta_id=212225 p 23

³⁶³ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY_5oEluops&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=4081

³⁶⁴ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY_5oEluops&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=4111

³⁶⁵ https://www.arlingtonva.us/files/sharedassets/public/commissions/documents/lrpc/chw-dec-2021-jan-2022- online-engagement-session-survey-responses.pdf

³⁶⁶ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY_5oEluops&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=4324

Old Glebe Civic Association President comments that “real public engagement involves collaboration”.

The Old Glebe Civic Association³⁶⁷ President spoke publicly at the May 2022 County Board meeting about concerns of the County’s lack of community engagement, “real public engagement involves collaboration” ³⁶⁸

Instead of acknowledging the concerns and vowing to do better, the County Board generally defended what they considered to be “unprecedented levels” of engagement outright dismissing what was brought to their attention³⁶⁹.

³⁶⁷ http://www.oldglebe.org

³⁶⁸ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reTEgabplks&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=753

³⁶⁹ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reTEgabplks&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=2316

Public Art Master Plan contained offensive references.

The Public Art Master Plan was presented to the County Board with incorrect and offensive references to and about Green Valley³⁷⁰, a historically Black community. County did not communicate with the affected community on the offensive passages within the Public Art Master Plan. ^{371, 372, 373}

Due to quick efforts by Green Valley Civic Association³⁷⁴, many of the incorrect provisions were changed before the County Board voted on the plan. However, the County needs to ensure that such offensive passages are not used in the future.

³⁷⁰ https://greenvalleyciv.org/about/

³⁷¹ https://arlington.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=3990&meta_id=206588 (pages 214-215)

³⁷² https://www.arlnow.com/2021/11/09/green-valley-residents-express-concerns-about-updated-arts-mater- plan/

³⁷³ https://sungazette.news/letter-public-art-plan-is-affront-to-green-valley/

³⁷⁴ https://greenvalleyciv.org

County Board member dismisses community input regarding Four Mile Run Valley Initiative.

County-appointed working group leadership inquires with County Board on role within working group. County Board member informs the community leader that her job is to “look pretty.” ³⁷⁵

³⁷⁵ https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/has-arlington-lost-its-way/2018/11/09/91191b8e-dc58-11e8-85df-7a6b4d25cfbb_story.html

Insignificant community engagement occurred regarding the Arlington Transit Operations and Maintenance Facility.

In September 2020, the County Board addressed the awarding of a contract for the planning and design of the Arlington Transit Operations and Maintenance Facility³⁷⁶. Board chair, Libby Garvey, said that only experienced, knowledgeable people should be involved in the details of the project and the community should stay in its lane concluding that “public engagement” would be limited to only the “aesthetic elements of the buildings and perimeter treatments.” ^{377, 378, 379, 380, 381}

Despite the County Board comments, the impacted community (Green Valley) continued to successfully influence larger changes to the project, including accommodations for electric vehicles (buses), improved use of density, and better storm water management, among other issues.

³⁷⁶ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y7L5WEtQN8&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=20804

³⁷⁷ https://www.insidenova.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letter-arlington-government-again-tries-to- marginalize-green-valley/article_1f169fee-0289-11eb-ae80-b3a96d69fb56.html

³⁷⁸ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y7L5WEtQN8&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=22072

³⁷⁹ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y7L5WEtQN8&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=21997

³⁸⁰ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y7L5WEtQN8&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=21845

³⁸¹ https://arlington.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=3793&meta_id=197397 p. 2

County Board’s view of leadership responsibilities appears too limited.

Quote by Vice Chair Christian Dorsey: “As a realist that, [consensus] is difficult, as reflected by the various signage we have in the room, when on some of the issues we have in the community, the perspectives are yes or no, save/destroy. It is tough to build consensus when the extremes are so rigid in terms of what it is they want. I don’t say that to criticize, it’s just that its reality. In order to have consensus, you actually need to have people are going to come together and agree on a certain set of values. And when it comes to issues like growth and development in Arlington, we’re just not there… those efforts that we described as being consensus oriented excluded a lot of people from the conversation on the base of race, economic ability, status as a renter or owner, and as we move to this period where we’re bring everybody into this conversation, it gets more difficult. But until we figure out how to come together on the same set of values to agree and accept a certain set of facts, to be open, to be open to the perspectives that come from others as a way to reconsider maybe the perspectives that perhaps we have ourselves, it’s going to be really difficult to have that consensus.”³⁸²

The County Board sets the County tone. The examples Mr. Dorsey provided are division caused by bifurcating positions led by the County. The County could choose less polarizing positions. However, the bifurcated and polarized positions are causing fracture in the community. Per a public comment speaker, the community’s perspective on weighing in was “why bother or it’s not going to make an iota of difference or their mind is already made up they have an agenda that they want to push regardless.”³⁸³ Less polarizing County Board and County Manager positions are likely to cause less community fracture and fewer bifurcated positions. Perhaps the feedback in this document could help shape the “set of values” Vice Chair Dorsey suggested (above).

³⁸² https://youtube.com/watch?v=pY_5oEluops&feature=share&si=EMSIkaIECMiOmarE6JChQQ&t=2394

³⁸³ https://youtube.com/watch?v=pY_5oEluops&feature=share&si=EMSIkaIECMiOmarE6JChQQ&t=1317

Clarendon Safety and Innovation Zone community feedback appeared to go unaddressed.

During the June 2021 County Board Recessed meeting, Ms. Cristol stated³⁸⁴ that Safety and Innovation Zone (SIZ)^{385, 386} concerns expressed by the Emergency Preparedness Advisory Commission and Information Technology Advisory Commission gave her a “little bit of a pause”, the concerns expressed were highly discounted. The project, and later also an MOU, were approved by the Board with a vote of 4-1³⁸⁷. The letter from the Commissions was not made available to the public.³⁸⁸

Staff has not fully addressed the ongoing concerns. The project has been extended by Staff beyond the Board-authorized timeframe. Staff determined that they would run the project operationally through the County Manager rather than provide ongoing updates on that and similar projects to the Board. The Privacy Oversight Panel was disbanded. The public no longer has any access to meetings regarding the SIZ or related privacy projects.

The County Board is tasked with setting and monitoring County policy.^{389, 390} Staff’s decision to keep the privacy and experimental technology solely within the purview of the County Manager and Staff results in the elected County Board losing oversight of the important privacy and experimental technology issues that would allow them to set and monitor related policies. Additionally, the public loses transparency into the project and related privacy considerations. Public trust in government erodes. By eliminating the Privacy Oversight Panel and public meetings, transparency is reduced. The public will become more skeptical of technology innovation in Arlington, which may limit patronage to areas within Arlington who use such types of technology. The community is less able to hold the County Board, County Manager, and Staff accountable for actions and decisions.

A conference session shared the following description of the Safety and Innovation Zone: “Throughout the process of launching and implementing this pilot, important lessons were learned about bringing the right people to the table, leveraging local academia to determine best practices and verify data, and gaining consensus to increase enthusiasm, support, and partnership across multiple stakeholders.” ³⁹¹ The information has not been presented to the community despite being shared with other jurisdictions. Despite the session description, community engagement has missed the mark. If the County has made award submissions, the content is not available to the public.

³⁸⁴https://youtube.com/watch?v=3ePk1Akv5AA&feature=share&si=EMSIkaIECMiOmarE6JChQQ&t=20955

³⁸⁵ https://www.arlingtonva.us/files/sharedassets/public/projects/documents/technology/safety-and-innovation- zone-board-presentation-updated.pdf

³⁸⁶ https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Projects/Project-Types/Technology/Safety-and-Innovation-Zone- Demonstration-Project

³⁸⁷ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ePk1Akv5AA&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ&t=21312

³⁸⁸ http://arlington.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=3924

³⁸⁹ https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/County-Board/About-the-County-Board

³⁹⁰  https://www.arlnow.com/2021/12/15/peters-take-arlington-county-a-nine-year-perspective-on-the-future/

³⁹¹ https://fall.smartcitiesconnect.org/program/index_2022.html#detail