Metrobus

Crime Report: Bus Driver Assaults Women

By ARLnow.com

Last Wednesday, according to the latest Arlington County crime report, a bus driver assaulted two women after one of the women tossed a drink at him.

ASSAULT AND BATTERY-ARREST, 07/13/10, 800 block of N. Randolph Street. On July 13 at 1:15 pm, a bus driver assaulted two women after one of the women threw a soda at him. Joseph Milliner, 40, of Temple Hills, MD, was charged with two counts of Assault and Battery. He was released on his own recognizance.

See the rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Shirlington Oktoberfest Returns — A date has been set for this year’s Oktoberfest event in Shirlington. The annual celebration of all things German and beer-related will take place on Saturday, Oct. 8. Tickets are $25. [Shirlington Village Blog]

Pike Library, Career Center Renovations — A series of improvements is planned for the building on S. Walter Reed Drive that houses the Columbia Pike Branch Library and the Arlington Career Center. Over the next 9 months crews will replace the building’s windows and front doors, roof and drainage system and the entire heating and air conditioning system.

Firefighters Endorse Areizaga-Soto — The Arlington Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association has endorsed Jaime Areizaga-Soto for state Senate. “Jaime understands the needs of Firefighters in Arlington County and across the 31st
District,” said local union president Sean O’Connell. Areizaga-Soto is facing a tough primary battle against Arlington County Board member Barbara Favola.

Don’t Blame Metrobus Drivers — County Board Chairman and former Metro board member Chris Zimmerman says overpaid drivers are not to blame for the transit agency’s troubles. Metrobus drivers make more than their counterparts at suburban bus systems like Arlington’s ART or the Fairfax Connector service. [Sun Gazette]

Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief

Westbound Columbia Pike Shut Down

By ARLnow.com

Update at 9:30 a.m. — The accident has been cleared and Columbia Pike has reopened.

Westbound Columbia Pike has been shut down in front of the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse due to a truck fire.

A rental truck caught fire around 8:30 this morning. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames, but an oil leak has now reportedly been discovered.

Firefighters and police are expected to remain on the scene for about an hour — until about 10:00 a.m. — as the leak is cleaned up. Traffic is being diverted onto Walter Reed Drive.

While ARLnow.com was on the scene, a Metrobus driver decided to skip the detour and instead drive westbound in the eastbound turn lane of Columbia Pike (see photo above).

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.

Woman Accuses Bus Driver of Making Inappropriate Comments

By ARLnow.com

An anonymous Arlington resident has alleged that she was sexually harassed by a chatty Metrobus driver.

The woman’s story was published on the Hollaback DC blog, which chronicles gender-based harassment in the Washington area. The woman said the driver’s suggestive comments about her height made her feel “paralyzed.”

“I was so mad, so pissed, I nearly cried,” she wrote.

The alleged incident took place during the evening rush hour on the 10B bus, which travels from Hunting Towers in Alexandria to the Ballston Metro station, via Shirlington and Buckingham.

Metro riders can submit complaints about employee conduct 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

Arlington’s Creeping Debt — Arlington is now one of just eight localities in Virginia with more than $1 billion in municipal debt. Arlington is on the high end of debt on a per-capita basis, at $5,240, but a number of Virginia cities including Richmond and Falls Church have higher levels. By comparison, however, Alexandria has only $3,269 in debt per capita. More from the Sun Gazette.

Rosslyn Commons Groundbreaking Scheduled — Developer JBG is planning a groundbreaking for its Rosslyn Commons residential complex, to be held at some point in January. The Rosslyn Commons project consists of two towers with a total of 474 housing units, including 55 affordable units. More from TBD.

Seven Corners Shell Station Robbed — The Shell gas station at 6623 Wilson Boulevard in Falls Church was robbed at gunpoint Monday night. The robbery was caught on surveillance video, but the suspect kept his face concealed the whole time. More from the Falls Church News-Press.

Changes to Metrobus Routes — WMATA is adding service on two Arlington Metrobus routes.  The 7Y route, an extension of the 7E, will travel from the Pentagon to the Federal Triangle Metro station, via Memorial Bridge. The 16F route will travel down Columbia Pike to the Pentagon, ending up at Federal Triangle station via the 14th Street Bridge. More from Metro.

Metrobus Among the Vehicles Ticketed by Police in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

A Metrobus operator was among the unlucky drivers who did not heed warnings of stepped-up traffic enforcement in Rosslyn today.

Arlington police officers positioned themselves at the busy intersection of Wilson Boulevard and North Lynn Street during the morning traffic rush and the lunch time pedestrian rush, in an effort to catch people violating basic traffic safety laws. During the course of the morning rush hour alone, they handed out 33 citations to drivers and gave 50 verbal warnings to pedestrians and cyclists.

The enforcement was part of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s eighth annual Street Smart safety campaign, which officially launched today with a lunchtime press conference in Rosslyn.

“They key message here is: we’re not pointing the finger at the motorist, we’re not pointing the finger at the pedestrian, we’re not pointing the finger at the bicyclist… when you’re talking about prevention, we all have a responsibility,” said Arlington Police Chief Douglas Scott.

“Pedestrians, bicyclists and cars need to coexist and watch out for each other,” said Arlington County board member Mary Hynes, who told reporters that her own daughter was once struck and injured by a bus. (Clarification: Ms. Hynes’ daughter was struck by a bus in Europe. It was not a Metrobus. This article, which remains in its original form, did not mean to imply the type of bus involved in that incident.)

Scott said the police department will have stepped-up enforcement in the morning and evening rush hours throughout the course of the two-week campaign.

Among those nabbed during today’s lunch time enforcement was a Metrobus operator, who was issued a $91 ticket for making a right turn on to North Lynn Street from the center lane of northbound Wilson Boulevard. At one point, after the officer left to run his information, the bus operator slammed his window shut as television news cameras rolled.

Each year, a whopping 1,000 traffic citations are issued at just the Wilson Boulevard-Lynn Street intersection, according to police.

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Safety Tip: Don’t Load Your Bike Onto a Moving Bus

By ARLnow.com

A safety tip for those who take their bike with them on public transit: don’t try to put your bike on a bus as it’s moving.

That’s apparently what happened Friday afternoon on Columbia Pike.

Police originally received a call for a man lying injured in the roadway near the Pike and South Oakland Street. A bike was also lying nearby. It was then reported that a Metrobus, which was no longer on scene, might have been involved.

Metro investigated the incident using surveillance video from the bus. From spokesperson Ron Holzer:

After an investigation, which included examination of video from the Metrobus camera system, it was determined that the bus never made contact with the pedestrian, who put himself in harm’s way by attempting to load his bicycle onto the moving bus.

The bike appears to be damaged in the photos, but a police source told us that was the same condition the bike was in before the accident.

The man was treated for non-life threatening injuries at a local hospital.

Two Sent to Hospital After Pickup Truck Collides with Metrobus

By ARLnow.com

A pickup truck ran into the side of a Metro bus on South Glebe Road near the interchange with I-395, snarling rush hour traffic and sending at least two people to the hospital.

The accident happened at the intersection of South Glebe and West Glebe road around 4:30 this afternoon. Initial reports suggest two children in the truck were brought to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Arlington and Metro Transit Police are on the scene, as are Arlington firefighters and Metro supervisors.

Update at 5:25 p.m. — The bus has been moved to a side street, and a wrecker took away the pickup truck. One lane now getting by on southbound Glebe Road. There’s still some debris in the roadway which hasn’t been cleaned up and traffic is still a bit of a mess.

Update at 6:10 p.m. — A Metro spokesperson says there were no reported injuries on the bus.

More photos after the jump.

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