A Community Vision for Lee Highway

Published on May 25, 2016

A seven-month grassroots effort to re-imagine Lee Highway has produced the Lee Highway Visioning Study, a compilation of ideas from the community that provide a framework for more formal County plans and studies to come. The study represents the best of the community's ideas for the future of this important east-west corridor.

Key elements of the vision to help Lee Highway become a more walkable, urban main street include a string of neighborhood activity centers between Rosslyn and East Falls Church, new transportation options, better public spaces and more.

The visioning process arose from a grassroots effort sparked by community leaders in north Arlington. It grew into a unique, joint effort between the County and the Lee Highway Alliance (LHA) to achieve a vision that balanced a broad range of perspectives. The alliance is a coalition of 18 civic association leaders who have actively engaged communities along Lee Highway since 2012 to develop the community-based vision and identify actions and strategies to achieve it.

In November 2015, hundreds of community members participated in a hands-on design workshop led by award-winning design team Dover, Kohl and Associates. Outcomes from the community charrette, along with public reviews, informed the content of the final vision that the LHA presented to the County Board on May 17.

The visioning document is not an adopted plan. At the County Board's direction, staff is scoping a planning project for the corridor, and a formal County-led planning process is expected to kick off in early 2017. The process will include extensive community engagement.