WASHINGTON STREET STUDY TO SET PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY DESIGN GUIDELINES
A new research project conducted by the City of Alexandria will culminate in public right-of-way design guidelines for Washington Street. These guidelines could cover such items as lighting, signage, sidewalk width and materials, location of specially marked crossings, benches, trash cans, newspaper boxes, etc. The process began with a series of small focus groups to define the area of study. Deana Rhodeside of the landscape architecture firm Rhodeside & Harwell is the city’s consultant and will be steering the project, as well as eventually defining the design guidelines. Agnes Artemel and Christa Watters are representing the Old Town North Community Partnership. We’ll keep readers informed as the study progresses.
HELP US FOCUS ON WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT TO OUR COMMUNITY!
So many projects and activities, so little time! That’s why the Old Town North Community Partnership is seeking your feedback to help us scale down the following list of 14 initiatives into our Top Ten Priorities for 2007. Please call, write or e-mail us (contact information appears at the bottom of this newsletter) to let us know what’s important to you!
Contenders for the “OTNCP Top Ten”:
- Participation in Washington Street Guidelines study (see above)
- Participation in the Waterfront planning effort due to kick off in February
- Monitoring and guiding Bus Barn site development
- Monitoring and guiding development at the ABC site
- Participating in discussions about the AFBA site which is currently in a conceptual planning stage
- Supporting the efforts of our neighbors in the Northeast Civic Association and NOTICe on the power plant
- Completing the planned Montgomery Park improvements
- Creating a new dog-friendly event in Old Town North
- Continuing to inform our neighborhood about items of interest
- Coordinating with the City with regard to traffic, parking, maintenance, and crime issues
- Continuing to promote a mixed use environment in Old Town North so that our residents have the opportunity to walk to many restaurants, services, and other businesses, and so that our businesses have a steady base of regular customers
- Finalizing our Old Town North business directory
- Continuing efforts to attract new restaurants, a drugstore, small hardware store, and other needed retail uses while preserving a grocery store in the neighborhood
- Sponsoring and promoting our third Taste of Old Town North event
MARK YOUR JANUARY CALENDAR
The next meeting of the OTNCP will be held on Thursday, January 25, 5:30 p.m. Please plan to join us as we finalize the “OTNCP Top Ten” (see above) and set action plans for the weeks and months ahead. We hope to repeat the pleasant format of our November meeting at A La Lucia’s wine bar. The meeting location will be confirmed and more details provided after the holidays.
FREE POLICE DEPT SECURITY SURVEYS FOR OLD TOWN RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES
Officers Cheryl Smith and Charlette Young in the Community Relations Unit are available to survey the security of your home or business at no charge. They will come to your address and in 30 minutes to an hour identify potential areas where security could be improved. The Police Department also suggests that businesses provide them with emergency contact information for their files so you can be reached if necessary. For more information or to schedule your free security survey, call the Alexandria Communications Center at 703-838-4978, email bob.mains@alexandriava.gov, or call Officers Smith or Young at 703-838-4520.
Free brochures with safety tips are also available from the Police Department, including Vehicle Security, Holiday Safety Tips, Vacation Security Tips, Business Security, What is Suspicious, and Help Stop Stealing from Vehicles. Officer Smith reports that in Alexandria, larceny from vehicles is up, so the latter set of tips is particularly important now, with holiday shopping season in full swing. To minimize your chances of a vehicle break-in, keep purchases and valuables out of sight by locking them in your trunk.
‘TIS THE SEASON FOR HOLIDAY EVENTS …
The Alexandria Convention and Visitor’s Association has announced a series of holiday festivities in and around Alexandria, including
- Gather the Family at Woodlawn Plantation, 9000 Richmond Highway, now through December 31
- Holidays at Mount Vernon, now through January 6
- Holiday on the Avenue, Del Ray, December 9 (free)
- Colonial Handbell Ringers, December 10 at the Lyceum, 3 to 5 p.m. (free)
- Tea & Tour at Lee-Fendall House, December 10, 3 p.m. ($25)
- King Street Gardens Holiday Tree Lighting, December 10 at 7 p.m. (free)
- Santa’s Holiday Express, a train running from King Street station to Manassas on December 15 ($15)
- A Nat King Cole Holiday at Metro Stage, 1201 North Royal Street through December 23 ($35)
- First Night Alexandria, New Year’s Eve celebration in Old Town and Del Ray, December 31, 6 p.m. to midnight ($10 in advance, $15 after December 26).
For more information on any of these events, check www.funside.org.
… AND SHOPPING!
Find unique gifts for everyone on your list at Alexandria’s many fine boutiques in Old Town and Del Ray and in our shopping centers (Bradlee, Fairlington, Potomac Yard, Landmark, Foxchase, and the centers along Van Dorn and Pickett Streets). Our small businesses are often locally owned and operated, lending Alexandria its distinctive character. They deserve your support, and we all benefit—a portion of the sales tax you pay comes back to the City, relieving the burden on other sources of revenue.
ABOUT THE OTNCP: WHO WE ARE, WHO WE SERVE, WHY WE’RE A PARTNERSHIP
Our predecessor, The Old Town North Community Association, was created by a group of residents and property and business owners who had been instrumental in the preparation of the Old Town North Small Area Plan adopted by the City of Alexandria in 1992. Over several months of meetings, these dedicated individuals hammered out a master plan and zoning principles that would provide a framework for the emergence of Old Town North as a high quality mixed use environment.
As we continued to work together on such projects as the improvement of Montgomery Park, streetscape planning, tree planting, and attraction and retention of neighborhood-serving businesses, “partnership” seemed to more accurately reflect the purpose of the organization. Our membership includes Old Town North residents, business owners, and employees.
The OTNCP is a tax-exempt corporation registered with the Virginia Corporation Commission. It is governed by a Board of Directors and serves residents and businesses with an address in Old Town North, the area north of Oronoco Street to the northern City boundary, and east of Washington Street to the Potomac River.
YOU BELONG ON OUR MAILING LIST!
As someone who lives or does business in our community, you’ll want to receive OTNCP notices of events and information of general interest. Please send an email with your contact info@oldtownnorth.org. Or complete and mail the form below to Old Town North Community Partnership, c/o Montgomery Center, 300 Montgomery Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314.