The County acknowledges that it has been slow to deal with snow removal issues in our area and is hopeful that it will catch up over the course of the day and tomorrow. Our contact person for snow removal in the County Manager's office is Mary Alice Gray. Her direct number is 703-228-3248. She has been very proactive about reaching out to North Rosslyn, and she asks that you please contact her directly if you identify and particular snow removal problems in the neighborhood. In particular, the County asks to be informed if we identify any public safety problems created by snow removal, such as decreased visibility at intersections due to snow plows. If these problems persist, or if the County is slow to respond to your concerns, please feel free to contact me or to post your concerns here.

Our County snow-removal liaison, Mary-Alice Gray, has asked that we share the following message with the community, although it appears to have limited applicability for North Rosslyn:


ARLINGTON COUNTY ASKS RESIDENTS TO HELP CLEAR SIDEWALKS FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN

Seeking a Return to Normalcy


Arlington County is asking residents, civic associations and PTAs to help clear sidewalks over the weekend to ensure safe walking paths for schoolchildren so that schools may reopen on Monday.


The enormous quantities of snow have overwhelmed local jurisdictions' ability to manage it quickly and the County is reaching out to residents to ask for their help. All commercial residents – including businesses, office buildings and apartment complexes are responsible for clearing sidewalks on their properties. In addition, officials are hopeful that warmer weather and rain over the weekend will help clear roads and sidewalks.


Arlington Public Schools has identified the top priority sidewalks that need to be cleared:


<center>Elementary Schools – Sidewalk Priorities
</center>
Abingdon Elementary School:


- South 28th Road from Wakefield Street to the school

Barrett Elementary School:


- All roads around the school, including N. George Mason and N. Henderson Road

Campbell Elementary School:


- S. 7th Road on Greenbrier Church side of the street towards school

Drew Elementary School:


- S. Kenmore Street, from S. 19th to school

- S. 22nd Street from S. Nelson to S. Kenmore

Glebe Elementary School:


- Glebe Road from N. Brandywine to the school

- N. Woodstock from 20th Road to Glebe Road

Henry Elementary School:


- S. Highland Street from 2nd Street to the school

Hoffman-Boston:


- South side of Columbia Pike from S. Courthouse Road to S. Rolfe Street


<center>Secondary Schools – Sidewalk Priorities
:</center>
Thomas Jefferson Middle School:


- S. Glebe Road, from Columbia Pike to Route 50

- S. 2nd Street from S. Fillmore to the school

Kenmore Middle School:


- S. Carlin Springs Road, from 7th Road to the school


Volunteers Needed

The County welcomes any and all volunteers; you may refer to the priority list above for the sidewalks in greatest need. For additional information over the weekend, you may call the project hotline desk at 703-228-6525.



Contacts:

Safe School Sidewalks Project Hotline [weekend of February 22-23]:

703-228-6525


Snow removal update/contact:

703-228-6485


Arlington County media contact:

Diana Sun, 703-228-3247, dsun@co.arlington.va.us [703-228-4611 (TTY)]


Arlington Public Schools media contact:

Linda Erdos, 703-228-6002, lerdos@arlington.k12.va.us

The facilities person at Wilson School cleared the sidewalks last Thursday. He also cleared the sidewalk between the school and the basketball court. The Key Blvd. apartment cleared the sidewalk alongside the community garden. So we do have a clear pedestrian path from 19th St to Wilson Blvd to reach the Safeway, CVS, fire station and area restaurants.

A county truck showed up late Thursday morning and pushed aside some snow at the intersection of Ode and 19th, blocking the cleared pedestrian sidewalk access. The path was reopened after the county truck left.

The sidewalk to street pathways along Ode St and the sidewalk to crosswalk pathway across Key Blvd were dug out by volunteers. These pathways were blocked by the contractor that plowed Highgate streets. The county didn't make any attempts to clear out the pedestrian crosswalks at all. Only the westbound lane of Key Blvd between Nash and Quinn has been plowed by the county. The eastbound lane is still clogged with snow and hasn't been plowed at all nearly a week after the snow, Feb 23rd.

The Gallery at Rosslyn did a great job of keeping all the walkways cleared around their building including the pedestrain path between Key and 18th St.

The Sky Walk from Oak St to the Metro is partially cleared. The worst area is the covered walkway over Ft. Meyer Drive between the Tivoli Restaurant and St. Exxon Church. This area has been mostly slush and freezes into a dangerous, slippery surface at night.

The county has been good a ticketing cars in no parking areas and 1 hour zones and towing cars that block in other cars. It looks like the county has a long way to go in accomplishing plowing that not only opens roads but also allows pedestrian access.