Saturday, June 18, 2011

Citizens to Investigate Pike 'Planning'

Hello, Yupette,

Enough is enough. I live off the Pike. Work in Alexandria. Old Town residents have had it with 'development for the sake of development' along the Alexandria waterfront. I and many others have had it with Arlington's so-called 'planning process'.

Do you know how much the week-long (June 24-30) planning charettes will cost Arlongton taxpayers? More than $200,000. Most of it to Dover, Kohl. Oh, there's $5,000 per day for the hotel. For what? To make my street into a public park? To triple the density of the Pike? To rubber-stamp approval of an unnecessary $150 million streetcar system? To turn residential streets into arterials?

I and several other Pike residents are going to investigate exactly how much is being spent on this turkey. Looks like Dover, Kohl has a gold mining operation going on the Pike. No mention in their planning reports about our already-overcrowded schools. And the effects of massive infill on the environment. If members of Chris Zimmerman's Pike plenary group aren't going along with Dover, Kohl and the County's Planning Staff, why should I?

But first, I want to know how many millions have already been spent to make our historic Pike neighborhoods 'redevelopment opportunities'.

Cindy

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

South 9th and South 12th Street "Bicycle Boulevards" are the Latest Pike Planning Charade

Hello, Yupette,

Maybe you heard that South 9th Street and South 12th Street are going to become "bicycle boulevards" when the Pike is massively gentrified based on the County Board's and its out-of-state planners' decisions. Not true. South 9th Street and South 12th Street are going to become major arterials to relieve traffic volume on the Pike. The North-South streets and their residential communities would become "shared spaces" for residents of the Pike's in-fill apartments and condos. Of course, you have to be one of the County Board's pet Community Leaders to know this.

BTW, stay tuned for the kick-off Pike planning charade at Kenmore Middle School, tomorrow, June 15th, between 7 PM and 9 PM.

Kathy, Douglas Park

Monday, June 13, 2011

County Board to Finance Pet Projects With Massive Pike Gentrification

Hello, Yupette,

I was able to obtain a copy of Dover, Kohl's "Columbia Pike Land Use and Housing Study" over the weekend. This is the expensive planning document that was presented to the County Manager and County Board at a joint meeting last Thursday.

Contained in this document are the plans (mostly already pre-approved by the County Board) for massive in-fill gentrification of the Pike. Nothing is said about the effects of massive in-fill gentrification on already-crowded schools, parks, playgrounds, streets, etc.

It's clear that the County Board is using massive gentrification of the Pike to fund it's pet vanity projects. If the County Board were not building streetcar systems, boathouses, aquatic centers, sports arenas, and wasting money on its pet programs the County Board would have plenty of money to build lots of affordable housing and renovate present affordable housing. The County Board is aided and abetted by a bloated County bureaucracy that wants to grow by completely urbanizing Arlington, and by out-of-state "planners" like Dover, Kohl.

2100