Metro

Alexandria Man Charged With Exposing Himself on Blue Line Train in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

William Madison, Jr.A 47-year-old Alexandria man has been arrested and charged with exposing himself to multiple women on Metro trains.

The first incident happened in Arlington County on March 28, aboard a Blue Line train to Franconia. The suspect, William Madison, Jr., was subsequently arrested and charged with indecent exposure on July 29. Then, on August 15, Metro Transit Police say Madison again exposed himself to a woman, this time on an Orange Line train in Fairfax County.

Police believe Madison might have committed similar crimes that went unreported, and are asking any additional victims to come forward.

From a Metro press release:

For the second time in less than three weeks, Metro Transit Police (MTPD) have arrested a Virginia man on charges of indecent exposure. The suspect, William Madison, Jr., 47, of Alexandria, is now facing charges in Arlington and Fairfax counties.

Madison was first arrested by Transit Police on July 29 after being located by the MTPD warrant squad. The original offense occurred in Arlington County March 28, 2016, aboard a Franconia-bound Blue Line train. Madison is accused of exposing himself to an adult female passenger aboard the train. Following his arrest, Madison was released on his personal recognizance.

At approximately 8:30 p.m. Monday, August 15, Madison allegedly exposed himself to an adult female passenger aboard a Vienna-bound Orange Line train. MTPD detectives were able to identify Madison using CCTV cameras and subsequently obtained an arrest warrant. Madison was re-arrested yesterday at Huntington Station while attempting to enter the Metrorail system. He was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, where he was held on a $1,000 secured bond.

Based on these circumstances, Transit Police detectives believe there may be additional victims. Anyone with information for investigators is urged to call the MTPD Criminal Investigations Division at (301) 955-3000.

Monday Morning Commuting Woes in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Google traffic map on 8/15/16Both drivers and Metro riders are finding a slow go on their way to work this morning.

The trouble started tragically this morning just before 5 a.m., when motorcyclist crashed on the Roosevelt Bridge. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at a local hospital and the bridge was closed to traffic for a crash investigation.

Route 110 and the GW Parkway have been backed up all morning as a result of the closure. Lanes have since reopened, but residual delays remain.

As of 8:30 a.m., there was also heavy traffic on I-395, Washington Blvd, and on Route 50 and I-66 from Glebe Road to D.C.

Meanwhile, on Metro, as of 9 a.m. the Yellow Line was only running from Huntington to the Pentagon due to a switch problem causing heavy congestion on the Green Line. Yellow Line riders heading into D.C. are being forced to continue their commute either via the Blue Line or buses.

Metrobuses in Arlington are also experiencing delays, due to the heavy traffic.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Rosslyn

Wahlburgers Coming to Ballston — Wahlburgers, the burger chain founded by the show biz Wahlbergs (Mark, Donnie, Paul), is coming to Ballston next year. The eatery will be located near the intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. Glebe Road. [Washington Post]

SER Expanding to Capitol Hill? — The team behind SER restaurant in Ballston — or, at least, part of the team — is opening a new restaurant on Capitol Hill in the former Sona Creamery and Wine Bar space. [Washington Business Journal]

Metro Releases Cause of Derailment — What caused a Metro train to derail near the East Falls Church station on Friday? The transit agency says it was a deteriorated section of track in which the rails became too wide. [Washington Post]

Dark Star Park Day — Yesterday Arlington County held its annual observance of Dark Star Park Day in Rosslyn. The public park, built in 1984, is designed to have its shadows line up once a year, on Aug. 1. [Storify]

County Touts Innovation Recognition — Three Arlington County programs have been recognized for innovation from the Virginia Association of Counties. [Arlington County]

Road Rage on a Bike Trail — Road rage isn’t something that only happens with motorists. Occasionally, it happens among cyclists as well, as this story from an incident on the Mt. Vernon Trail demonstrates. [Storify]

UPDATED: Metro Train Derails at East Falls Church Station

By ARLnow.com

Derailed Metro train at the East Falls Church station (photo courtesy John Sonderman)

Update at 2:45 p.m. — Orange and Silver line service will remain suspended between Ballston and West Falls Church through at least Saturday, Metro said this afternoon.

(Updated at 10:35 a.m.) Two people were evaluated for injuries after a “minor” train derailment at the East Falls Church Metro station.

Orange and Silver Line service remains shut down between West Falls Church and Ballston as a result of the derailment, and will remain shut down through Friday evening, according to Metro. Shuttle buses are running between the stations.

About 75 passengers were on the train when the derailment happened, around 6:30 a.m. Train cars remained upright and the passengers were able to offload “without further incident,” according to Metro.

The derailment happened as Metro’s “SafeTrack” maintenance work was being performed on one of the tracks between Ballston and East Falls Church.

Photo (top) courtesy John Sonderman

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Evening sky near Fort Myer (Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick)

Earlier Metro Closing Time? — Metro is considering closing at 10 p.m. on Sundays and midnight each other day of the week. The earlier closing times will help with track maintenance and safety, Metro says. But Arlington County Board member and Metro board member Christian Dorsey says there needs to be more public discussion of the change, saying that “We are a region that requires transit service as late as possible to keep up with commerce, to make sure that it’s not just a commuter system.” [Reston Now, WTOP]

Home Prices Up Five Percent — The median home sale price in Arlington is now $625,000, up 5 percent compared to one year ago, according to the real estate firm Long and Foster. [Patch]

Big Fire in D.C. — The smoke from a fire in D.C. yesterday afternoon was visible to much of Arlington. The fire damaged a small apartment building near Logan Circle and injured a dog. [Borderstan]

Arlington Firm Investigates DNC Hack — Arlington-based cybersecurity firm ThreatConnect says it has traced the hacker who claimed responsibility for stealing emails from the Democratic National Committee back to Russia. The firm says the hacker “is more likely a collection of people from the propaganda arm of the Russian government.” [Daily Beast]

Local DJ Profiled — DJ Neekola, one of the D.C. area’s most sought-after club and event DJs, is a Pentagon City resident who used to do IT work for the government. [Arlington Magazine]

Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick

Police Nab Men Who Shot Pellet Gun at East Falls Church Metro

By Tim Regan

Police car (file photo)Arlington County Police have arrested two men for using a pellet gun to shoot holes into a kiosk window outside of the East Falls Church Metro station and shatter a glass enclosure at a nearby bus stop last night.

The crime occurred at the Metro station just after 11:30 p.m. last night, police said.

Two men shot a pellet gun at a kiosk window at the Metro station, puncturing the glass three times, police said. They also allegedly fired the pellet gun at a bus stop on North Sycamore Street, breaking its glass enclosure.

Officers originally responded to a report of two suspicious men looking into vehicles on the 2200 block of N. Somerset Street. When they arrived, they heard a gunshot and located the two suspected shooters.

In addition to the pellet gun, one of the men had a loaded gun in his possession at the time of arrest, police said.

From an ACPD crime report:

POSSESSION OF CONCEALED WEAPON (Significant), 160721003, 2200 block of N. Somerset Street. At approximately 11:38 p.m. on July 20, officers responded to the report of suspicious males looking into vehicles. Arriving officers heard the discharge of a firearm and located two suspects. Nico Wilson, 32, of Fort Washington MD, was arrested and charged with possession of a concealed weapon and discharge of a firearm. Carlos Parker, 18, of Temple Hills MD, was arrested and charged with destruction of property and possession of a concealed weapon.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Looking to D.C. from the Courtland Towers apartment building in Courthouse

Competing Convention Watch Parties — The Arlington GOP and Arlington-Falls Church Young Republicans are hosting a Republican convention watch party tonight at Arlington Rooftop Bar & Grill in Courthouse. The Arlington Young Democrats, meanwhile, are holding their own watch party for the last night of the GOP convention. That event is being held at Mad Rose Tavern in Clarendon. [Facebook, Facebook]

Youth Hockey Team Profiled — As part of its “Harris’ Heroes” segment, TV station ABC 7 yesterday profiled the NOVA Cool Cats, a hockey team for youth with developmental disabilities. The team plays at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Ballston. [WJLA]

Road Rage Incident in Rosslyn — A man allegedly brandished a handgun and followed two women during a road rage incident on Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn, after the female driver honked her horn while the man’s vehicle blocked her path. [Arlington County]

Weekend Woes on Metro — Expect delays on all six Metrorail lines due to track work this weekend. That includes the ongoing “surge” work between Ballston and East Falls Church. [WMATA]

Lighting Task Force Needs More Time — A task force trying to determine whether to add lighting to the Williamsburg Middle School athletic fields says it will present its findings in January. The task force, chaired by former County Board primary challenger Erik Gutshall, was originally expected to wrap up its work in June. [InsideNova]

Voters to Decide on Four Bond Issues This Fall

By ARLnow.com

Outside of one of Arlington's polling locations

As part of its latest Capital Improvement Plan, the Arlington County Board last night approved a new slate of bond referenda that will appear on the ballot this fall.

The county has proposed four bonds for voters to consider. In total the bonds add up to some $315.8 million.

  • Metro and Transportation — $58,785,000
  • Local Parks and Recreation — $19,310,000
  • Community Infrastructure — $98,850,000
  • Arlington Public Schools — $138,830,000

In a board report, county staff detailed the planned use of funds for each bond.

Metro and Transportation:

This proposal will fund a variety of transportation, road, pedestrian enhancement and transit projects across the County. The largest components of this proposal are $30 million for Arlington County’s share of WMATA / Metro’s capital improvement program, and $24 million to fund a portion of the costs for paving local streets and roadways. Proceeds of this proposal will also fund bridge renovation, street lights, transportation systems & traffic signals, as well as the WALKArlington, BikeArlington, Safe Routes to Schools, and Curb & Gutter Missing Links programs. The County Board may reallocate bond funds among the various projects to the extent necessary or desirable.

Local Parks and Recreation:

This proposal will fund various parks improvements and enhancements, as well as $3 million for the Land Acquisition and Open Space Program for strategic park acquisitions. This proposal would also fund the Trail Modernization program, design and planning at Jennie Dean Park and construction at Tyrol Hills Park, and maintenance capital improvements such as playground, courts and other parks infrastructure improvements. The County Board may reallocate bond funds among the various projects to the extent necessary or desirable.

Community Infrastructure:

This proposal will fund a variety of County infrastructure projects. The largest component of this proposal is $46.46 million for the Lubber Run Community Center project. Also included is $12 million of funding for Neighborhood Conservation projects, as well as funding for the Nauck Town Square, planning & design of the Fire Station 8 replacement, renovations & improvements to government facilities in the Court House Complex, renovation of the Barcroft Sports & Fitness Center for additional gymnastics, and a County childcare facility. The Neighborhood Conservation Program provides funding for a variety of neighborhood-identified capital improvement projects including street improvements (sidewalk, curb and gutter, drainage, paving), traffic management and pedestrian enhancements, park improvements, street lighting, recreational facilities, landscaping, and beautification.

It also includes funding of a joint County & Schools parking deck and other improvements at the Thomas Jefferson middle school site due to the construction of a new elementary school, critical systems infrastructure upgrades to 24×7 hour facilities; and facilities maintenance capital improvements, including design and construction of projects including but not limited to roofs, electrical and heating / cooling systems and other facilities infrastructure. The County Board may reallocate bond funds among the various projects to the extent necessary or desirable.

Arlington Public Schools:

This proposal will make funds available for the Arlington Public Schools’ capital improvement program. The proposed bonds will fund the following projects:

  • The new middle school at the Stratford site ($26,030,000)
  • The new school at the Wilson site ($78,400,000)
  • Addition and renovation at the Career Center/Arlington Tech ($12,000,000)
  • Planning for secondary seats at location(s) to be determined ($10,000,000), and
  • Infrastructure capital projects such as HVAC, roofing, etc. ($12,400,000)

The School Board may reallocate bond funds among the various projects to the extent necessary or desirable.

The Board also approved its $3.3 billion 2017-2026 Capital Improvement Plan Tuesday night. A county press release on the plan, after the jump.

(more…)

Metro SafeTrack Surge to Bring Orange, Silver Line Delays Tomorrow

By Tim Regan

Metro’s fifth SafeTrack maintenance surge will cause a “severe service reduction” on portions of the Orange and Silver lines for 11 days starting tomorrow.

From Wednesday, July 20 until Sunday, July 31, Orange and Silver line trains will continuously single track between the East Falls Church and Ballston stations. This is the same area that was affected during first Metro SafeTrack surge.

On weekdays, Orange Line trains between Vienna and Ballston are expected to operate every 18 minutes. Silver Line trains will run every 18 minutes during the surge, according to Metro.

Additional Orange Line trains will operate between Ballston and New Carrollton during the maintenance period. Trains from Vienna to Ballston and Wiehle-Reston East to Ballston are likely to be extremely crowded, especially during rush-hour, Metro said.

“Customers at Ballston should consider using the additional train service that originates at Ballston and will board on the opposite platform from through-train service,” the agency advised in its latest announcement. “This may lengthen your departure time, but will give you the best opportunity to find space.”

Metro Commuters who have the ability to do so should consider alternate travel options and avoid traveling during rush hour if possible, Metro added.

An Arlington County website has the following information those affected by the latest Metro surge:

Street operations changes

Supplemental local bus service

  • Using 40-foot buses for ART 55 (East Falls Church-Lee Highway-Rosslyn) to add capacity along the affected section of the Orange/Silver line.
    • Each 40-foot bus has five more seats and room for more standees compared to the 35-foot bus normally used on this route.
  • New midday, evening and weekend service for ART 43 (Crystal City-Rosslyn-Courthouse), which started during Surge 2, continues to be available.
  • For changes to bus service operated by Metro and other jurisdictions, visit Metro’s website.

Alternate work and travel options

The County is encouraging telework/flex time, ridesharing, biking and walking – options other than driving alone:

  • Arlington Transportation Partners is reaching out to employers and building managers to urge them to encourage telework or flex schedules and provide travel option information.
  • Arlington’s Commuter Page has travel option resources for residents and businesses – for example, assistance for vanpooling and other car-free options.
  • Arlington County Commuter Services Hispanic Marketing offers comprehensive information about each surge in Spanish.
  • For teleworkers who can’t work at home, Arlington Public Libraries offer wifi, office equipment, design stations with Adobe software, and small meeting rooms.

For those who bike, these changes are continued from prior surges:

  • New Capital Bikeshare station at the East Falls Church Metrorail station, and additional capacity at Bikeshare stations at the Ballston and Rosslyn Metrorail stations.
  • Additional temporary bike parking capacity at Ballston and Rosslyn Metrorail stations.
  • Enhanced wayfinding along trails and commuter routes for bicyclists – Bike Routes – Orange/Silver Line direction
  • Custom Bike Trains arranged for County residents upon request – contact [email protected].

Video via Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Crystal City Metro Station to Close Tomorrow, Reopen Next Week

By Andrew Ramonas

Metro SafeTrack Surge 4 service changes (Image via Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority)Arlington is set to lose one of its Metro stops on the Blue and Yellow lines for seven days as part of another “SafeTrack surge,” which is set to start tomorrow.

“Surge 4” track repair work is slated to begin Tuesday and will keep the station closed through the following Monday.

Until the Crystal City station’s scheduled reopening on Tuesday, July 19, Metro will have free shuttle bus service to connect the stop with the Reagan National and Pentagon City stations.

Arlington and airport officials are encouraging travelers to avoid driving near the three stations and use buses and other modes of transportation to get around.

An Arlington County website has the following information those affected by the Metro maintenance work and station closure.

Street operations changes for Surge 3 and 4

Supplemental local bus service continued from prior surges

  • The new ART service and additional ART bus capacity on routes that parallel the Blue Line will continue through Surges 3 and 4:
    • Midday, evening and weekend service for ART 43 (Crystal City-Rosslyn-Courthouse) – This route provides a direct connection from Crystal City to the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. On weekdays, 40-foot buses will be used to add capacity.
    • 40-foot buses for ART 42 (Ballston-Pentagon) to add capacity – Each 40-foot bus has five more seats and room for more standees compared to 35-foot buses normally used on this route.
  • For changes to bus service operated by Metro and other jurisdictions, visit Metro’s website.

Alternate travel and work options

  • The County continues to encourage telework/flex time, ridesharing, biking and walking – options other than driving alone:
    • Arlington Transportation Partners is reaching out to employers and building managers to urge them to encourage telework or flex schedules and provide travel option information.
    • Arlington’s Commuter Page has travel option resources for residents and businesses – for example, assistance for vanpooling and other car-free options.
    • For teleworkers who can’t work at home, Arlington Public Libraries offer wifi, office equipment, design stations with Adobe software, and small meeting rooms.
  • For those who bike, these changes are continued from prior surges:
    • Additional capacity at Capital Bikeshare stations and bike parking around the Rosslyn and Crystal City Metro stations.
    • Custom Bike Trains arranged for County residents upon request – contact [email protected]. BikeArlington also will support promotion of Alexandria’s bike trains that will run from Braddock Road Metro station to Pentagon City.
    • Improved directional signage along bike commuter routes.
  • For those who use transit, bike or walk:
    • Ambassadors will be at Pentagon City Metro station to help travelers with their questions and trip planning.
    • Enhanced wayfinding signage at affected Metro stations will point people along safe routes to buses, shuttles, bike parking, Capital Bikeshare, station elevators, and other service locations.

Image via Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority

Metro’s Third Stage of SafeTrack Begins Tonight

By Adrian Cruz

Starting today, the third stage of Metro’s SafeTrack maintenance plan begins, affecting Blue and Yellow line service in Arlington.

The third stage will begin at 8 p.m. on July 5, continuing until July 11 and it will involve the Blue and Yellow lines being completely shut down between National Airport and Braddock Road, in Alexandria.

Blue Line trains will run every 15 minutes between Franconia-Springfield and Braddock Road and every 12 minutes between National Airport and Largo Town Center.

Yellow Line trains will run every 12 minutes between Huntington and Braddock Road and every 12 minutes between National Airport and Greenbelt.

Riders will be able to take Metroway BRT buses for free, between Pentagon City and Braddock Road, to bypass the closure. For airport customers coming from stations below Braddock Road, shuttle bus service will run between the station and the airport.

The fourth SafeTrack stage will run from July 12-18 and the same lines will be shut down between National Airport and Pentagon City. That includes a closure of the busy Crystal City station.

Blue Line trains will run every 12 minutes between Franconia-Springfield and National Airport and every 12 minutes between Pentagon City and Largo Town Center.

Yellow Line trains will run every 12 minutes between Huntington and Braddock Road and every 12 minutes between Pentagon City and Greenbelt.

Shuttle bus service will run to National Airport from Braddock Road and Pentagon City. Metroway shuttle service will also be available for free during this stage.

For its part, Arlington County will continue to run the expanded bus service implemented for SafeTrack’s second stage. That includes expanded midday, evening and weekend service on the ART 43 between Rosslyn and Crystal City and additional 4o-foot buses to increase capacity on the ART 42, which runs from Ballston to Pentagon.

Arlington County is encouraging alternative commute options during the surge, such as teleworking, ridesharing, biking and walking if possible.

Video Courtesy WMATA

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