Metro station

Worker’s Leg Gets Caught in Rosslyn Metro Escalator

By ARLnow.com

Rosslyn Metro escalatorA worker was rescued from one of the Rosslyn Metro station’s escalators early this morning.

The 23-year-old man, an employee of escalator contractor KONE, got his leg trapped between the framework of the escalator and a steel plate just before 2:00 a.m., according to Arlington County Fire Department spokeswoman Lt. Sarah Marchegiani.

She was unable to say whether the escalator was moving at the time of the incident.

Firefighters freed the man and rushed him to George Washington University Hospital with a “serious right leg injury,” Marchegiani said. The injury was not considered to be life threatening.

No additional details were immediately available.

File photo

More Smoke Reported at Rosslyn Metro Station

By ARLnow.com

Firefighters respond to the Rosslyn Metro stationUpdate at 4:45 p.m. — No signs of smoke have been found. Firefighters on the scene say that the smoke is believed to be from a train that has since traveled into the District.

For the third time in a week, Arlington County firefighters are responding to the Rosslyn Metro station for a report of smoke in the tunnel between Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom.

D.C. firefighters are also responding to the Foggy Bottom station.

Twice this past weekend, firefighters responded to the station but found no sign of smoke.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima) in the snow (Flickr pool photo by J. Peterson)

Iwo Jima Anniversary — Today marks the 70th anniversary of the famous photo of Marines raising the flag during on Iwo Jima during World War II. Veterans of the battle gathered at the Marine Corps War Memorial near Rosslyn, which depicts the flag raising, to mark its anniversary last week. [Stars and Stripes]

Impromptu Marriage at Fire Station — A Marine and his fiance got married at Arlington’s Fire Station 5 Saturday night. Firefighters got the call at 6:00 p.m. that the Marine, who was deploying the next day, was in desperate need of a hall after their venue was closed due to broken pipes. Firefighters were able to hastily mop the floor and set up chairs in one of the station’s bays before the bride and groom arrived for the short ceremony. [Facebook]

Man Falls on Tracks at Ballston Metro — Around 8:15 this morning, a man somehow fell onto the outbound tracks at the Ballston Metro station. Bystanders were able to hoist the man back onto the platform. According to scanner traffic, he suffered a head injury.

SUV Rollover Near Columbia Pike — An SUV crashed and rolled onto its side at Walter Reed Drive and 13 Street S., near Columbia Pike, on Friday night. The vehicle’s occupants were unhurt and were able to get out on their own, according to a fire department spokesman. Also Friday night, a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle on N. Glebe Road near Pershing Drive. The victim was transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. [Twitter]

Benjamin Banneker Park to Expand — At its Saturday meeting, the Arlington County Board approved the purchase of a 8,375 square foot lot and home adjacent to Benjamin Banneker Park in East Fall Church. The $688,710 purchase will allow the park to expand, following the deconstruction of the house. [Arlington County]

James Hunter Park Cost Infographic — What caused the James Hunter dog park in Clarendon to cost so much? Washingtonian has created an interactive graphic that details some of the park’s features and their price tag. [Washingtonian]

Condo Parking Space Kerfuffle — At Saturday’s County Board meeting, the last item of the day, before the Board adjourned early due to the snowstorm, was a site plan amendment for the Virginia Square Condominiums building. The site plan amendment was proposed by the condo association to try to ameliorate a dispute over the size of two parking spaces. ARLnow.com live tweeted the absurdist theater that followed. [Storify]

Flickr pool photo by J. Peterson

Road Work Around Crystal City Metro Could Start in April

By Ethan Rothstein
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Update on 2/21/15 — This project has been approved. See the county press release here.

Millions of dollars in construction work to improve the flow of traffic near the Crystal City Metro Station could begin in a matter of months.

The Arlington County Board will vote at its meeting tomorrow to award a $2.7 million contract for construction on S. Bell Street and 18th Street. The work would include building four bus bays on 18th Street S. under Jefferson-Davis Highway and converting S. Bell Street to a two-way road between 15th and 18th Streets.

The project was originally split in two — the bus bays and surrounding street improvements and converting Bell Street to a two-way road — but the county decided to consolidate to reduce construction impacts and improve coordination, according to the staff report.

The bays allow buses and shuttles to park at an angle along the street, as opposed to stacking parallel to the curb and clogging traffic.

“Construction of the transit and street improvements are important for improving safety and traffic flow in the area, as well as supporting the Crystal City Sector Plan and the [Crystal City-Potomac Yard] Transitway,” the staff report states.

If approved, construction is slated to begin in April and take about 12 months. The contract includes a 15 percent contingency — 5 percent higher than standard because of unknown complications that could come from digging up the street.

According to county Department of Environmental Services spokesman Eric Balliet, the new bus bays are needed for hotel and employer shuttles that drop off around the Metro station. The Transitway, when fully realized, will turn northbound Crystal Drive into a dedicated bus lane during rush hour. Those shuttles currently stop and drop off passengers on Crystal Drive, and they will be temporarily moved during construction.

One lane of travel each way along 18th Street S. will remain open during construction. The contractor that won the contract, Ardent Company, submitted a $2.3 million bid, more than $800,000 less expensive than the second-place bidder in a nine-bid race. The county determined Ardent to be a responsible bidder.

In addition to the bus bays and S. Bell Street work, the construction will add to the area:

  • A median under Jefferson-Davis Highway, to prevent what the county calls “prevalent” jaywalking near where the bus bays will be placed;
  • Bus shelters and benches at each of the four sawtooth bays;
  • Sidewalk improvements on both sides of 18th Street S.;
  • Replacing the asphalt roadway with concrete to withstand increase stress from bus traffic; and
  • Reconfiguring the S. Bell Street and 18th Street intersection to improve safety and circulation

WMATA: County Project Caused Leaks in Pentagon City Metro

By Ethan Rothstein

Sheet metal covering leaks in the Pentagon City Metro (photo via @jurbanchuk)The roof is leaking at the Pentagon City Metro station, and Metro says Arlington County’s road work on S. Hayes Street is to blame.

The Metro tunnel began to leak in the fall because a stormwater-retention system built by the county was overflowing, Metro spokeswoman Caroline Laurin told WUSA9. The county built that system in the median of S. Hayes Street as part of street upgrades for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.

WMATA has placed pieces of sheet metal where the leaks are occurring, deflecting the water down the wall and away from passengers.

“When that retention pond overflows, water enters our station,” Laurin told the TV station, which first reported the leaks after seeing a tweet from a curious Metro rider. “This temporary solution will be in place until Arlington County can address the issue with the storm water retention structure.”

Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services, which oversaw the road construction, said WMATA approved the work it did around the Metro station, and denies that it is to blame for the leaky tunnel.

“It’s not unusual to have leaks in tunnel systems, especially systems like the Pentagon City Metrorail tunnel that are 40 years old,” Katherine Youngbluth, the project manager for the S. Hayes Street improvements, told ARLnow.com in an email. “The rain garden facility that was constructed as part of the County’s Pentagon City Multimodal project (and all other aspects of the project that were adjacent to WMATA facilities) was fully vetted through WMATA’s review and approval process and received a permit for all construction work.”

Youngbluth said the county has known about the leak since the fall, but has only had preliminary talks with WMATA about whose responsibility it is to fix the leak. The county is “continuing to explore technical studies and solutions that are available for an investigation of this type” and doesn’t yet have a timeframe or cost analysis for the repair, she added.

The multimodal improvements wrapped up last year, and included new sidewalks, crosswalks, street lighting, landscaping, new street crossing areas and bicycle amenities to go with the rain garden. The total project cost was $9 million.

Photo via @jurbanchuk

DEVELOPING: Yellow Line Metro Line Service Suspended

By ARLnow.com

Pentagon City Metro station(Updated at 6:50 p.m.) Yellow Line Metro service has been suspended due to heavy smoke in the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station.

Metro has suspended Yellow Line service from between Pentagon City and Mt. Vernon Square. Green Line service is also suspended.

According to Arlington scanner reports, a Yellow Line train is disabled somewhere between the L’Enfant and Pentagon Metro stations. Medics responded to the Pentagon station due to reports of at least one person having difficulty breathing on the train, but the train is being evacuated in D.C. (photos below) and Arlington units have since been released.

A “mass casualty incident” was declared and rescues were being made at L’Enfant, according to the D.C. firefighters union. The mass casualty designation is likely due to the riders stuck on the disabled train, inside a smoke-filled tunnel. The fire that was the source of the smoke has since been extinguished.

Metro General Manager Richard Sarles told NBC 4 Tuesday evening that dozens of people have been taken to the hospital, including two people who are in critical condition at George Washington University Hospital. One person died as a result of the incident, Sarles said.

During the incident, Arlington firefighters responded to an electrical room at the Rosslyn Metro station for a report of smoke. It’s unclear if that smoke might have traveled through the tunnels from L’Enfant or is the result of a separate incident. Units on the scene say there’s a smell of smoke but no evacuations are necessary.

Blue, Orange and Silver Line trains are continuing to run through L’Enfant station without stopping, according to Metro. Still, riders should expect major evening rush hour delays.

Commuters Trapped in New Rosslyn Metro Station Elevator

By Andrea Swalec

About a dozen commuters were trapped in a Rosslyn Metro station elevator for about 20 minutes on Sept. 18, 2014.(Updated at 1:50 p.m.) About a dozen commuters were trapped in an elevator for 20 minutes at the Rosslyn Metro station during rush hour Thursday morning.

One of the three high-speed elevators on N. Moore Street — which are less than a year old — broke down about 8:15 a.m., according to scanner traffic.

A commuter who was rushing to work after being freed from the elevator said the group remained calm as they waited for help.

The entrapment was caused by a power surge that is under investigation, WMATA spokeswoman Caroline Laurin said.

The elevators, designed and built by the Arlington Department of Environmental Services as part of a $50 million project, went into use in October 2013, when the new station entrance opened.

The elevators went out of service in December 2013 because of an electricity-related glitch.

All three of the elevators on N. Moore Street were taken out of service after the incident and had resumed operation by 11:15 a.m., the WMATA representative said.

DES spokesman Eric Balliet said authority over the Rosslyn station elevators was transferred from the county to WMATA about a month ago.

New Benches to Be Installed Near Ballston Metro Station

By Ethan Rothstein
1/3

The Ballston property manager that replaced planters to prevent people from sitting says benches will soon be installed in their place.

Stephen Gilbert, the vice president of marketing for Gates Hudson, the property manager of the building adjacent to the Ballston Metro station, said the company plans to install 15 benches near the station and next to the new planters by mid-August.

Additional “street furniture” is also planned for the busy bus stop.

“This is a cross promotion with the Ballston [Business Improvement District] and we are investing nearly $28,000 to improve the seating area,” Gilbert wrote in an email to ARLnow.com. “The bus shelters currently in place and managed by WMATA and Arlington County are not adequate in our opinion.”

Gates Hudson replaced the planters earlier this month because, as an employee told ARLnow.com, “they’re meant to be planters and that’s it… A lot of people were loitering there, damaging the plants and leaving trash.” Gilbert said that the new planters’ capstones “were only a small part” of Gates Hudson’s master plan for improving the space on N. Stuart Street.

“I ensure you that once you see what we have under construction you will see that we are creating a very convenient and comfortable space for commuters and pedestrians,” Gilbert wrote.

Ballston Planters Replaced To Prevent Sitting

By Ethan Rothstein

Ballston planter before it was replaced (photo courtesy Jana Lynott)  Ballston planter after it was replaced (photo courtesy Jana Lynott)

Several planters on the sidewalk of N. Stuart Street in Ballston, just outside the Ballston Metro station were recently rebuilt to stop people from taking a seat.

The planters were replaced by property manager Gates Hudson this month, and while the trees are still there, the flat surface around the soil has been converted into a sharply angled corner designed specifically to prevent people waiting for the buses from sitting down.

“They’re meant to be planters and that’s it,” a Gates Hudson employee told ARLnow.com. “There are many benches outside, and the goal was to have people sit there and not on the planters. A lot of people were loitering there, damaging the plants and leaving trash.”

In a letter to the Arlington County Board, Metrobus rider Jana Lynott said the property owners around the Metro station had “vitriol” for transit riders who are perceived as loiterers.

“As a regular Metrobus 1A rider, I was offended by the insinuation that we riders were viewed as dirty loiterers that bring down commercial property values,” Lynott wrote. “I’m not convinced that my fellow transit riders are a scourge upon society that need to be dealt with through exclusive design… Why in Arlington, VA, a community that invests millions of dollars a year into recruiting new riders to our world-class transit system, would we possibly embrace such a backward notion of transit accessibility? Please. Do not let this exclusive design become standard practice in our community.”

Photos courtesy Jana Lynott

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Post-storm sunset over North Arlington and D.C. (Flickr pool photo by Joseph Gruber)

County Official: I-66 Doesn’t Need More Lanes — Arlington County officials have repeatedly expressed opposition to widening I-66 inside the Beltway. Now one county official is even decrying a proposal to add lanes to I-66 outside of the Beltway. Arlington County Commuter Services chief Chris Hamilton says the plans “are not only maddening, but they fly in the face of everything we’ve learned about induced demand… it’s impossible to build ourselves out of congestion because the roads themselves cause traffic.” [Mobility Lab]

ACPD to Hold ‘Chief-for-the-Day’ Contest — The Arlington County Police Department is holding an essay contest for children ages 8-12. The kid who submits the best answer to the question “what does it mean to be a police officer?” will be named “chief-for-the-day.” The winner will be “picked up at his or her house on August 5, 2014 by a patrol car and driven to the ACPD to spend the day involved in fun filled activities.” [Arlington County]

Arlington Beauty Queen Almost Married Dean Martin — Beauty queen and Washington-Lee High School grad Gail Renshaw, who was named Miss USA-World in 1969, nearly married the late Rat Pack crooner Dean Martin. In the end, Renshaw turned down Martin’s marriage proposal, moved to Prince George’s County, worked as a dialysis nurse and married a banker. [Falls Church News-Press]

Arlington Native Goes to China, Voices TV Show — Yorktown High School grad Emily Jeffers wasn’t sure about what exactly she wanted to do for work when she traveled to China on a one-way ticket and a tourist visa. Eventually, she found employment dubbing a state-produced Chinese sitcom into English for syndication on South African TV. [InsideNova]

Potomac Yard Metro Station Progress — Federal transit authorities have narrowed down the list of potential locations for a Potomac Yard Metro station from four to two. The two remaining locations are also the two least expensive options studied — one is relatively close to the existing Potomac Yard shopping center while the other is close to the Potomac Greens neighborhood. [Washington Business Journal]

Flickr pool photo by Joseph Gruber

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

View of the Odyssey building in Courthouse (photo courtesy James Mahony)

Arlington Man’s Death Ruled a Homicide — The death of Arlington resident Michael Hrizuk in D.C.’s Glover Park neighborhood has been ruled a homicide. Hrizuk, 57, died of a “blunt impact head injury” during a reported assault. [Washington Post]

De la Pava Takes Over As Treasurer — After more than 30 years in office, Frank O’Leary stepped down as Arlington County Treasurer Monday. Stepping up to replace him is his chief deputy, Carla de la Pava, who was sworn in to serve as treasurer in a ceremony at county government headquarters. De la Pava is so far unopposed in an upcoming special election that would allow her to continue serving out O’Leary’s term, which runs through Dec. 2015. [InsideNova]

TDM Is the ‘Secret to Arlington’s Success’ — The man who heads Arlington County Commuter Services, the county’s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) agency, says TDM is the “secret to Arlington’s success.” Commuter Services Bureau Chief Chris Hamilton says ACCS programs like BikeArlington, WalkArlington, The Commuter Store and the Car-Free Diet campaign have helped to keep cars off the street even as Arlington’s population has grown. [Mobility Lab]

‘Orange Line Disaster’ at Courthouse — The Orange Line was a “disaster” at the Courthouse Metro station this morning, commuters reported via Twitter. According to various reports, delays started when a train with a door problem offloaded at Courthouse. Passengers crowded onto the platform at the station, which was reportedly un-air-conditioned. At some point, a passenger on a train fainted, prompting that train to hold at the station while medical personnel responded.

Photo courtesy James Mahony

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