ART bus

Central Library to Host ‘Truck Petting Zoo’

By ARLnow.com

Is your kid fascinated by trucks? Does he or she love seeing big machinery up close? Does the photo (left) of a Washington Gas truck provoke feelings of awe and wonder?

If so, indulge the kid’s obsession at Arlington Central Library’s “truck petting zoo.”

From 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, various types of work vehicles will be on display at the library’s (1015 N. Quincy Street) east parking lot, near the tennis courts. Kids of all ages are invited to touch and explore the vehicles up close.

According to the Arlington Transit Blog, the trucks scheduled to be on display include:

  • ACFD fire engine, ladder truck and ambulance
  • ACPD motorcycle and police cruiser
  • Street sweeper, garbage truck and dump truck from the Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services
  • Concrete mixer from Vulcan Materials
  • Gas operations vehicle from Washington Gas
  • Arlington Transit ART bus

Second ART Bus Crash

By ARLnow.com

Friday was not a great day for Arlington Transit buses. As multiple people told us via Twitter and email, an ART bus was involved in a second accident on Glebe Road, just minutes after another ART-involved accident was cleared three blocks away.

The first accident occurred around 11:30 a.m. at Glebe Road and 4th Street N. A minivan rear-ended a bus stopped at a bus stop, sending two people to the hospital.

The second accident happened three blocks away on Glebe Road and 7th Street N., according to Arlington Transit Services Manager Steve Yaffe.

The ART bus was driving slowly behind a trash truck in the right-hand lane when a box truck belonging to an electrical contractor rear-ended the bus, Yaffe said.

Approximately 10 people were on board the bus, but no one — including the truck driver — was reported to be injured.

There was “some damage to the left side of the rear of the bus, including some broken signal lights,” Yaffe said.

Accident Involving ART Bus Near Ballston

By ARLnow.com

Update at 3:00 p.m. — The driver of the van has been charged with reckless driving, according to Arlington County police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal. A passenger from the bus and the van driver were both taken to the hospital after the accident, Nosal said.

A minivan slammed into the back of an Arlington Transit (ART) bus at the intersection of N. Glebe Road and 4th Street, near Ballston, just after 11:30 this morning.

The accident happened while the bus was stopped at a bus stop, with at least a dozen passengers on board. The driver of the van has been taken to the hospital, but is expected to be okay. Several bus passengers were evaluated by paramedics on the scene for minor injuries.

Northbound Glebe Road was completely blocked at 3rd Street for more than 45 minutes, but has since reopened. The bus suffered only minor damage and was driven away.

Big Crowd for ‘Bus Riding 101’

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Transit officials say their Bus Riding 101 event last Friday night was a smashing success.

A Metro representative taught novice bus riders how to read a bus schedule, find the best route and pay bus fare. The workshop also discussed the benefits of using a SmarTrip card.

According to the Arlington Transit web site, 129 people attended the event, which was held at the Gates of Ballston community center. Attendees later visited a nearby CVS to learn how to add money to their SmarTrip cards.

ART Bus Schedule Changes

By ARLnow.com

Some changes are coming to the ART 41 and 87 bus routes.

Starting on Monday, April 4, the ART 41 will start running on a new weekday schedule. Buses will now run every 15 minutes during the morning and evening rush hours. Additionally, bus service will start earlier in the morning and end later at night.

Also on Monday, three new rush hour bus trips will be added to the ART 87 route. Three additional buses will leave the Pentagon Metro at 4:35, 5:15 and 5:55 p.m. Those buses will make all the normal outbound stops.

See the new schedule (in PDF format) for: ART 41 and ART 87.

Accident Involving an ART Bus On Washington Boulevard

By ARLnow.com

Update at 2:30 p.m. — This story has been corrected. A previous version of the story stated that the ART bus accident happened at Route 1 and 23rd Street and involved one minor injury. In fact, the Route 1 accident did not involve the bus. The bus accident happened as described below.

An ART bus was involved in an accident near Ft. Myer just before 10:30 this morning.

The accident, between the bus and another vehicle, happened on the tricky merge from South Courthouse Road to Washington Boulevard.

No injuries were reported at the time.

Last Week for Paper Bus Passes on ART

By ARLnow.com

Starting Saturday, paper weekly bus passes will no longer be accepted on ART and all other regional bus systems. Instead, riders will now only be able to use their SmarTrip card as their seven-day bus pass.

The SmarTrip weekly bus pass will cost $15, the same as the paper passes.

Riders will now be able to use their pass during whichever seven-day period they choose. The SmarTrip card will support the purchase of up to two weekly passes at a time.

SmarTrip cards are available for purchase at Metro sales offices. The county’s Mobile Commuter Store will be selling SmarTrip cards near the corner of Columbia Pike and George Mason Drive this coming Saturday, from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

See more information about the change here.

Utility Work Prolonged on Columbia Pike, Rough Ride Remains

By ARLnow.com

Utility relocation work along Columbia Pike in the Barcroft area has been delayed after workers discovered conflicts with pre-existing underground utilities.

As a result, the project — which started last summer and was originally slated to take 15 months — has been prolonged by an estimated three months. Planners will now have to redesign the relocation process. Work is not expected to resume until “late spring,” according to a letter from the county to local residents and organizations.

The delay will also affect the Metro and ART bus stops that were closed and relocated as a result of the project.

Separately, the county announced that it’s working to repair the torn-up and uneven stretch of the Pike between Four Mile Run Drive and South Wakefield Street. However, cold temperatures are expected to keep the necessary asphalt work from being completed until mid-February.

Residents have been complaining about the potholes and sinkholes and other car-rattling pockmarks in the roadway.

“Right now the road is in a very bad state,” said Takis Karantonis, director of the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization. “Folks have complained often to us.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Petition Workers Indicted for Voter Fraud — Two individuals who worked on the unsuccessful effort to change Arlington’s form of government have been indicted for election fraud. William Cockerham and Cheryl Simmons are expected to have their trial dates set this morning. Earlier this year we exposed Simmons as a paroled felon, ineligible to collect the 2,214  petition signatures she claimed to have collected. More from the Washington Post.

ART Bus Lives Up to Its Name — Arlington’s transit agency has deemed its “Art on the ART Bus” experiment a success. The program placed artwork on an ART bus in connection with a new exhibit at the Arlington Arts Center. The arty bus launched on Dec. 11 and will continue rotating throughout the ART system for the next couple of months. More from the Arlington Transit Blog.

Court Appearance for Facebook Bomb Threats Suspect — The Arlington man who threatened via Facebook to place bombs in Georgetown and on Metro trains has been denied bail. Awais Younis, who lives in the Arlington View neighborhood, appeared in U.S. District Court yesterday. A judge ordered the 25-year-old held without bond, saying his arrest provides additional incentive for Younis to carry out his threats. More from WTOP.

Flickr pool photo by Plaszloc

County Government Holiday Closures

By ARLnow.com

With the exception of limited ART bus service, virtually every county government office you can think of will be closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day, both of which fall on a Saturday this year.

Likewise, while trash collection and some bus service will be operational on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, but just about everything else county-related — including libraries, courts and schools — will be closed.

The good news: parking meters will not be enforced on Dec. 24, 25, 31 and Jan. 1. Happy holidays, indeed.

See the full closure list here.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

ART Route 75 Expands on Monday — The ART 75 bus route will add stops at the Shirlington Transit Center and the Virginia Square Metro station on Monday. More from the Arlington Transit Blog.

New Ballston Burger Joint Coming Soon — Brgr:Shack (4215 Fairfax Drive) will feature grass-fed beef, home-made buns, and a selection of wine and beer. The 30-40 seat restaurant is expected to open in early November. More from TBD.

Shirlington Oktoberfest Map — It’s not as highly-anticipated as Clarendon Day, according to our informal poll, but the 10th annual Mid-Atlantic Oktoberfest in Shirlington next weekend is sure to attract another huge crowd. The good news is that there will be plenty of stations serving beer, so getting each of your 4 oz. samples hopefully won’t take too long. Shirlington Village Blogspot has a map of all 79 vendor booths.

Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief

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