Shirlington Vision and Guiding Principles

Dear Neighbors: A joint letter of support has been filed by Shirlington Civic Association (SCA), WETA, Signature Theatre and Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT). It is posted on the project website and the link follows. We requested that the final document reinforce the importance of art, culture and entertainment -- all three of those -- to the future of the Village at Shirlington. We at the SCA are happy to hear from anyone with specific questions. We have read and appreciate all the comments made on this great online platform. Thank you for caring about our very special Village. Stay safe out there! Click on the link below! Best regards, Edie Wilson, SCA president@shi8rlingtoncivicassociation.org link

Public spaces are vital and I would like to see a way to accommodate gatherings without closing the streets so often with big orange barrels and snarling of traffic. Maybe making the block of Campbell from Randolph to 28th (Harris Teeter/Library garage) a pedestrian plaza would work.

The Library and both Signature and AMC theatres are vital.

This is a good idea IF it can comply with the "high-quality" signage requirement. Also, there has to be a clear indication of who can use the parking spaces. Seeing hundreds of unused spaces designated for mystery or unknown entities is counterproductive. It must be clear which parking garages are PUBLIC.

What is going on with the much planned and discussed Jennie Dean Park? There is no indication of progress. I understand that the pandemic has brought everything to a halt but still.

Don't turn Shirlington into a valley surrounded by high-rise buildings that block the sunlight and the view.

Signature Theatre and the AMC movie house are vital to the character and survival of almost every other business in Shirlington.

I like this idea and would support additional or rotating art installations.

Close Campbell Avenue to vehicular traffic and make it a pedestrian mall after 7 p.m.

This is critical as there are times when the loading and unloading of service vehicles cause traffic problems and is frankly quite unsightly and unsafe as delivery personnel run back and forth across the streets with loads of items. Also, there are air quality issues and stench during the hot weather where Harris Teeter delivery and trash docs are located.

It is IMPERATIVE that Shirlington Village retain BOTh Signature theatre and the Movie theater!!! The combination of these offers residents a variety of entertainment that will bring customers for "dining & entertainment." The anchors of Signature and the movie theater provide "destinations" for visitors that mere restaurant/retail alone would not draw.

If you truly want a multi-modal transit system that benefits transit users and will ultimately reduce traffic, then connect us to metro! Visitors from other areas of the county would come to Shirlington more frequently and spend their money at Shirlington businesses. I cannot tell you how many times people from other areas of the county have told me that they never come to Shirlington because there’s no metro! Cute shops, nice restaurants, but it’s inconvenient to come out here because it’s not accessible by metro! Fix this!

That’s the problem: we are the only non-metro community! So, instead of finding a way to connect us to metro, you want to add “affordable housing” and all the cars the new residents would bring? Connect Shirlington to metro and more people will visit Shirlington and spend their money at Shirlington restaurants and venues!

“Affordable housing” usually means “subsidized” housing which usually results in higher crimes rates. Secondly, affordable housing units will prevent the property values of current residents from rising and could cause our home values to decrease. Finally, if you did pursue building new housing, all of the new residents will increase the traffic in the local area. I am adamantly opposed to affordable housing being constructed in this area. Heck no!

While having affordable housing is important it should not come at the expense of increasing building density which will overall be detrimental to the area. A better solution would be to convert existing units to have them become affordable. The main driver for this new "vision" which is really an excuse for more development is that the retail businesses are complaining there is little daytime foot traffic. This is the same complaint made years ago that prompted all the new residential development in Shirlington over the past 20 years. Adding even more residential development will do little to increase daytime foot traffic and will actually deter those visitors arriving by car particularly at night as traffic will increase and less parking will be available. Also, as being experienced now with the pandemic, higher densities are unhealthy besides putting more strain on limited nearby open and recreation spaces.

Increasing building density will overall be detrimental to the area. The main driver for this new "vision" which is really an excuse for more development is that the retail businesses are complaining there is little daytime foot traffic. This is the same complaint made years ago that prompted all the new residential development in Shirlington over the past 20 years. Adding even more residential development will do little to increase daytime foot traffic and will actually deter those visitors arriving by car particularly at night as traffic will increase and less parking will be available. Also, as being experienced now with the pandemic, higher densities are unhealthy besides putting more strain on limited nearby open and recreation spaces.

Safe pedestrian and cyclist access to Shirlington along Quaker Lane and across the !-395 bridge should be improved. A barrier or bollards along Quaker Lane should be installed to improve the safety for pedestrians and cyclists. The bridge should be painted to improve its appearance and the lighting should be improved and pedestrian emergency buttons should be installed to make it a safe place. Making these improvements should be a key component of a strategy to increase foot traffic for Shirlington businesses. Access to Shirlington from the Shirlington Rotary needs to be improved. The County should facilitate obtaining the funding to make the recommended improvements to improve the safety and traffic flow around the Shirlington Rotary. Customers will be discouraged from coming to Shirlington if is not easily accessible.

Consideration of increased density must include a hard look at traffic impacts. Not just in Shirlington but in the surrounding neighborhoods. As Shirlington becomes a more popular destination the streets of the surrounding neighborhoods will likely become more congested. It is not sufficient to look just at the intersections in Shirlington. Rather it is important to consider as well what the impact of additional density will be at other key intersections in the larger neighborhood (e.g., Walter Reed and Arlington Mill, 31st and Abingdon). Within Shirlington, the ongoing traffic bottleneck at Arlington Mill and Shirlington Road must be improved as a precondition for increased density. The traffic study may not rate it a Level F but the reality is that this intersection significantly impedes the flow of traffic exiting Shirlington Circle onto Shirlington Road. An electronic parking system needs to be installed in all the parking garages so Shirlington customers can easily find out where parking spaces are available. Wayfinding signs showing where parking garages will not help customers find parking spaces. I am aware that FRIT only controls two of the five parking garages so the Countymust intercede and facilitate the implementation of an electronic parking system for all the parking garages.

Buildings around the perimeter should be no taller than the Hilton Garden Inn to maintain symmetry and visual compatibility. Adding density above the building along Campbell should not be allowed, even with proposed set backs. Allowing this would create visual canyon.

In considering changes in Shirlington, the County needs to look more broadly at a larger geographic area than just Shirlington. Its analysis must include Fairlington, as well as Green Valley, Parkfairfax, and adjacent parts of Alexandria. Additional density in Shirlington will not happen in a vacuum. The cumulative impact of additional Shirlington density, along with proposals to increase the density of Park Shirlington (up 31st Street from Shirlington), the development at West Alex (Beauregard and King St), and the revitalization of Green Valley must be considered. Failure to consider how these developments are interrelated could overwhelm the surrounding neighborhoods with traffic and congestion affecting their quality of life.

Agree with Fairlington comments that Shirlington is not an island. Surrounding communities need to be included in planning concepts as we are all affected in one way or another by growth.

Item #13 is very important to me. I am an active user of the Shirlington Public Library. My husband and I are season ticket holders of Signature Theatre. These are the two main reasons that we come to Shirlington (plus the restaurants a few times a month).

Any new parking needs to go underground. Prioritize people and trees. This is what makes Shirlington nice today.

This is really good.

This is the only section that is full of "where possible" and "to the extent possible". That sounds like it's not important and probably won't be done. Please commit to Biophilia and Sustainability.

There's so many loopholes with "where possible". Just do what we need to do so that Shirlington is a desirable destination so that it remains economically viable.

Remove "to the extent possible". It just allows a lot of room for not doing what we need to do. If we want to be economically viable, we need to stop depending on non-renewable resources.

Remove "to the extent possible". This is a huge loophole that does not protect one of Shirlingon's best features. These trees draw in numerous people to eat in the outdoor restaurant spaces. No one wants to eat in the shadow of a building on a tiny sidewalk, we have Clarendon for that.

Prioritizing these will make Shirlington a desirable place to live, work, and visit.

#3 Arlington Artspace see link: link

#3 Could this include affordable live/work housing, studios and other creative work spaces for artists and creatives?

In this list, items 16-21 are basic principles that have to do with Arlington values and commitments that pertain to the entire GLUP and most plans in the county. They should be moved to the top of the list, after the vision, and designated as Basic Principles. The more specific development priorities, from particular types of services and features to design standards to uses and amenities, should then follow in the current order, renumbered as 7 to 21.

The Village at Shirlington is an urban village that was very poorly planned and developed. There is too much pavement, too much development and no natural areas. It is far from Metro and close to an interstate highway. It pollutes the air and increases traffic congestion on the highway. It is an excellent example of how and where not to create an urban village.

There is nothing "historic" about Shirlington's retail core. Most of it was created only about 20 years ago.

Don't foster development along South Arlington Mill Drive or anywhere else in Shirlington. Any increase in development will increase traffic congestion on the adjacent interstate, Four Mile Run Drive and other area streets, as there is no nearby Metro station. Further, increased development will decrease open space that otherwise could be used for parks and natural areas that will enhance the pedestrian experience.

Higher buildings anywhere in Shirlington will increase automobile traffic on the adjacent Interstate. There is no way to avoid this, as there is no Metro station nearby. Therefore, it is highly inappropriate and counterproductive to design treatments and transitions that will increase building heights anywhere in Shirlington.

Shirlington is an urban disaster that increases traffic congestion on I-395 because it is far from a Metro station. The presence of the Shirlington Transit Center forces many through bus routes to serve the transit center, thus increasing the lengths of their trips and decreasing ridership and revenues to the Metrobus system and ART bus system. Metro and the ART system therefore need to eliminate all of the through bus routes that serve the transit center. All bus routes that use the transit center should terminate there. The County should remove all street-level parking and surface parking areas. The Shirlington parking garage is presently under-utilized. Removing the street level parking will increase utilization of the parking garage, which is presently a costly white elephant. Construction of the section of the Four Mile Run Trail that travels underneath I-395 greatly decreased bicycle usage within Shirlington, as cyclists formerly needed to travel through Shirlingon to enable them to reach the pedestrian bridge that crosses the interstate highway east of Shirlington. The new trail section therefore reduced income to retail establishments within Shirlington. This effect was predictable. It was the same effect that occurs whenever a jurisdiction constructs a highway that bypasses the center of a city or town. The Vision and Guiding Principles should cite this as an example of how the County should not construct its bicycle infrastructure if it wants to maintain usage of its retail centers such as Shirlington.

Shirlington Village is presently an overly urbanized desert that I intentionally avoid because of its extremely poor design. The vision and guiding principles need to include a recommendation that states that all future construction and renovations should prioritize biophilic design. It is not sufficient to simply add street trees to Shirlington. All of its streets and buildings need to become biophilic. All buildings need to contain green roofs. All paved plazas (including the plaza in front of Signature theater and the County's library), need to be converted to natural areas. They are used too infrequently for public events to justify their retention. The plazas are contributing to stormwater runoff and are doing nothing to increase the falling populations of pollinators, such an monarch butterflies and honeybees. Medians and utility strips need to contain plantings of species that support pollinators. None presently do this. The park along Four Mile Run is a prime example of the type of poor planning that characterizes much of Arlington's public open spaces. The County maintains this park as a lawn that serves no useful purpose and that creates costs for mowing. Except for a few trees, the park does nothing to support native birds, wildlife and pollinators. The County needs to immediately stop this mowing and plant pollinator plants, such as common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), bee balm, coneflower and Black-Eyed Susan. The County needs to mow this area only once a year (outside of the growing season) to control invasive shrubs and vines. Shirlington is an urban disaster that increases traffic congestion ont I-395 because it is far from a Metro station. The presence of the transit center forces many bus routes to serve Shirlington, thus lengthening their trips and decreasing ridership and revenues to the Metro system and ART buses. Considering its location far from Metro and near an interstate highway, Shirlington's development is much too dense. The vision and guidance policies should emphasize a decrease in building heights and densities whenever redevelopment occurs. No densities or heights should increase. There should be no bonus densities offered for any purpose, including affordable housing.

Shirlington Village is presently an overly urbanized desert that I intentionally avoid because of its extremely poor design. The vision and guiding principles need to include a recommendation that states that all future construction and renovations should prioritize biophilic design. It is not sufficient to simply add street trees to Shirlington. All of its streets and buildings need to become biophilic. All buildings need to contain green roofs. All paved plazas (including the plaza in front of Signature theater and the County's library), need to be converted to natural areas. They are used too infrequently for public events to justify their retention. The plazas are contributing to stormwater runoff and are doing nothing to increase the falling populations of pollinators, such an monarch butterflies and honeybees. Medians and utility strips need to contain plantings of species that support pollinators. None presently do this. The park along Four Mile Run is a prime example of the type of poor planning that characterizes much of Arlington's public open spaces. The County maintains this park as a lawn that serves no useful purpose and that creates costs for mowing. Except for a few trees, the park does nothing to support native birds, wildlife and pollinators. The County needs to immediately stop this mowing and plant pollinator plants, such as common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), bee balm, coneflower and Black-Eyed Susan. The County needs to mow this area only once a year (outside of the growing season) to control invasive shrubs and vines. Shirlington is an urban disaster that increases traffic congestion ont I-395 because it is far from a Metro station. The presence of the transit center forces many bus routes to serve Shirlington, thus lengthening their trips and decreasing ridership and revenues to the Metro system and ART buses. Considering its location far from Metro and near an interstate highway, Shirlington's development is much too dense. The vision and guidance policies should emphasize a decrease in building heights and densities whenever redevelopment occurs. No densities or heights should increase. There should be no bonus densities offered for any purpose, including affordable housing. reply.

Shirlington Village is presently an overly urbanized desert that I intentionally avoid because of its extremely poor design. The vision and guiding principles need to include a recommendation that states that all future construction and renovations should prioritize biophilic design. It is not sufficient to simply add street trees to Shirlington. All of its streets and buildings need to become biophilic. All buildings need to contain green roofs. All paved plazas (including the plaza in front of Signature theater and the County's library), need to be converted to natural areas. They are used too infrequently for public events to justify their retention. The plazas are contributing to stormwater runoff and are doing nothing to increase the falling populations of pollinators, such an monarch butterflies and honeybees. Medians and utility strips need to contain plantings of species that support pollinators. None presently do this. The park along Four Mile Run is a prime example of the type of poor planning that characterizes much of Arlington's public open spaces. The County maintains this park as a lawn that serves no useful purpose and that creates costs for mowing. Except for a few trees, the park does nothing to support native birds, wildlife and pollinators. The County needs to immediately stop this mowing and plant pollinator plants, such as common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), bee balm, coneflower and Black-Eyed Susan. The County needs to mow this area only once a year (outside of the growing season) to control invasive shrubs and vines. Shirlington is an urban disaster that increases traffic congestion ont I-395 because it is far from a Metro station. The presence of the transit center forces many bus routes to serve Shirlington, thus lengthening their trips and decreasing ridership and revenues to the Metro system and ART buses. Considering its location far from Metro and near an interstate highway, Shirlington's development is much too dense. The vision and guidance policies should emphasize a decrease in building heights and densities whenever redevelopment occurs. No densities or heights should increase. There should be no bonus densities offered for any purpose, including affordable housing.

Shirlington Village is presently an overly urbanized desert that I intentionally avoid because of its extremely poor design. The vision and guiding principles need to include a recommendation that states that all future construction and renovations should prioritize biophilic design. It is not sufficient to simply add street trees to Shirlington. All of its streets and buildings need to become biophilic. All buildings need to contain green roofs. All paved plazas (including the plaza in front of Signature theater and the County's library), need to be converted to natural areas. They are used too infrequently for public events to justify their retention. The plazas are contributing to stormwater runoff and are doing nothing to increase the falling populations of pollinators, such an monarch butterflies and honeybees. Medians and utility strips need to contain plantings of species that support pollinators. None presently do this. The park along Four Mile Run is a prime example of the type of poor planning that characterizes much of Arlington's public open spaces. The County maintains this park as a lawn that serves no useful purpose and that creates costs for mowing. Except for a few trees, the park does nothing to support native birds, wildlife and pollinators. The County needs to immediately stop this mowing and plant pollinator plants, such as common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) bee balm, coneflower and Black-Eyed Susan. The County needs to mow this area only once a year (outside of the growing season) to control invasive shrubs and vines. Shirlington is an urban disaster that increases traffic congestion ont I-395 because it is far from a Metro station. The presence of the transit center forces many bus routes to serve Shirlington, thus lengthening their trips and decreasing ridership and revenues to the Metro system and ART buses. Considering its location far from Metro and near an interstate highway, Shirlington's development is much too dense. The vision and guidance policies should emphasize a decrease in building heights and densities whenever redevelopment occurs. No densities or heights should increase. There should be no bonus densities offered for any purpose, including affordable housing.

Shirlington Village is presently an overly urbanized desert that I intentionally avoid because of its extremely poor design. The vision and guiding principles need to include a recommendation that states that all future construction and renovations should prioritize biophilic design. It is not sufficient to simply add street trees to Shirlington. All of its streets and buildings need to become biophilic. All buildings need to contain green roofs. All paved plazas (including the plaza in front of Signature theater and the County's library), need to be converted to natural areas. They are used too infrequently for public events to justify their retention. The plazas are contributing to stormwater runoff into Four Mile Run. They are doing nothing to increase the falling populations of pollinators, such an monarch butterflies and honeybees. Medians and utility strips need to contain plantings of species that support pollinators. None presently do this. The park along Four Mile Run is a prime example of the type of poor planning that characterizes much of Arlington's public open spaces. The County maintains this park as a lawn that serves no useful purpose and that creates costs for mowing. Except for a few trees, the park does nothing to support native birds, wildlife and pollinators. The County needs to immediately stop this mowing and plant native pollinator plants, such as common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) bee balm, coneflower and black-eye susan. The County needs to mow this area only once a year (outside of the growing season) to control invasive shrubs and vines. Shirlington is an urban disaster that increases traffic congestion ont I-395 because it is far from a Metro station. The presence of the transit center forces many bus routes to serve Shirlington, thus lengthening their trips and decreasing ridership and revenues to the Metro system and ART buses. Considering its location far from Metro and near an interstate highway, Shirlington's development is much too dense. The vision and guidance policies should emphasize a decrease in building heights and densities whenever redevelopment occurs. No densities or heights should increase. There should be no bonus densities offered for any purpose, including affordable housing.

Thanks to the team who drafted this plan. Great ideas to improve our community.

Consider renovation of historic buildings as an opportunity to create a public space for the community. An example is the National Portrait Gallery Atrium. The space could be used to hold public events as well (concerts, art fairs, town halls, etc.). Evaluate cost/tax/commercial sponsor viability. Brazil has sustained a successful project like this for decades, Social Service of Commerce, and it's a boon for urban residents who enjoy a quiet, multi use public space. link

This is great.

good idea.

More development along S. Arlington Mill? Would be interesting to see design options vis-a-vis impacts to what little green pedestrian space is left.

With so much garage parking available and congestion/few parking spaces along Campbell, recommend exploring options to close it to vehicular traffic on Sundays. The garages have plenty of capacity even on weekdays.