Welcome to the Donaldson Run Civic Association web page! This site was created to provide information about DRCA to our neighbors.

Newsletter: The Current is published 4-5 times a year by Donaldson Run Civic Association (DRCA) volunteers and is distributed free of charge to all households within the DRCA boundaries. The membership of DRCA supports a newsletter as the best way to keep our neighbors informed of the many local and regional issues that concern us. Membership dues and contributions cover the cost of printing and mailing. Current members receive the newsletter via First Class (1-2 day delivery) and the rest are sent out Bulk Rate (5-10 day delivery).

DRCA Dues: Dues are due! Not a current member? Join now for 2012 ($15 per household per year). A dues application can be found in each issue of The Current. Click here for a membership application.

Email List: If you would like to be placed our our email list for periodic announcements concerning the neighborhood, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Our old site can be seen here.

I have been thinking about connections recently, and the role that I think DRCA plays in making connections.  These links are from local government to residents and also from one neighbor to another who may share a common interest or concern.  All of these connections help develop a sense of community which I think is, at times, lacking in the metro area. One new way that DRCA wants to increase communication is by establishing an online community bulletin board, also known as an interactive listserve.  This would give neighbors the opportunity to directly share information about events or topics of interest to others in the neighborhood.  After discussion at our last DRCA meeting , this seemed to be something that people would like to see. 

As a volunteer organization, I view my role to facilitate connections that need to be made to resolve an issue.  For example, if someone tells me that they are concerned about the speed of traffic on their street, I will provide that person with the information they need to have the county come and evaluate empirically whether or not there is, in fact, a speeding issue on their street.  There are times when a member of the board needs to get directly involved in working with the county or other institution, and we do that when needed.  But in order to maximize our resources, my preference is to empower people to work the issue that is of importance to them. 

We have a full agenda for our April 18 meeting.  County staff will be coming to update us on the stream restoration project for Tributatry B, and our state legislators will report on the recent legislative session in Richmond  We will be also be holding  DRCA elections .  As specified by our bylaws, the slate of officers is published in this newsletter.  There are other ways of helping the work of DRCA without being an office holder.  We could use help with bringing refreshments to a meeting or welcoming new people who move into the neighborhood.  We periodically have work days in the park or at our neighborhood sign that allow people the opportunity to spend a couple o hours imporving the environment.   If you have any interest in helping out in an unofficial capacity whether it is one Ive mentioned or a new idea that you have, please let me know.  It would be a great way to make even more connections.

Anne Wilson

March 2012

President's Message-January 2012

Anne Wilson

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A belated Happy New Year to everyone!  I would like to start by thanking all of those who have donated their time and energy to DRCA during the last year. This includes my fellow board members, Mike Green, Maxine Nagel, Larry Finch, Greg Gromada, Kathy Richardson, and Mary Heston Cooper. I also want to thank Bill Richardson who helped with the logistics of candidates’ night last October as well as the ladies who tend to the plants at the neighborhood sign on Military Road.  Thanks also to Jack Dunlap, who has very ably been representing DRCA on the County’s Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee.  And for those of you that I may have left out, please know that I appreciate your efforts to enhance the neighborhood and our sense of community.

DRCA will hold our biennial elections this spring.  Since we are currently functioning with only 2/3 of our full complement of officers, I am hoping that our elections will bring some new leaders into the organization that have creative ideas and fresh energy to move DRCA forward.  It is important that DRCA continues to be an active and vibrant civic association.  Arlington County uses its civic associations for input as issues arise, and DRCA works continually with the County on issues that are of importance to all parts of our neighborhood.  In addition to monitoring and communicating items of interest to the neighborhood, through the County’s Neighborhood Conservation Program, we have been awarded funding for improvement projects such as curb, gutter, street light, and park enhancements.  If it was not for the advocacy of Donaldson Run and other nearby civic associations, Marymount’s 26^th St development would likely have had more adverse effects  on the neighborhood in terms of traffic, building height and set back of the buildings.  DRCA insisted that a pedestrian bridge be part of the development, and the County Board heard us when we complained that a 7 story dormitory was too tall for its setting adjacent to a residential community. At our civic association meeting last November, quite a few of the attendees complained about the traffic backups that had started to occur on Lorcom Lane as a result of the new lane striping that had been painted the weekend before.  The County Manager and  Dennis Leach, Arlington’s Director of Transportation, heard these complaints first hand and changes were made to the street shortly after the meeting. These examples demonstrate the importance of having an active, engaged civic association.  If you have the time and interest to join us in this effort, please let us know.

I hope that you will celebrate Leap Year with us at our next civic association meeting on February 29.  We will be having a presentation about homelessness in Arlington which should be very interesting and should help us all appreciate the benefits that we have.  After the presentation, I would like to start a discussion with everyone who attends about how DRCA can become more relevant to more of our constituency, especially to the younger members of our neighborhood.  So please give this topic some thought, and I look forward to seeing you all at the meeting.

President's Message

One of the primary jobs of a civic association is to communicate to its members what is going on in the neighborhood that folks have no other way of knowing because they are not significant enough to be covered by the local press.  So what is going on in Donaldson Run right now?

Well, it is really kind of a quiet time.  Unlike some other growing areas in the county, currently there are no active development issues-at least that I am aware of.  Of course, that could change at any time.  Donaldson Run does have 2 neighborhood conservation projects pending.  One is the restoration of Tributary B of the Donaldson Run stream which has been approved and is funded. Work on the project should start in 2012.  Another proposal that is in line for county review and possible funding is for pedestrian improvements at the intersection of Vacation Lane and Utah Street.  It will likely take years, how many I am not sure, for that project to garner enough points to elevate it to actual planning and construction.  But I have learned that with a lot of patience, and a long term perspective, significant improvements, such as the traffic light at Old Dominion and 26^th St, are possible.  So if there is a project that you and your neighbors think would enhance your area of the neighborhood, let us know.  If there is sufficient community support we will work with you to see what can be done.  I want to caution, however, that DRCA is run by a handful of volunteers whose ranks are thinning.  Without new folks joining our leadership team, our ability to respond in a timely way, is diminished.  So once again, if you have a bit of time (I know that is the biggest challenge) and the interest, I’d love to talk with you about a future in DRCA. 

By the way, we had a great turnout for our September meeting. We saw lots of historic photos of Arlington.  Who knew that each link of the original Chain Bridge was 4’ long?  Our next meeting promises to be as interesting in a different way.   Ms. Barbara Donnellan, Arlington’s County Manager, has agreed to be the speaker at our meeting on November 9.  So bring your questions, concerns, and ideas with you to our next meeting.  After that civic association meeting, we will likely take a break for the holidays and snow season.  During our break, to get the latest news about what is going on, be sure to get on the DRCA email list by sending an email to me ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Anne Wilson, October 22, 2011