The long-awaited Del Ray Gateway/Colasanto Interactive Fountain opened today (Sept. 10) at 2700 Mount Vernon Avenue, according to the city.
“The Colasanto Spray Park project is complete and is open for community enjoyment,” the city said on the project webpage. “The final utility connections were completed in late August.”
In a developed city like Alexandria, residents may soon be surprised to find four-legged landscapers wandering a West End park.
Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities is launching a pilot program to bring 35 to 40 goats to All Veterans Park (4725 Duke Street). Starting Sept. 8, the herd of goats will be brought to graze on invasive plants on the slopes of the park. The invasive plants being targeted in the pilot program are kudzu, garlic mustard and multiflora rose.
The floating kayak launch at Four Mile Run Park washed away from its moorings after heavy rainstorms over the weekend.
On Sunday afternoon (Aug. 2), a stabilizing cable that kept the kayak launch in place snapped after too much pressure during high tide from trees and other floating debris. City staff were at the park on Tuesday afternoon to close the walkway leading down to the vacant space. The launch is now resting underneath the Route 1 bridge, and caution tape and a construction sign have been erected to bar anyone from using the walkway.
Joseph Hensley Park has completely reopened in the Eisenhower West neighborhood after years of renovations, the Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities said.
The renovated park (4200 Eisenhower Avenue) includes a new synthetic turf upper diamond field, a full-size natural turf softball field on the lower level, a replacement picnic pavilion and bathhouse and new playground. The athletic fields have new LED field lighting, scoreboards, safety netting, dugouts, spectator seating and batting cages. A flexible court and event space also provides a setting for community and recreational programming.
Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities (RPCA) has proposed the conversion of parking spaces to a pocket park in the Del Ray neighborhood.
The proposed pocket park would be located on a current parking island at 3000 Fulton Street at the Clifford and Commonwealth Avenues intersection. The parking island provides space for about five to six standard passenger vehicles.
A proposal to completely replace the Old Town Pool and bathhouse and make landscape improvements is heading to the Alexandria Planning Commission.
On Tuesday, May 5, the Planning Commission will weigh in on the proposal by the city’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities to completely renovate the pool facility, to fully renovate the pool facility, which has not had a major update since it opened in 1975. The meeting follows a unanimous recommendation from the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, which endorsed the project in a letter to City Council.
After years of planning, a splash pad along Del Ray’s Mount Vernon Avenue will soon be available for families to enjoy in the summer season.
The Colasanto Interactive Fountain, which replaced a pool that’s been closed since 2010, is being constructed behind Del Ray Artisans at the intersection of Mount Vernon and Commonwealth Avenues. The latest timeline calls for completion in late April, according to the city’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities.
The Alexandria Health Department is raising concerns about the rise of tickborne illnesses as spring progresses.
The health department and Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities are partnering for a tick bite prevention campaign this spring, when tick activity increases as temperatures warm. The city is placing 30 educational signs across parks and trails encouraging residents to do tick checks. There will also be educational sessions about tick prevention and giveaways of tick removal tools at the events and the Alexandria Health Department headquarters (4850 Mark Center Drive).
A new kayak launch now open at Four Mile Run Park in Alexandria is one of 11 projects that earned a Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award from Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger.
The Four Mile Run Conservancy, in partnership with the city, completed the public kayak and canoe launch with a 187-foot raised boardwalk ramp, 775-square-foot floating dock, a roller-entry launch, wheelchair transfer platform and 30-foot gangway. It is the city and region’s first ADA-accessible paddling access to the Potomac River.
A new plaque honoring past arborists has been installed at Alexandria’s Fort Ward Park, adding to the existing Charles W. Hendryx Memorial.
City of Alexandria’s Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities spokesperson Catrice Callands confirmed to ALXnow a new plaque was added to the Fort Ward Arborist Memorial. The arborists honored on the plaque are Gregory A. Kernan, Jennifer Hollings, Tere O’Rourke, John Noelle and John Marlin.
Alexandria’s annual Adopt-a-Park program is returning this spring, bringing community groups together to beautify the city’s parks and open spaces.
The program is kicking off with a celebration hosted by the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities from 6-7:30 p.m. next Wednesday, March 18 at 2900 A Business Center Drive. The event is an opportunity for applicants and groups to connect with fellow volunteers, meet city staff, review updated procedures, get supplies and ask questions about the program.
