Comments At Arlington County Board Meeting, December 13, 2025.
Arlington County recently issued a press release touting awards received by the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) from the Virginia Parks and Recreation Society for promoting educational and recreational opportunities for underserved students. While the initiatives awarded are commendable, they have nothing to do with parks or greenspace.
Earlier this year Arlington County touted the fact that the Trust for Public Land (TPL) ranked its public parks among the nation’s top ten for the 10th consecutive year. This view contrasts sharply with what the County is actually putting into its vaunted parks. According to one county resident, Arlington never saw a greenspace it didn’t plan to pave over. According to another resident, Mosaic Park near the corner of Glebe Road and Quincy Street in Ballston is a misnomer, since Heat Island Park better describes its function. Indeed a tour of Heat Island Park reveals a strip of green space bordering impervious surfaces consisting of a rubberized playground and a concrete splashpad. Other county parks are so balkanized with recreational features there’s no natural setting left.
So how do the rating agencies get their assessment of Arlington parks so wrong? The problem with TPL is its scoring criteria, which includes: acreage, access, investment, amenities and equity.
The features mentioned in the TPL amenities category are: basketball hoops, playgrounds, rec and senior centers, sports fields, dog parks, bathrooms and splashpads. There is no rating for greenspace. The omission of this key park feature explains why DPR gets high marks from rating agencies, while providing an abundance of hardscape for its residents to enjoy.