parking

Boot Bandit Busted in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com

It was a bold move — trying to defeat a county parking boot just steps away from Arlington police headquarters in Courthouse. Unfortunately for the driver accused of attempting it, cops caught up with him before he could get away.

Police received a call around 5:00 last night for a man who had his booted car jacked up in the county surface parking lot across from police headquarters. The man allegedly removed the wheel with the boot on it, placed it in the trunk and replaced it with a “donut” spare tire.

He was getting ready to drive away when police showed up and put the kibosh on the whole operation.

Officers recovered the boot from the man’s trunk and, after talking to him for a while, placed him handcuffed in the back of a squad car.

BRAC Traffic Prompts Concerns for Barcroft Residents

By Katie Pyzyk

Barcroft residents are carefully watching the influx of some 1,200 government workers into their neighborhood as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Act. Some neighbors are calling for action to mitigate what they claim are dangerous and disruptive traffic conditions.

The personnel are being added to the Army National Guard Readiness Center, in the Arlington Hall complex, at George Mason Drive and Route 50. Many of them are coming from Crystal City offices, but only a couple hundred have made the move so far. The bulk of staff members are expected to arrive mid-July. This flood of workers has some residents in surrounding neighborhoods worried about an increase in parking and traffic issues.

Although a new parking structure was built to accommodate the additional workers, per the National Capital Planning Commission’s specifications there is only one parking spot for every four workers. That’s creating concern about where all the new employees will park. There are already reports of more cars parked in neighboring residential areas, and residents would like to see that stop.

BRAC Project Coordinator Andrea Morris says she understands the parking issues. She is working with District 3 to increase patrols in the area to ticket anyone parked illegally on residential streets. The problem, according to Morris, is that most of the Barcroft neighborhood does not have zone parking restrictions, so there’s nothing to stop workers from using the vacant spots.

“It’s not a popular answer, it’s not one that is going to get a lot of rave reviews, but unfortunately, it happens to be a fact,” Morris said. “It’s a very, very hard statement for me to make because I hear their concerns.”

Morris says BRAC has partnered with WMATA to increase the frequency of the 22A buses, starting in August. That line should alleviate some of the parking headaches, because it is planned to work as a shuttle for the government workers and not to stop at every point along the bus line.

(more…)

Morning Poll: Parking Rate Increases

By ARLnow.com

Parking is getting more expensive in Arlington. Starting today, parking rates are going up by 25 cents.

The hourly long-term meter rate is increasing from $0.75 to $1.00 while the hourly short-term meter rate is increasing from $1.00 to $1.25.

When first proposed to the County Board, county staff said the increase would “make Arlington rates consistent with other rates in the region, and will result in more efficient utilization of valuable curb space.”

“Especially in areas where short term parking is needed, the rates can help to encourage parking turnover,” staff noted.

Will the rate increase affect your parking habits?

Meeting Tonight to Discuss Art Along Crystal City Transitway

By ARLnow.com

A new bus transitway is coming to Crystal City and Potomac Yard, and planners are asking for the public’s help to decide what kind of art should be placed along the route.

To that end, a public forum will be held tonight at 6:30 at the the Aurora Hills Community Center at 735 18th Street S.

“An artist has been commissioned to create public art along the corridor,” a flyer advertising tonight’s meeting says. “Join us as we help the artist gain a greater understanding of the Crystal City and Potomac Yard communities so she can develop truly site-specific work that meets the goals of your community.”

Next week another public meeting is scheduled to discuss the transitway itself. That meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on Monday, June 27, also at the Aurora Hills Community Center.

The Crystal City/Potomac Yard Transit Improvements project will build dedicated bus lanes along Crystal Drive, S. Clark Street and S. Bell Street, often at the expense of on-street parking.

The transitway will eventually be expanded. There are plans for the route to extend south through Potomac Yard and down Jefferson Davis Highway to the Braddock Road Metro station. It will also be extended to the Pentagon City Metro station. The transitway will “set the stage” for a planned Crystal City/Potomac Yard streetcar, planners say.

Construction is expected to begin next year.

Towing in Shirlington Village?

By ARLnow.com

Sun Gazette Editor Scott McCaffrey wrote on his blog today that he recently witnessed cars being towed and license plates recorded in the Campbell parking garage in Shirlington.

That would be a departure from the lax enforcement system that has been in place for a while. In January we reported that the Harris Teeter — which had just installed parking meters for its reserved spaces in the garage — was not planning on “actively” enforcing its parking rules at the time.

McCaffrey writes that he witnessed parking enforcement monitoring the one-hour-only, non-reserved spaces on the second level of the garage.

Lyon Villagers Press County Officials On Parking, Traffic Issues

By ARLnow.com

Residents of the quiet neighborhoods that surround Arlington’s urban villages have a very peculiar relationship with the automobile. At least, that’s the conclusion one could draw based on citizen input at a Lyon Village community meeting that focused on parking and street-related issues.

Residents are quite opposed to the county taking away parking on one side of narrow neighborhood streets to allow fire engines and garbage trucks to operate safely. But they also want more zone parking to keep outsiders from parking on the same streets. And at least one gentleman wanted folks who rent houses to have their street parking limited to just two cars.

Residents expressed indignation that their streets weren’t plowed during snow storms, making navigation treacherous. Then some asked if there was any way streets could be closed to through traffic. One man earnestly suggested quadrupling the number of speed humps and lowering the speed limit to 15 miles per hour.

In short, when it comes to cars, some residents want things their way and want others to stay on the highway.

Lucky for them, Arlington County seems perfectly willing to listen and respond to their requests.

Last night Arlington County Director of Transportation Dennis Leach and Traffic Engineering and Operations Chief Wayne Wentz sat down for a 90 minutes discussion with about 30 residents at the Lyon Village Community House. Although the meeting was ostensibly about street parking, all manner of street-related issues were brought up. The meeting was attended by Lyon Village residents and by representatives of other local civic associations, who are worried about the county’s recent move to restrict street parking on certain narrow streets.

Wentz and Leach explained that while the county is not actively looking for narrow streets, one complaint about a street’s width — from the fire department, a garbage contractor or an anonymous resident — is all it takes for county staff to be sent out with measuring tapes. They will visit a street several times, on different days and at different times, to study parking utilization. If the street is less than 28 feet wide and heavily parked on both sides, parking restrictions will likely be recommended — although first the county will notify residents and initiate a neighborhood discussion about the changes.

(more…)

Lyon Village Parking Restrictions In the Works?

By ARLnow.com

What started as a fight over planned parking restrictions on one Lyon Park street seems to be spreading.

Last week, residents of N. Danville Street and several other Lyon Village streets noticed county staff measuring street widths. Staff were reportedly checking to see if the streets were too narrow for trash trucks and fire trucks, as was the case with N. Edgewood Street in Lyon Park.

According to Lyon Village Citizens Association President H.K. Park, the county is considering restricting parking to one side of Danville and other neighborhood streets that county staffers have deemed too narrow. On Monday, the LVCA will meet to discuss the possible parking changes with county staff.

According to an email sent to residents, the meeting will address:

  • “The justification for this new policy–whether your street may be next and how the county will select which side.”
  • “The frequency of garbage truck and fire truck problems.”
  • “How this policy comports with policies that encourage fewer driveways and garages and more on-street parking.”
  • “Whether any accommodation will be made for handicapped, elderly, and parents with infants who need close access to cars.”
  • “Whether the ‘problem’ is caused primarily by construction, commuter, and other non-resident vehicles that might be regulated in some other way.”
  • “Possible unintended consequences of any such restrictions, such as making it easier for cars to cut through the neighborhood and travel at higher speeds.”

Representatives from several other civic associations have said they plan to attend the meeting “because they believe their neighborhoods are next,” according to Park.

Among those who will be in attendance is Natalie Roy, president of the Lyon Park Citizens Association.

(more…)

List of Clarendon Streets Zoned Until the Wee Hours

By ARLnow.com

Our blurb about extended zone parking hours in the Clarendon area has provoked quite a response. In fact, as of this writing it has received 337 comments and counting, an ARLnow.com record.

For those who asked, we now have a list of the Clarendon-area streets that impose zone parking until the early morning hours. Only residents —  or anyone they give a temporary pass to — are permitted to park on the side of the street from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. on these blocks.

  • N. Fillmore St between Franklin Rd and Key Blvd.
  • Franklin Rd. between Edgewood and Filmore Streets
  • N. Garfield St. between Wilson Blvd and Franklin Rd.
  • N. Highland St. between Hancock St and Key Blvd.
  • N. Irving St. between 13th St and Jackson St.
  • N. Herndon St. between 13th St N and Key Blvd.
  • N. Jackson St. between Washington Blvd and 13th St N

In order to obtain the extended hours, residents of each block had to go through the county’s residential permit parking process. First, at least 60 percent of residents signed a petition requesting zone parking hours be extended. Then, county staff studied whether cars from outside the neighborhood were parking on the block, in order to confirm eligibility for the extended hours.

“County staff then surveyed the block to determine if there was parking overspill from outside the neighborhood,” said county spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel. “In order to meet the overspill standard, 75 percent of the block’s spaces must be filled with cars and 25 percent of the cars must be from outside the neighborhood.”

Zone Parking Becomes More Restrictive Near Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 9:50 a.m.) Some parking restrictions near Clarendon have gotten more restrictive.

The zone parking restriction on this residential stretch of North Highland Street, two blocks from Wilson Boulevard, used to end at 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. Now it ends at 1:00 a.m. seven days a week.

County spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel says the new signs went up on Monday, March 18.

Homemade No Parking Sign in Westover?

By ARLnow.com

A tipster sent us this photo of a spray-painted no-parking sign in front of a dumpster on 11th Street N., near the intersection with N. Kennebec St., in Westover.

“What right does someone have to do this?” the outraged tipster asked. “Can I report this to the county?”

The answer is yes — county officials say the spray paint can be reported to the police as graffiti since it’s on public property.

It’s unclear who is responsible for the rogue no-parking sign — the owner of the residential complex, the waste disposal company or a random graffiti prankster — and it’s not clear if we’ll ever find out. Police say that unless the graffiti is gang-related, it’s simply noted in a report and referred to a county agency for clean-up.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington to Install Parking Cameras? — Arlington is considering installing sensors or cameras that monitor parking space usage and using the data to hike parking rates to a more market-based price. One system the county is considering would use the same technology as the license plate readers used by police. [Greater Greater Washington]

Clarendon Metro Park To Get Overhaul — The Clarendon Metro plaza and the park adjacent to it will be getting some improvements over the next several months. The improvements will provide more room for the Wednesday farmers market and allow events to be held in the park. [TBD]

Senate Race: One Up, One Down — More developments in the quickly-developing race for state Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple’s seat. Dave Foster, the last Republican to sit on the Arlington County School Board, is not denying that he may be run for the seat. Also, other Republicans are said to be interested in the GOP nomination. Meanwhile, former Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Mike Signer says he’s not planning on running for Whipple’s seat, after all. [Sun Gazette, Washington Post]

Flickr pool photo by Christaki

View More Stories