Neighborhood Conservation

Glencarlyn Neighborhood Conservation Program

Glencarlyn participates in Arlington County’s Neighborhood Conservation Program, a grass-roots effort to engage residents in conserving and improving their communities by developing and updating Neighborhood Conservation Plans. These plans are the basis for requesting county funds for improvements such as sidewalks, curbs and gutters, streetlights, park renovations, neighborhood art, beautification, traffic management and pedestrian safety.

Each participating neighborhood selects a representative for the Arlington County Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee (NCAC). These representatives attend monthly meetings and prioritize neighborhood-initiated projects, following the county’s defined process. Glencarlyn’s current NCAC representative is Kathy Reeder.

The Glencarlyn Neighborhood Conservation Plan describes the community’s history, development, natural environment, cultural sites and infrastructure, along with the goals for conservation and improvement identified in a neighborhood-wide survey. The plan is updated by the community as needed.

In the past, Glencarlyn has undertaken such Neighborhood Conservation Projects as developing a Sidewalk Location and Street Width Master Plan, and installation of curbs, gutters and sidewalks around the core Village Center block.

Additional information is available on the Arlington County Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee site. For a status of current NCAC projects for Glencarlyn and other neighborhoods, see Capital Improvement Projects.

Please contact Kathy Reeder at kathleenreeder@comcast.net with any questions.

NCAC Projects

NCAC 4th Street Project (5500 and 5600 blocks)

Project Updates:

The 4^th St. S. street improvement project (5600 and 5500 blocks) was approved by the County Board on November 19, 2019. This final approval provides funding for the project to proceed.

The project will be going out to bid to be awarded to a construction contractor. There will be a Final Design Review for residents, but timing is not certain at this point.

Information on next steps and project schedule will be provided on this site and in future Village Views as it becomes available.

Project Scope:

The project scope includes the installation of a 4’ wide sidewalk adjacent to a 2’-4’ wide utility strip on the north side of the street, plus curb and gutter on both sides of the street.

On-street parking will be maintained on both sides of the street except where the roadway width narrows to 22’ in order to protect a large, mature tree on the south side of the street.

This project also includes some storm water drainage and infrastructure improvements.

To see more information about this project, including documents and plans, please go to the Neighborhood Conservation webpage on the County’s website: https://projects.arlingtonva.us/neighborhood-conservation/capital-improvement-projects/

- In the list of links (in blue) on the right side of that page, select “Capital Improvement Projects.”
- Then under “Current Capital Improvement Projects”, select “4^th Street South.”

NCAC 2^nd Street Project (5700 block of 2^nd St/100 block of Kensington St)

Project Updates:

This project has already been funded by the County Board. A Neighborhood Pre-Construction Meeting was held on January 28, 2020; planned tree removal has completed; and stormwater piping installation will begin in February 2020.

In late 2019, the County approved two changes to the project: the reduction of sidewalk width from five feet to four feet along both blocks, and the inclusion of stop bars (painted white stripes on the roadway) at each stop sign within the project limits. These changes were the result of residents presenting concerns at GCA and County Board meetings and writing letters to County Board members. NC Program Staff and County Board Member Matt de Ferranti worked together to review residents’ concerns. Julie Lee, GCA President, provided strong support to encourage approval of the changes.

Updates on the construction status will be posted in future Village Views and on this site.

Project Scope:

A new 4′ wide concrete sidewalk will be constructed along the north side of 2^nd Street South and along the west side of South Kensington Street.

A utility (grass) strip will also be included as part of the project, located adjacent to the sidewalk. The utility (grass) strip will vary in width, from mostly two and a half feet on 2^nd Street South to mostly four feet on South Kensington Street. Where the width is at least four feet, opportunities may exist for street tree planting, to be determined later by the NC Program’s Landscape Architect. The utility (grass) strip is eliminated where needed to protect the roots of adjacent mature healthy trees.

Stormwater drainage improvements will be made within the project limits.

The street width will be mostly 23’ and on street parking will be maintained along the north side of 2^nd Street South. There is a mid-block area where the street narrows to 20’ to protect a large mature healthy tree. There is no on-street parking within the 20’ street width.

The street width will be mostly 23’ and on street parking will be maintained along the west side of South Kensington Street.

The roadway will maintain two travel lanes, one in each direction, but will be considered a yield street.

- In the list of links (in blue) on the right side of that page, select “Capital Improvement Projects.”
- Then under “Current Capital Improvement Projects”, select “2nd Street South and Kensington Street South.”

NC Presentations at GCA Meetings

May 7, 2018 GCA Meeting

October 1, 2018 GCA Meeting

Other NC Information

Spreadsheet of environmental projects under consideration

October 2018 Questionnaire Summary for non-NC Projects

October 2018 Questionnaire Summary for NC Projects