The driver used an iPad to take a picture of the situation, returned to his truck and left, Galdes said. She suspected he likely had to report to his manager that he couldn’t service the facility.
The circumstances, though, weren’t a one-off, the community leader said. Drivers back large tractor trailers into the parking lot marked “truck exit.” They often struggle to work around cars parked on the street, and she said they sometimes hit those vehicles. The process takes a while, and could be dangerous for drivers who might not expect large trucks to be there.
Trucks don’t have a designated delivery area to go to, Galdes said, and sometimes block ambulances from being able to exit.
When it was built decades ago, Galdes said the rehab center was designed to be a quiet, nursing-home-type residential facility. But since then, she said, it’s evolved to handle more and more medical needs — which means more deliveries.
“Locally, in the neighborhood, we call it a small hospital,” she said Tuesday.
It sits at the end of a residential block, lined with single-family homes and cars parked on both sides of the street. The circumstances, Galdes said, are creating safety issues.
“We hope the best for the residents, but we’re not here to talk about the care that they’re given, whether it’s good, bad or indifferent,” said Cynthia Hilton, vice president of the Cherrydale Citizens Association. “We’re here to talk about the impacts of that facility on the community, which, given the responsibility of the county board to care for this property, is a disappointment, to say the least.”
WTOP has contacted the center for comment on the community concerns.
In a statement, an Arlington spokesman said the county takes the quality-of-life issues seriously, and has been working with the center and neighborhood to address complaints.
“The County remains committed to maintaining an ongoing partnership with the Cherrydale neighborhood,” the statement said.
But Hilton and Galdes said the response has been inadequate.
A county document said Arlington is responsible for property management, while the facility is responsible for handling the nursing home. And the facility is continuing to evolve, getting approval to offer inpatient dialysis services, Hilton said. The county board agreed this year to extend the facility’s lease for about 30 years.
The center “changed the facility in very categorical, basic ways, without consulting anybody, without redesigning the site, without mitigating any of those impacts. And now we’re here nearly 50 years later, with a very out-of-sync property that is disturbing the residential nature of this place,” Galdes said.
Beyond the consistent noise from the loud trucks, Galdes said tractor trailers drive up on the sidewalks within inches of cars. She said her car has even been hit.
They also block the road over what Galdes characterized as a “blind hill.”
“They really cannot fit,” Galdes said. “It’s dangerous to anyone on the sidewalk, but it’s also extremely loud, because they have ear-piercing backup beepers. And to have to 12-point turns that are going inch by inch, do you know how long that takes?”
The large trucks sit idle “spewing exhaust” that’s disturbing to pedestrians and residents who want to sit on their porches, Galdes said. Sometimes, cars park along yellow curbs designated as fire lanes.
The trash enclosure is also misused as a delivery zone, Galdes said. When she approaches code enforcement about the issues, Galdes said she’s often told the delivery drivers are exempted from code requirements.
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