Good Monday morning, Alexandria!

🌤️ Today’s weather: Expect mostly sunny skies with a high around 68 and a light southeast wind, which will shift to the south and increase to 5-10 mph in the morning. By Monday night, the sky will become mostly cloudy and the temperature will drop to a low near 52, with a south wind at 3-7 mph.

🚨 You need to know

Alexandria canceled its eclipse viewing party today at Old Town Pool.

Not to worry.

There’s still an eclipse viewing party today at Ben Brenman Park, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

“Eclipse viewing glasses will be provided (one per group) while supplies last,” according to Alexandria Library. “Maximum coverage occurs at 3:20 p.m.”

In case of inclement weather, the event will occur inside the Charles E. Beatley Library with NASA’s live feed of the event.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

• 1:30 pm: Eclipse Viewing Party
• 1:30 pm: Solar Eclipse Viewing Party

Any Alexandrian looking to register for spring classes and programs through the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities should mark Wednesday, March 20, down in their calendar.

“Registration for spring classes and programs, beginning April 1 through mid-June, will open on Wednesday, March 20, at 9 a.m. for City residents and Friday, March 22, for non-residents,” the city said in a release.

Programs range from sports to aquatics and camps, with options for both adults and children.

People interested in participating can register either online or in person at the Lee Center Registration & Reservation Office (1108 Jefferson Street).

Registration for summer programs is also right around the corner.

“Registration for summer classes and programs, beginning mid-June through mid-August, will open on Wednesday, May 15, for residents and Friday, May 17, for non-residents,” the release said.

Starting next week, Alexandrians can reserve picnic areas around the city for birthday parties, quinceaneras or other celebrations and events.

The rental season runs from April to October. The parks can be reserved in four-hour blocks, from 10- a.m.-2 p.m. or 3-7 p.m.

Some of the parks come with certain restrictions; no alcohol is permitted at Armistead L. Boothe Park for instance, while no sound amplification is permitted at Fort Ward Park.

Costs vary by park and residency, from $75 for the smaller parks to $231 for a non-resident renting one of the larger park areas.

Beer in kegs and wine pay be permitted with approval from the Director of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities and an ABC license.

Parks that can be reserved this year are:

• Armistead L. Boothe Park, 520 Cameron Station Blvd.
• Ben Brenman Park, 4800 Brenman Park Drive
• Chinquapin Park, 3210 King Street
• Fort Ward Park, 4301 West Braddock Road
• Lee Center, 1108 Jefferson Street
• Old Town Pool, 1605 Cameron Street

Photo via Evangelina Silina/Unsplash

A pedestrian bridge at Ben Brenman Park will be closed over the next month for repairs.

The closure means anyone going to the Ben Brenman Dog Park or Ben Brenman Park Volleyball Courts will have to take a small detour to another bridge further west.

The city said the bridge repairs are needed after a bridge inspection last year showed deteriorated under-bridge beams.

According to the city website:

It was observed during the last bridge inspections completed in November 2023, that some of the under-bridge beams have deteriorated and have to be replaced. The bridge conditions are rated as “poor” due to structural deficiencies in the beams. These conditions affect the bridges crossing over Holmes Run Stream to the Holmes Run Trail, and the southeastern bridge crossing over Backlick Run to the Brenman picnic and volleyball area.

Work on the bridge is scheduled to start on Monday, Feb. 26, and is expected to take a month to complete.

Image via Google Maps

Attention Del Ray dog owners: The Eugene Simpson Park will reopen to the public in the beginning of next year at the end of more than a year of redevelopment.

The formerly dusty, not-grassy park at 521 E. Monroe Avenue will be closed for the last three months of the year to allow for a “sod establishment period,” according to the city.

“Construction at the dog park continues with grading and site preparation for tree installation and sod installation this month as the start of the fall planting season approaches,” the city told ALXnow in an email.

In other Del Ray dog-related news, more work is being completed this fall on the dog run at Mount Jefferson Park (300 block of Hume Avenue). Work began on Mount Jefferson Park in Jan. 2022.

“The developer has been working with staff on a few options to address the drainage issues within the dog run and will be submitting a revised site plan,” city parks planner Judy Lo told ALXnow. “We anticipate the northern section of the dog run will be re-graded with possibly additional inlets and/or bioretention and plantings. This type of work is best done in the fall when the temperatures start to cool.”

Photos via Facebook and City of Alexandria

As the new Patrick Henry Recreation Center (4653 Taney Avenue) wraps up some of the final improvements, the city is putting together a new advisory council to shape what’s next for the rec center.

Recreation Parks and Cultural Activities (RPCA) is hosting a meeting early next month to determine interest in a new Council to shape the future of the Patrick Henry Rec Center.

“Join us for the Advisory Council Interest Meeting on Tuesday, 10/3, 6-7 p.m.,” RPCA wrote in a tweet. “Let’s shape the future of Patrick Henry Rec Center by sharing our insights, organizing events, and championing community needs. Together, we’ll build a better Alexandria!”

The recently rebuilt recreation center opened in 2019. A new turf field, playground and parking lot are scheduled to be completed sometime this fall.

Exciting opportunity ahead! Join us for the Advisory Council Interest Meeting on Tuesday, 10/3, 6-7 p.m. Let's shape the future of Patrick Henry Rec Center by sharing our insights, organizing events, and championing community needs. Together, we'll build a better Alexandria! pic.twitter.com/GADn4iqU3N

— RPCA, Alexandria VA (@RPCA_AlexVA) September 7, 2023

Those hoping to spend an afternoon at one of Alexandria’s recreation centers next week might be disappointed: centers around town are shutting down for an end-of-summer clean.

The annual cleaning comes at the end of the summer camp programs to prepare the facilities for fall.

The Leonard “Chick” Armstrong, Mount Vernon, Patrick Henry and William Ramsay recreation centers will all be closed from Monday, Aug. 14 to Saturday, Aug. 19, with the William Ramsay Recreation Center remaining open only for basketball camp.

The Charles Houston Recreation Center will be closed a little longer: from Sunday, Aug. 13 to Sunday, Aug. 20.

The Chinquapin Park Recreation Center & Aquatics Facility cleaning is staggered a little later than the others but will be closed the longest, from Saturday, Aug. 19 to Monday, Sept. 4.

If you’re looking to escape the heat in one of Alexandria’s public pools, time is running out.

Starting in two weeks, Alexandria’s pools will start to close. The first to go is Memorial Pool at 901 Wythe Street, which is open through Sunday, Aug. 20.

The Old Town Pool and Warwick Pool, meanwhile, will be open through Monday, Sept. 4.

The last to close isn’t really a pool, but the Potomac Yard Interactive Fountain, which is open through mid-October.

Finally, the pool at the Chinquapin Park Recreation Center and Aquatics Facility (3210 King Street) is open year-round.

Dive into summer while you still can!
-Memorial Pool: open through August 20
-Old Town Pool & Warwick Pool: open through September 4
-Potomac Yard Interactive Fountain: open through mid-October
For more information on our pool hours & locations, visit https://t.co/yZJKkmjN3w pic.twitter.com/QWdi5fcBO8

— RPCA, Alexandria VA (@RPCA_AlexVA) August 6, 2023

On the bright side, as the pool season comes to a close, the city opens its pools for the annual dog swim.

On Saturday, Sept. 16 and Sunday, Sept. 17, well-behaved and vaccinated dogs are allowed to hop in the pool and swim.

“This event is open to all well-behaved and vaccinated dogs,” Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities said on Facebook. “Entry is free, but owners must pre-register. Separate registrations for each dog are required.”

Image via Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities/Facebook

Eugene Simpson Stadium Park is going from natural turf to artificial turf, and feelings in the community seem decidedly mixed.

At a meeting this past Saturday, the City Council voted unanimously in favor of a new plan that will replace the field with synthetic turf. Sentiment in the public hearing was mixed, with some concerned about issues like creating a heat island and others saying the synthetic turf will make the fields more usable.

“I specifically want to call out the need for synthetic turf at big Simpson Field,” said Alexandria Little League President Sherry Reilly. “The lack of big fields in the city means the entire Alexandria baseball community uses the two current fields almost non-stop. Having only two big fields shared by all the baseball organizations as well as the collegiate team means that we use the fields constantly during spring, summer and fall baseball seasons. It is a crazy game of Tetris trying to fit all of these organizations onto our two big fields.”

But others said they were concerned that the artificial turf, which often gets hotter than regular grass fields, may make sports unplayable for more of the year than current weather problems do.

“I’m not sure how many of you have been on the fields during the summer but they exceed 120 degrees,” said nearby resident Brian Collins. “I’ve heard the proposal increases playability, but I haven’t heard any mention of loss due to heat.”

Even on the City Council, feelings were mixed about the artificial turf. City Council Kirk McPike said that while artificial turf isn’t ideal, he was of the belief that it was better than leaving the fields inaccessible due to rain.

Alexandria resident Jeremy Flachs noted in the comments that there are concerning signs that artificial turf may have been at least partially responsible for cancers developed by athletes in Philadelphia.

Eugene Simpson Park is getting a set of synthetic turf fields as part of a broader overhaul with city leaders saying the added usability outweighs the detriments of the artificial grass field.

At a meeting this past Saturday, the City Council unanimously voted in favor of a large-scale renovation (item 20) to eugene Simpson Stadium Park (426 East Monroe Avenue).

The project will involve the renovation of the two baseball diamonds at the site and accessory buildings, an expansion of the parking lot to add 16 new spaces, and more walkways and paths. The new project will also relocate the basketball court to a spot next to the dog park.

The public comment included a wide range of criticisms of the project, from concerns about heat build-up on the synthetic turf to frustrations that added pathways at part of the park will cut down on the natural open space.

“The current proposal appears to suggest having a very large oval sidewalk system… [that] would carve up open spaces used by kids and dogs and families into an unusable area,” said nearby resident Sebastian Norton. “Based on that, we would oppose only that aspect of the renovation.”

“I’m not sure how many of you have been on the fields during the summer but they exceed 120 degrees,” said Brian Collins. “I’ve heard the proposal increases playability, but I haven’t heard any mention of loss due to heat.”

Others said they were excited about the benefits of a synthetic turf field.

“We strongly support the field improvements,” said Alexandria Little League President Sherry Reilly. “I specifically want to call out the need for synthetic turf at big Simpson Field. The lack of big fields in the city means the entire Alexandria baseball community uses the two current fields almost non-stop. Having only two big fields shared by all the baseball organizations as well as the collegiate team means that we use the fields constantly during spring, summer and fall baseball seasons. It is a crazy game of Tetris trying to fit all of these organizations onto our two big fields.”

The City Council voted unanimously to approve the plans to overhaul the park.

“It’s a park that’s well-loved by the community,” Mayor Justin Wilson said. “I get [the tradeoff] about turf. I’ve been to many, many soccer games on artificial turf. It stinks and nobody wants to sit on turf, but it is also a balance with playability.”

Other concerns were raised about locating a basketball court immediately adjacent to a dog park, but staff said a four-foot concrete wall and higher fencing will be installed to separate the two and the city could add “sound attenuating screening” to block out sound and reduce opacity between the two parks.

City Council member Kirk McPike said the 2% loss of space for the dog park in the new project will become more of a noticable issue if the basketball court becomes a nuisance for people and canines in the dog park. McPike said it’s something the city will have to monitor.

“I hope staff will stay in touch with the community that uses that park to see if we need to do any further mitigations,” McPike said, “though as my aide texted me to note: there are no rules against a dog playing basketball.”