Environmental Services
Getting Around Arlington County
Street Naming System
Understanding the system for naming and numbering streets will make it much easier to find your way around Arlington County. Arlington Boulevard (Route 50)divides the north and south sections of the County, except for the few streets between Fort Myer Military Reservation and Arlington Boulevard, which are designated North even though they are south of Arlington Boulevard. North (N) and South (S) designations precede named streets and follow numbered streets. For example, North Lincoln Street and 31st Street South. Named streets generally run north-south and are alphabetized starting at the Potomac River. Progressing westward, this is the alphabetizing sequence:
- One-syllable names (Ball Street to Wayne Street)
- Two-syllable names (Adams to Woodrow)
- Three-syllable names (Abingdon to Yucatan)
- Four-syllable names (Arizona being the only street in this sequence)
Named streets with the designation "Road" (instead of "Street") usually follow early winding routes and are excluded from the alphabetized pattern. Numbered streets generally run east-west, parallel to Arlington Boulevard. When numbers are repeated, the designation sequence is: Street, Road, Place.
"Boulevard" and "Drive" generally are major diagonal thoroughfares with historic names. Boulevards usually run east-west and Drives run north-south and are so designated only when they appear on both sides of Arlington Boulevard.
~Remember~
Numbered and Named Streets
Are Not Through Streets
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South and West Sides Are Even-Numbered |
Download a pdf of the Arlington County Street System Guide brochure.
Street Maps
For more information, telephone Environmental Services at (703) 228-3629, or Email: DES@arlingtonva.us
Parking Meters
Arlington has more than 3,000 parking meters throughout the County for widely varying increments of time. They are easily spotted from the driver's seat by a color code. Click here for more information.
Wrong-Way Parking: It is illegal to park a vehicle facing the wrong way on any street in Arlington.
Bike lanes: It is illegal to park or drive in designated bike lanes. Be cautious when opening the doors of the car; look for oncoming bicycles.
Parking Ordinances
The law online.
You will have to work your way down to the Section:
Chapter 14.2 MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFICResidential Permit Parking Zones have been established in residential neighborhoods adjacent to major corridors or traffic generators. Red and white "Permit Parking" street signs indicate if a neighborhood is a residential permit area. Only neighborhood residents with County issued permits and their visitors may park on these streets during restricted parking hours; drivers without zone permit stickers (decals), a free FlexPass or a short-term visitor pass risk ticketing and towing.
As is true throughout the Washington metropolitan area, it is never a good idea to park unauthorized -- even after business hours -- in the parking lot of any business establishment or other private property, such as an apartment complex. If you don't have legitimate business in a parking lot, your automobile will probably be towed! The Police Department will tell you if your car has been towed by the County or by a private towing company. Police Dept. towing information
High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Restrictions
Like many major highways in the metropolitan Washington area, Interstate Route 66, a major highway through Arlington, is restricted to cars with two or more occupants during morning and evening rush hours, Monday through Friday. High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) restrictions apply to eastbound traffic in the morning (6:30-9 AM) and to westbound traffic in the afternoon (4-6:30 PM).
Interstate 395 also has HOV lanes that are restricted to vehicles with three or more occupants, or motorcyles (6 – 9 a.m.; 3:30 – 6 p.m., Monday – Friday).
These restrictions do not apply on federal holidays. Complete information on HOV restrictions is available on the Commuter Page or on the VDOT HOV web site.
Public TransportationOne of the main reasons Arlington is considered a fine place to live and work is that it has an exceptionally serviceable network of public transportation services. The Metro System, a regional transportation system administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), provides clean, comfortable, reliable transportation. Metro offers a combination bus and rapid rail system with extensive rush hour service and express routes, and connections to other transportation services in the region; see the Commuter Page. Use the Metro RideGuide to plan your MetroBus and MetroRail trips.
The Commuter Stores: Complete regional transportation services and information -- including Metro, commuter rail services for Northern Virginia and Maryland (VRE and MARC respectively), as well as other transit services are available on the Commuter Page.
In addition to schedules and route information, maps and user guides (including special guides for people with disabilities), the Commuter stores also sell all types of tickets and farecards for Metrobus, Metrorail, and for other local and regional public transportation systems. Complete information also is available on car and van pooling, and ridesharing programs.
Bicycling in ArlingtonArlington County maintains 36 miles of off-street multi-use trails for bicycling, walking, and jogging. Portions of these trails pass through beautiful natural areas of Arlington's park system, and connect to regional bike trails. In addition to these off-street trails, Arlington has 49 miles of marked, on-street bicycle routes, connecting the off-street trails with each other and with destinations throughout Arlington. Free bike trail maps can be downloaded and are available in paper form from the County by telephoning (703) 228-3633.
Ridesharing
Arlington, along with the greater Washington metropolitan area, leads the nation in promoting ridesharing. The Commuter Page has complete information.
Snow EmergenciesThe Arlington County Manager declares a state of traffic emergency when snow, sleet or freezing rain make streets hazardous. Arlington's emergency plan is part of the metropolitan area's regional snow emergency program. No parking is allowed on designated Snow Emergency Routes during a snow emergency. Vehicles driven on Snow Emergency Routes (which are designated by signs) must be equipped with snow tires, M/S radials, or chains. Violators who get stuck on a snow route during a snow emergency are subject to traffic summons and fines because abandoned vehicles on major streets impede snow control progress and emergency vehicles.
The County encourages people to use public transportation during snow emergencies. A snow control brochure about the County's snow control program includes a map of snow removal priority routes in Arlington, snow control and pothole telephone numbers, and safety reminders, such as clearing snow from your neighborhood fire hydrant and sidewalks within 24 hours after snow stops falling.