I attended the meeting, and well, since I can’t seem to sleep, I shall type furiously into the night…
There were 2 handouts I collected:
The feedback from the November 23 meeting
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4213[/ATTACH]
Phoenix Bikes handout
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4214[/ATTACH]
My notes from the meeting (I was about 10 minutes late, so here’s what I was able to write down):
…attempts were made to get a school building, but:
- Phoenix Bikes would lose their independence and instead become a school program
- Wakefield HS had only a temporary solution due to their construction
Presentation
- talking about Fun Ride and other rides
- video about Phoenix Bikes
- talking about community aspect
- photo showing the current area is packed full of bikes – need more room
Building Goals
- Phoenix Bikes needs a building with adequate space for its educational mission
- Space should include bathrooms, workspace, meeting space, and storage
- Ideally located near a trail
- Phoenix Bikes pays for the building (design and construction)
- Arlington County will supply land
- Phoenix Bikes will also offer bathrooms, drinking fountains, air pumps, and adult education
- Decision for location
- Plot of land goes almost up to Randolph Street
- A visual approximation I sketched and later Photoshopped (I tried to draw the plot and already made the image for this so I’m adding it here, but the PDF that dbb provided has the actual dimensions)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4215[/ATTACH]
Future Plans
- Next public meeting will be January 14th at 7 PM (same location)
- Phoenix Bikes will submit Letter of Intent to County Board
- Phoenix Bikes will fundraise
- Detailed 20+ year agreement will be developed between Phoenix Bikes and Arlington County
- Phoenix Bikes will submit building plans and obtain Use Permit if required
- Process is expected to take about 2 years
Public Feedback
(quick note: it was unanimous that Phoenix Bikes does a good service to the community, a point that every single speaker mentioned before saying anything else)
Speaker 1 (lived in her townhouse on Randolph for 25 years)
- concern about loss of privacy due to loss of trees
- louder noises due to increased traffic
- loss of tree buffer will allow lights and louder noises into neighborhood
Speaker 2 (has young children)
- concern about safety due to previous accidents on Walter Reed Drive
- referring to past accident between cyclist and driver on WR
- why not have larger/more space in Barcroft Park
- Barcroft Park is being underutilized
Speaker 3
- questions about traffic – have any studies been done on impact on traffic?
- What about parking?
- Why have more public bathrooms?
Answered: Park rangers will lock bathrooms at night
Speaker 4
- why can’t they expand the current PB building?
Answered: There is no room for expansion of the PB building in the current location
Speaker 5
- questions about site selection process
- what about the WETA lot or Jennie Dean Park?
Answered: JD Park is about to have a master plan process
Speaker 6
- concern about gangs, bums, etc., being attracted to the new facility
Speaker 7
- concern about funding & block grants & the schedule given only $50k of the $1 million has been raised
- notes that she has congressional experience with these matters
- is a new resident to Arlington County
- recommends site-surveys for next meeting
- concerned about loss of parking (irony here is she moved into one of the newer condos in the area that has increased traffic and decreased parking)
- concerned about effect on her property values
Speaker 8
- concern about building on such a swampy site
- what about water drainage due to runoff from the adjacent hillside?
Speaker 9
- Location is great due to being right on the W&OD
- Concerns about safety are moot because the trail itself is safe
Speaker 10
- Longtime resident, likes that more people will be there
- Having more people in an area makes it safer for everyone
.
