parking

Complaint of the Day: Satellite Truck Edition

By ARLnow.com

If you spend enough time listening to Arlington’s police frequencies, you’ll notice that people love calling in to complain about things. Since complaining is so popular, we’re launching a periodic feature called the “complaint of the day,” to highlight the most humorous, outrageous or otherwise unseemly complaints received by police.

When it comes to citizen gripes in Arlington, noise complaints and “aggressive driver” complaints are common, but far and away the most frequent complaint is the parking complaint.

Vigilant civilians will call the police when a car is illegally parked in zone parking on any given weekday afternoon. They will also occasionally call to report expired meters.

This morning, someone called to report that a satellite truck — assumedly a news van — had been parked for more than four hours at North George Mason Drive and North Park Drive. We’d love to know the thought process involved with such a call — what was so bad about the truck being parked there that would justify asking police to possibly interrupt a broadcast being watched by thousands of people? (See comments.)

Crime Report: “Don’t Save the Space, Save Yourself” Edition

By ARLnow.com

In Lyon Park last week, police say a man purposely backed into a parking space, hitting a person who was assumedly trying to save the space for someone else.

ASSAULT AND BATTERY-ARREST 07/21/10, 900 block of N. Wayne Street. On July 21 at 10 pm, a man purposely reversed his vehicle into someone standing in a parking space. William Reintzel Jr., 39, of Arlington, was charged with Assault and Battery and held on a $2,000 bond.

Also last week, a purse-snatching happened in the middle of Courthouse while people were heading home from work.

ROBBERY 07/22/10, 2100 block of Wilson Boulevard. On July 22 at 6 pm, an unknown man approached a woman walking and forcibly pulled her purse from her shoulder. The suspect then fled on foot. He is described as a black male, 20 to 30 years old, 5’10” and 185 lbs. The suspect was wearing a navy blue t-shirt and jeans.

The rest of the latest Arlington County crime report, after the jump.

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Parking Tickets Getting More Expensive Thursday

By ARLnow.com

Get ready to pay more if you’re caught parking illegally in Arlington. Parking fines will increase on Thursday.

A ticket for parking at an expired meter is going up to $35. It was previously $25.

The fine for most other parking violations will increase from $40 to $50.

The county issued more than 225,000 parking tickets last year, bringing in $7.4 million, according to the Sun Gazette. The new fines are expected to generate an additional $1.5 million per year.

Also Thursday, ART bus fares and STAR transit fares will increase.

Bus Parking on a Highway On-Ramp?

By ARLnow.com

Every afternoon for the past week — and quite possibly for longer than that — this Loudoun County Transit bus has parked itself on the right shoulder of the busy ramp from Route 110 to Route 1 in Pentagon City, forcing cars to veer to the left as they drive by.

Other commuter buses in the area like to idle on the side of bumpy, narrow Old Jefferson Davis Highway while waiting to pick up passengers in Crystal City, but for some reason this bus likes the on-ramp.

There’s got to be a safer place to park, right?

Arlington Mulls Tour Bus Parking Meters

By Uriah Kiser

Officials said a proposal to install new tour bus parking meters could net Arlington thousands in fees and could help the county bring in $1 million in new visitor spending.

County officials have proposed installing the meters at popular tourist spots such as the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, the Village at Shirlington, Crystal City, and Ballston. Bus operators would have to cough up $3 per hour to park along curbs, where they currently park in designated spots for free.

County officials said the parking meters alone would generate an estimated $90,000 per year. But a private research firm and the Arlington Economic Development Commission Tourism Committee said a growing tour bus industry could bring in new revenue to local restaurants that cater to large groups, netting the county over $37,000 in combined new sales, meals and transient occupancy taxes, according to county documents.

“It’s just time that we do this,” said Arlington parking manager Sarah Stott. “In a recent parking review, the county board said we should look at every space available and make sure that it’s used properly, and this is just part of that effort.”

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