[Archived] Open Space Summit

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

Alexandria, Virginia

Office of the City Manager
Alexandria City Hall, 301 King Street, Suite 3500
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2001
CONTACT: SANDRA WHITMORE, DIRECTOR, RECREATION, PARKS AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES (703) 838-4842

On Saturday, June 23, 2001, the City of Alexandria will hold an Open Space Summit from 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Lee Center, 1108 Jefferson Street. The purpose of the Open Space Summit is to give the citizens of Alexandria an opportunity to participate in the process of establishing a community-based open space plan for the City. The Keynote Speaker will be Peter Harnik, author of Inside City Parks, and contributing author to Urban Parks and Open Space. Mr. Harnik is a co-founder of the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, and a consultant to the Trust for Public Lands. Closing remarks will be given by Congressman James P. Moran, U.S. Representative for Virginia’s Eighth Congressional District.

Participants in the Open Space Summit will contribute to the development of the community-based open space plan for the City by helping to define: Alexandria’s open space vision, future open space opportunities, implementation options, and re-use possibilities. Small group discussions focusing on open space opportunities in each participant’s area of the City will become the basis for a preliminary plan for Alexandria. This plan will identify potential open space opportunities city-wide, the possibility of connecting existing green spaces with new green spaces to form linear greenways, and using open space to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods.

A Steering Committee of representatives from three City Commissions (Planning, Parks and Recreation, and Environmental Policy), with the assistance of City staff and the consulting firm of Rhodeside and Harwell, Incorporated, have been meeting since September 2000 to take a comprehensive look at open space planning in the City. Their goal is to develop an open space plan that would eventually become a Parks and Open Space chapter in the City’s Master Plan.

Open space comes in many different types: neighborhood, community, natural resources, cultural/heritage, urban, streetscape, multi-use trails, private, dog parks, recreation areas. The Steering Committee has inventoried all public land and has classified these open spaces based on their primary and secondary characteristics. These will be reviewed at the Open Space Summit on June 23. "Most of the land in Alexandria’s 15.75 square miles is essentially developed," said City Manager Philip Sunderland, "and the City needs a plan to protect the open space that is still available."

For additional information about the Open Space Summit, call the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities at (703) 838-4842.