Home & Garden

Open Space: Does Alexandria Need More of It?

The City of Alexandria boasts the most persons per square mile in Virginia - a fact that it must grapple with as it weighs the need for open and green space.

As one of the most densely populated cities in the nation, Alexandria faces a continuous struggle to provide enough open space for its residents, reads the city’s Open Space Plan.

The plan also recommended when it was presented in 2002 that population projections for 2012 required that the city add another 100 acres of open space - a goal that the city is now close to meeting in 2013. 

As predicted, Alexandria has grown annually throughout the last decade, to reach a population of 146,294 in July 2012, according to U.S. Census data.

Find out what's happening in West End Alexandriawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg in her most recent e-newsletter to constituents suggests the city set aside a new goal of an additional 25 or 50 acres.

City Council moved to sunset set-aside funding for the acquisition of open space as part of its fiscal year 2014 budget agreement.

Find out what's happening in West End Alexandriawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Concurrently, the city is considering a proposal to create a major sports complex at the 22-acre Hensley Field, which would create certain member amenities like ice rinks, a baseball center, rock climbing walls, tennis and squash courts and more. But the development would diminish Hensley Field's free open space including its three ball fields and one rectangular field.

Where do you stand? Do you think the city needs more open space and where?

 

 

 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from West End Alexandria