Traffic

TRAFFIC ALERT: N. Glebe Road Closed at Lee Hwy for Gas Leak

By Chris Teale
1/5

Police have closed a section of N. Glebe Road where it intersects Lee Highway after road construction crews hit a gas line.

Crews accidentally hit the line near the Wells Fargo bank, leaving a distinct odor of gas in the surrounding area.

Officers have shut the northbound lanes of N. Glebe Road near the accident, while firefighters are on scene out of an abundance of caution.

Workers from Washington Gas are at the scene to fix the leak. The road construction continued as normal on other sections of N. Glebe Road.

Drivers should seek alternate routes and expect delays.

TRAFFIC ALERT: Downed Power Lines Close Patrick Henry Drive

By Chris Teale
1/4

Updated 11:30 a.m. — Police have reopened Patrick Henry Drive.

Earlier: Emergency crews have closed part of Patrick Henry Drive in the Dominion Hills neighborhood due to downed power lines.

Patrick Henry Drive is closed between 9th Street N. and 9th Road N. where the live wires fell into the road just after 9:30 a.m.

A police officer at the scene confirmed that a truck or similarly high vehicle pulled down the power lines, which are laying in the roadway.

Workers from Dominion Virginia Power are on the way to the scene, but they had not arrived as of 10 a.m. Drivers should seek alternate routes.

Woman Found Lying on GW Parkway

By Chris Teale

(Updated at 7 p.m.) A woman was found lying in the middle of the roadway along the George Washington Parkway Monday night.

First reports indicated the was woman lying in the northbound lanes near the Key Bridge. U.S. Park Police officers responded to the call, assisted by medics from the Arlington County Fire Department.

A fire department spokesman said Park Police made first contact with the woman.

When units arrived, the spokesman said, they found the woman able to speak but “with an altered level of consciousness and possibly wanting to commit suicide.” Medics transported her to Virginia Hospital Center for treatment.

U.S. Park Police has not provided additional details about the incident.

Expect Delays During Columbia Pike Construction

By Chris Teale

Expect additional traffic headaches through the fall on Columbia Pike, now that a project to relocate an underground gas main is underway there.

Crews with Washington Gas started the construction Monday between the Fairfax County line and Four Mile Run, ahead of several streetscape improvements the county has planned for the future.

At least one lane of Columbia Pike in each direction will remain open at all times during construction, and work could be possible on nights and weekends.

Washington Gas crews will store equipment and other materials at four locations along the Pike during construction. Although nearby properties still can be accessed, adjacent bus stops could be temporarily moved or closed.

This is the latest phase of a project approved in 2014 by the County Board that included new bike boulevards on 9th and 12th Streets S., as an alternative route to Columbia Pike, which runs parallel. Once the gas main work is complete, county workers will install wider sidewalks, new street lights, upgraded traffic signals, trees and bus shelters. A piece of public art will also be added at the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Jefferson Street.

TRAFFIC ALERT: Downed Power Line Closes N. Glebe Road

By Katie Pyzyk
1/2

Update at 8:40 p.m. — Glebe Road remains closed in both directions. Multiple Dominion units continue to repair the downed wires. Police officers at the scene couldn’t say how much longer the road will be closed, but they guessed it could easily be another hour.

Earlier: Emergency crews have closed part of N. Glebe Road north of Marymount University due to a downed power wire.

Police and fire crews are on the scene and have shut down N. Glebe Road between Williamsburg Blvd and Dittmar Road.

Emergency crews are waiting for Dominion Virginia Power to repair the line.

A police spokesperson says responders are investigating a leaning tree at the scene. There’s no word yet on whether the tree may have caused the power lines to topple.

Crash Closes Arlington Blvd During Friday Rush Hour

By Chris Teale
1/7

Police closed part of westbound Arlington Blvd during the Friday morning rush hour after a collision between two cars in Arlington Forest.

Officers shut Route 50 from just before N. Henderson Road to the intersection with N. Park Drive at around 8:30 a.m. Drivers heading west on Arlington Blvd. were diverted around the crash scene.

A police officer at the scene said it appeared that the driver of a gray Acura tried to turn left from the westbound lanes collided with a white Honda heading in the other direction. Neither driver appeared to sustain injuries, and the Acura was able to drive from the crash to a tow truck.

Firefighters and medics spread sand on the street to soak up any spilled fluids from the cars.

Both cars were removed from the accident scene at around 8:50 a.m. The eastbound lanes remained open, with traffic passing through as normal.

Washington Blvd Closed After Postal Truck Hits Pole in Va. Square

By Chris Teale

Police closed a section of Washington Blvd in Virginia Square this morning after a U.S. Postal Service truck struck a utility pole.

Officers shut down the 3400 block of Washington Blvd between N. Kirkwood and N. Lincoln streets just after 11 a.m. Thursday.

The driver of the truck told police she turned left from N. Kirkwood Street onto Washington Blvd, but in the heavy rain and slippery conditions lost control of the vehicle and hit the pole.

No injuries were reported, there was reportedly no other traffic nearby and businesses nearby did not appear to lose power.

Crews from Dominion Virginia Power were on the scene to repair the pole and the power lines attached to it.

Report Recommends Less Residential Parking Near Metro Stations

By Chris Teale
From a preliminary site plan document

New apartment and condo buildings close to Metro stations in Arlington could have fewer parking spaces, and more spaces for bikes and car-sharing services, under a recommendation by a county working group.

The county’s residential parking work group made a series of recommendations on future parking for new buildings and released its final report this week.

The group is made up of residents and other stakeholders, and came together in 2016 to work on a policy to guide county staff on required parking for new apartment and condo buildings.

Staff is now asking for feedback on those recommendations in an online survey, which is open through April 18.

The group’s first recommendation was to reduce the number of spaces available depending on how close a new building is to a Metro station. According to the final report, members were split evenly on how low that parking ratio of units to spaces should be.

One proposal would have 0.4 parking spaces per unit for a building less than one-eighth of a mile from a Metro station, and up to 0.8 parking spaces per unit for a building less than a mile away. The other would have even fewer spaces per unit.

The working group also recommended that if developers provide parking spaces for bicycles and car-sharing, they should be permitted to reduce vehicle parking spaces. The group said that providing 10 bicycle parking spaces should allow two fewer vehicle spots, while adding a Capital Bikeshare station and paying for its upkeep should mean up to four fewer spaces.

Meanwhile, every space for car-sharing services like Zipcar or Enterprise CarShare guaranteed for at least three years should mean up to five fewer parking spots, the report said.

Committed affordable housing units would also see lower parking ratios if close to Metro, due to what the report said is lower demand for parking spaces.

Units priced at 40 percent of area median income would not be required to provide any parking spaces, while affordable homes at 60 percent AMI would be required to provide 0.7 spaces per unit.

Other recommendations include a one-time payment by developers for “excess” parking, expanding shared parking on-site, and permitting developers to provide 100 percent of parking off-site, provided it is no further than 800 feet from the building and is secured for at least 10 years.

File photo

DEVELOPING: Car Flips After Crash on George Washington Memorial Parkway

By Chris Teale
File photo

A car flipped over after a crash on the southbound George Washington Memorial Parkway on Friday afternoon.

According to scanner traffic, the crash occurred just south of the Spout Run Parkway exit at around 3 p.m. A woman was reportedly ejected from a car by the impact. She was transported to the hospital at around 3:40 p.m. in a critical condition, per scanner traffic.

Arlington police and fire units responded to the area with U.S. Park Police, which stopped southbound traffic on the George Washington Parkway from Route 123 and the southbound ramp from the Spout Run Parkway.

At 3:50 p.m., Park Police said on Twitter that northbound lanes on the GW Parkway may also need to be closed temporarily.

Arlington police recommended travelers find an alternate route.

ABC7 reporter Kimberly Suiters reported seeing good samaritans trying to rescue the driver of the car that flipped.

Traffic Lights Out on Route 50 After Tree Falls on Power Lines

By ARLnow.com

A tree that fell near Route 50 and George Mason Drive has knocked out power and traffic lights in the area.

The tree toppled over onto power lines and a transformer before noon today during heavy rainfall, according to scanner traffic.

Traffic signals were reported to be dark at the intersections of Route 50 and George Mason Drive, and Route 50 and Fillmore Street. Police have set up cones at the intersections to direct traffic.

Dominion’s power outage map reports 171 customers without power in the area.

Car Flips After Collision Near Williamsburg Middle School

By Chris Teale
1/6

A car flipped over after a collision near Williamsburg Middle School on Wednesday afternoon.

The crash occurred at the intersection of Williamsburg Boulevard and N. Harrison Street around 4 p.m.

A police officer at the scene said the driver of a Toyota Prius misjudged the speed of oncoming traffic while trying to turn left on a green signal. The car then collided with an oncoming black Toyota, which spun and flipped.

The white Prius sustained major damage to its front and had several pieces ripped off by the impact, but the driver was able to drive it to the side of the road under direction from police officers on the scene.

The officer said that there were minor injuries to the drivers. Police set up traffic cones around the scene and temporarily stopped traffic. The stoppage lasted for a short period, then cars were able to proceed slowly around the crash site.

A nearby resident who declined to be identified said he heard a loud bang, then saw the black car skid for approximately 15 or 20 yards before flipping over.

The crash took place while some students were leaving the school, and the resident said Williamsburg crossing guards were immediately on the scene to keep the children safe, including one from outside the school.

“If I want anyone on my team, I’d want that crossing guard,” the resident said.

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