For Immediate Release: May 16, 2014

Alexandria Park and Recreation Commission Seeks Nominations for the 2014 CIVIC Awards

The Alexandria Park and Recreation Commission is seeking nominations for the 2014 CIVIC Awards. The annual awards program recognizes the unsung volunteer efforts of Alexandrians who are involved in their communities and who have provided a valuable service to Alexandria in meeting recreation, park, or cultural needs. Nominations must be received by Thursday, June 12.

Individuals can nominate an Alexandria resident, group, club, organization, or corporate neighbor. Nominees for the award should be volunteers who have contributed their time, talent, or resources in an exemplary fashion and who reside or are located in the City. The volunteer contribution can involve activities such as removing invasive plants, coaching youth, or providing program support at City nature and recreation centers. Youth nominations are encouraged.

The CIVIC Awards are presented at the City’s Annual USA/Alexandria Birthday Celebration on July 12 at Oronoco Bay Park, 100 Madison St. A nomination package is available online at www.alexandriava.gov/Recreation, or by calling 703.746.4343.

Mail nominations to Park and Recreation Commission, c/o William Chesley, Deputy Director, 1108 Jefferson St., Alexandria, VA 22314. Nominations may also be faxed to703.684.6826, or submitted online at http://www3.alexandriava.gov/forms/recreation/civicawards.

For more information on the 2014 CIVIC Awards, call William Chesley, Deputy Director, at703.746.4343 or e-mail william.chesley@alexandriava.gov.

The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the City’s Human Rights Code and the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation, or to request materials in an alternative format, call William Chesley, Deputy Director, of the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities at 703.746.4343 (Virginia Relay 711).

Parks and Playgrounds

Here are some of our favorite parks and playgrounds in Alexandria

Of course the new playground near Potomac Yards is the most recent favorite - we just can't get enough of it.


But here are some others ----

Ft. Ward - great for running around, riding bikes around the loop, looking at the azaleas, picnicking and the small playground.

Beach Park near Maury Elem. School - great for cloudy days - it gets a lot of direct sun.  Great field for playing soccer or catch.

The Pit, on N. Overlook in Beverley Hills.

Ben Brenman Park in Cameron Station is wonderful for strolling and watching the turtles.

The playground at Polk Elementary School is pretty cool - lots to do for every age.

MacArthur Elementary School has some great equipment - different climbing stuff for different stages and ages.

Windmill Park in Old Town is great but can sometimes get a little too crowded.  We like to run through the old tunnel.

Blue Park in Rosemont has a lot to do and you can see some trains go by.

Simpson playground is a nice little park with gardens close by and baseball to watch.

We LOVE taking a hike or stroll through the Dora Kelly Nature park and the Winkler Botanical Preserve, both are located off Beauregard St.  You never know what you will see and hear.  Bull frogs, birds, bees, deer, ducks, and more. There are streams to play in, rocks to collect, and just all kinds of nature to take in.

Jones Point is another favorite place to bike to, watch boats and planes, and just have fun!



Hope you find some great parks and playgrounds and get out and play this Spring!

2013 Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Needs Assessment Findings Are In!

The City of Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities conducted a citywide Needs Assessment survey during Summer/Fall 2013. The purpose of the survey was to establish priorities for the future development of Alexandria’s parks, recreation, cultural facilities, programs and services based on identified community needs. The City of Alexandria, with a consultant, Leisure Vision, designed and administered the survey to obtain statistically valid results from households and to benchmark findings against the 2011 Needs Assessment results.

The Department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities conducts a short-version survey (2013) every other year and a long-version survey (2011) every five years in order to assess change in residents' needs over time and strategically plan the future park and recreation system.

Significant Findings include:

• Visitation of Parks. Eighty-two percent (82%) of respondents visited the City of Alexandria Parks within the past 12 months. This is higher than the national benchmark of seventy-eight percent (78%). Of those, eighty-two percent (82%) of respondents who visited the parks, twenty-three percent (23%) of respondents rated the parks as being in “excellent” condition. Other condition ratings include: Sixty-one percent (61%) “good,” fifteen percent (15%) “fair,” and only one percent (1%) rated the condition of the parks as “poor.”
• Participation in Recreation or Cultural Programs or Special Events. Forty-eight percent (48%) of respondents said that they have participated in the City of Alexandria programs or activities within the past 12 months, which reflects a 2% increase since the 2011 needs assessment. City of Alexandria respondent participation in programs at forty-eight percent (48%) is significantly higher (by a margin of 18%) than that of the national average at thirty percent (30%).
• Need for Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Facilities. Eighty-one percent (81%) of respondents (representing 54,874 households) have a need for “walking trails.” Other similar needs include: Natural areas and wildlife habitats (67% representing 45,887 households), biking trails (53% representing 36,015 households) and indoor exercise and fitness facilities (52%; representing 35,062 households). Based on the sum of respondents with a need for facilities, sixty-seven percent (67%) of respondents with a need for “walking trails” has a rate of 75% or more of their needs being met. Respondents whose needs for facilities are being met 50% or less include: natural areas (representing 21,200 households), indoor exercise and fitness facilities (representing 21,143 households) and indoor swimming pools (representing 19,286 households).
• Need for Recreation and Cultural Programs. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of respondents (representing 52,083 households) state they have a need for Farmer’s Market programs. Other household needs include: Cultural special events, i.e. concerts, movies (59% representing 39,964 households), adult fitness and wellness programs (44% representing 29,820 households) and outdoor public art (42% representing 28,594 households). Respondents’ unmet needs for programs only being met around 50% or less include: Adult fitness and wellness programs (representing 20,188 households), adult continuing education programs (representing 18,991 households), outdoor public art (representing 18,186 households), cultural special events (representing 17,904 households) and natural programs and environmental education (representing 17,336 households).
• Actions Household are Most Willing to Support with Tax Dollars. Based on the sum of respondents’ top four choices, forty-eight percent (48%) of respondents said that they would be most willing to fund the improvement of trails that connect parks, which is the highest response of all choices. Other actions respondents are willing to fund with their tax dollars include: purchase land to preserve natural areas (41%), develop new trails that connect parks (40%) and improve existing passive use neighborhood parks (31%).

Visit www.alexandriava/recreation to view the full results.

The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the City’s Human Rights Code and the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation or to request materials in an alternative format, contact Dana Wedeles at 703.746.5590(Virginia Relay 711) or e-mail dana.wedeles@alexandriava.gov.

Rock Your Park

FROM THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA: 

“Rock Your Park” – Winter 2011 / 2012 Community Open Play at Ben Brenman Park Synthetic Turf Field

The City of Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities is celebrating “Rock Your Park” by offering free Community Open Play Days and Nights throughout this winter at the Ben Brenman Park synthetic turf field. 

Beginning December 6, 2011 through February 12, 2012, families, friends and neighbors of all ages are encouraged to visit our fields to exercise, play soccer, lacrosse, touch football, rugby, frisbee and much more. Staff monitored activities will be available as follows:

• Ben Brenman Park Field, 4800 Brenman Park Dr.
  Tuesday & Thursday from  6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
  Saturday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
  Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Guidelines to consider as you go to “Rock Your Park”:

• Show courtesy to all other field users. 
• No permits or registration will be required and use will be on a first come, first served basis. 
• No uniformed teams or structured games allowed.
• Participants must provide their own equipment /balls.
• Tennis shoes or turf shoes only.
• Pick-up game time limits enforced.
• No pets, smoking, alcohol, or music allowed at the fields.
• Youth must be accompanied by a parent or adult chaperone.
• HAVE FUN!!!!

We look forward to seeing you in our parks and at our fields.  For additional information, call Mac Slover at 703.746.5402 or e-mail at mac.slover@alexandriava.gov.

The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the City’s Human Rights Code and the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation or to request materials in an alternative format, call Mac Slover with the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities at 703.746.5407 (TTY 703.838.4902) or e-mailmac.slover@alexandriava.gov.

Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Needs Assessment Findings Are In!

FROM THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA: 

2011 Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Needs Assessment Findings Are In!

The Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities conducted a Parks and Recreation Needs Assessment Survey during May and June of 2011. The purpose of the survey was to establish priorities for the future development of parks, recreation, cultural facilities, programs and services within your community. The survey was administered by a consultant, Leisure Vision, through a combination of mail and phone and was designed to obtain statistically valid results from households throughout the City of Alexandria. Leisure Vision worked extensively with the City of Alexandria officials in the development of the survey questionnaire. This work allowed the survey to be tailored to issues of strategic importance to effectively plan the future system.

Major findings include:

•                Visitation of Parks. Eighty-five percent (85%) of households indicated that they have visited any of the City of Alexandria parks during the past year. This is considerably higher than the national benchmark of seventy-two percent (72%). Of the 85% of households that have visited a park, 86% rated the physical condition of all the city parks visited as either “excellent” (23 %) or “good” (63%). The remaining households rated the parks as follows: “fair” (13%) and “poor” (1%).

•                Participation in Recreation or Cultural Programs or Special Events. Forty-six percent (46%) of respondent households indicated that they had participated in any recreation or cultural programs or special events offered by the City of Alexandria during the past 12 months. This is considerably higher than the national benchmark of thirty percent (30%). Of the 46% of respondent households that indicated that they have participated in any recreation or cultural programs or special events, 90% indicated that they would rate the overall quality of the recreation or cultural programs or special events their household has participated in as either “excellent” (30%) or “good” (60%). Of the remaining respondent households, 9% rated them as “fair” and only 1% rated them as “poor”.

•                Need for Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Amenities. There are five parks, recreation, and cultural amenities that over 55% of households have a need for: walking trails (84%), natural areas and wildlife habitats (67%), biking trails (62%), picnic shelters/areas (57%), and indoor exercise and fitness facilities (55%).

•                Most Important Parks, Recreation and Cultural Amenities. Based on the sum of their top four choices, the parks, recreation, and cultural amenities that households rated as the most important are: walking trails (57%), biking trails (34%), and natural areas and wildlife habitats (30%). Playgrounds were the top priority for households with children under 10; walking and biking trail were the top priority for households with children 10-19 (soccer/lacrosse fields were a close 2nd priority); walking and biking trails were the top priority for empty nester households.

•                Need for Recreation and Cultural Programs. The recreation and cultural programs that the highest percentage of households have a need for include: farmers’ markets (84%) and cultural special events (61%).

•                Most Important Recreation and Cultural Programs. Based on the sum of their top four choices, the recreation and cultural programs that households rated as the most important include: farmers’ market (59%) and cultural special events (37%). Learn to swim programs were the top priority for households with children under 10; youth athletic programs were the top priority in households with children 10-19; farmer’s markets were the top priority in empty nester households.

For additional information, and to view the final report, visit www.alexandriava.gov/recreation.