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Case StudyArlington County,Virginia

Key Facts

Total Population: 227,146

Incorporated Area: 26 Square Miles

Population Density: 8,309 per Sq Mile

Form of Government: "Council-Manager"

DC Metro Area Population: 5,860,342

DC Metro Area Density: 963 per Sq Mile

Finding the Language to DiscussLand Use and Transportation Policy

County Board Member

Chris Zimmerman

Elected: 1996, 1998, 2002,

2010

Key Projects: "Urban Villag

Forums," series of publicengagement seminars; "Wal

Arlington," outreach progra

Philosophy: "I'm a neighbor

activist at heart. I believe

government should be

representative and responsiv

takes lots of hard work on b

sides to elevate public enga

to the level at which we are

designing communities that

well for all of us."

PO Box 10581Portland, OR

(503) 757-8342 americawalks.org@americawalks

In the late 1990s, Arlington County, VA Board Member Chris Zimmerman

became aware of inconsistencies in the County's approach to planning and

development. "I realized there was an inherent conict between our land-

use plan based on transit-oriented development, and our outdated streetpolicies which were following suburban-rural standards," he said, "But the

big challenge was to articulate this conict in a way that enabled community

members to get involved in the conversation and express their opinions."

Then, one day, Zimmerman was studying an Institute of Trafc Engineers

journal, when he came across the relatively new (in the United States)

concept of trafc calming. "When I saw the words, trafc calming, I knew

this had to be introduced into the vocabulary of our discussion," he recalls.

Soon thereafter, Arlington formed a "Task Force on Trafc Calming," and

launched a vigorous public debate that was open to everyone.

While the County's "old-school" engineers contended that streets should be

designed to move trafc from A to B as quickly as possible, the majority of citizens

testifying before the Task Force wanted complete sidewalks, slower trafc, and

safer neighborhoods for themselves and their children. The result was that the

street design standards were updated.

Board Member Made Planning, Policy Debate Accessible

to Citizens and Advanced Walkable Urbanism

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PO Box 10581

Portland, OR(503) 757-8342 americawalks.org @americawalks

Case StudyArlington County, Virginia

in Arlington was a safe and enjoyable experience led him to volunteer for the Parks and Planning

Commissions, and then to run for election to the County Board.

Chris Zimmerman served on the Arlington County Board for 18 years, including four terms as Chair.

During that time, Arlington - located across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. - became

a celebrated example of a walkable, transit-oriented urban place, and Zimmerman was involved

in several of the specic initiatives. For example, he led efforts to start a safe routes to school

program, adopt a "complete streets" policy, eliminate "free right turns" (where vehicles cruise around

a shallow curve at high speed), and develop the Walk Arlington community outreach program. Healso ended the long-standing practice of property owners paying for sidewalks to be installed in front

of their homes, saying, "Homeowners are not expected to pay for the street in front of their house;

why should they be responsible for the pedestrian infrastructure?"

A theme of Zimmerman's public service was the

time and trouble he took to discuss policy issues

with his constituents. "I think government should be

representative and responsive. It takes lots of hard

work on both sides to elevate public engagement

to the level at which we are really designingcommunities that work well for all of us."

In January, 2014, Chris Zimmerman stepped down

from the Arlington County Board to accept the

position of Vice President for Economic Development

with Smart Growth America, and bring his efforts

for greater walkability to communities around the

country .

Chris Zimmerman developed his thinking

about how public places should be designed byexamining his own instinctive likes and dislikes.

"For family vacations, I had always been drawn

to walkable places," he said, "Over time, I

came to realize this was true for the majority my

neighbors, as well."

As a result, he became involved in grass-roots

efforts to address the problems of speeding,

cut-through trafc, and inadequate sidewalks in

neighborhoods. His interest in ensuring walking