9th St South, Penrose

Ninth St South runs just north of Columbia Pike. As such, it is close to one of the next parts of Arlington County to pop. There are two major construction sites within shouting distance of where I live and another even bigger development set to break ground any moment now. These developments will add a lot of new folks to the neighborhood as well as some new retail and entertainment options. The replacement of the neighborhood Giant with a newer facility and all the rest that will come with the new Penrose Square should make a big difference. For right now, 9th St is certainly quiet and without any of the problems of either too much development (Clarendon - no parking) or too much decay - crime, etc.

In this part of town, 9th Street runs from Wayne St to the east to beyond Glebe Rd to the west. Along the way, one passes by a bank and office building, the back side of the Giant, through the large Fillmore Garden apartment complex, past the Arlington County Career Center facility on Walter Reed Drive and again into a residential area dominated by duplex units. There is a little pocket park at the corner of 9th and Ivy - Arlington Heights Park, I believe it is called.

There is never a lot of traffic on 9th St. Some of the cross streets, however, can be quite busy, especially during rush hour. Walter Reed backs up from Columbia Pike past 9th St on occasion, especially in the afternoon. Glebe Rd is often busy and consequently a left turn off 9th onto Glebe is not recommended. Continuing straight is also not easy. Metro bus lines run along Walter Reed up to the Ballston Metro station and down into Alexandria. Several buses run along Columbia Pike to provide east-west access and these are used heavily by commuters into DC in the morning.