poll

Morning Poll: Metro ramping up fare enforcement

By ARLnow.com
The Ballston Metro station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Metro announced on Friday that transit police will soon resume citing those who try to ride without paying the fare.

The announcement follows an NBC 4 story earlier this month that fare evasion on buses is “reaching eyepopping numbers.”

A WMATA press release, below, notes that the transit is also considering faregate modifications at Metrorail stations, to prevent fare evasion.

Metro Transit Police officers will begin issuing fare evasion citations on Tuesday, November 1, following a monthlong awareness and warning campaign. Citations with associated fines may be issued to anyone jumping fare gates, improperly using emergency gates, or not tapping fare boxes on Metrobuses.

Fare recovery is a major issue and has been mentioned as one of the top concerns of customers when talking with Metro staff and Metro Board Members. Revenue from fares allows Metro to keep buses, trains, and MetroAccess serving our community.

Fare evasion is responsible for significant revenue losses and is part of the focus to close a shortfall of nearly $185 million in the upcoming budget. Using data from Metrobus and pre-pandemic industry averages for Metrorail, Metro estimates revenue losses due to fare evasion totaling tens of millions of dollars in fiscal year 2022.

Metro is working with local partners to offer resources to make public transit more equitable and affordable for those in need. A low-income fare pilot is getting underway in the District, and at Metro’s recent Board Meeting initial concepts about a regional means-based fare program were presented.

Metro is also exploring other methods that will prevent customers from entering rail stations without paying. This month, Metro is expected to begin testing faregate modifications as a preventative measure. Prototypes will be installed as a pilot at a selected rail station. Some of the modifications being explored include physical deterrents on top of faregates and higher barriers.

Fare evasion was decriminalized in D.C. in 2018, becoming punishable only by a civil fine rather than jail time. Civil rights advocates told WUSA 9 that they’ll be closely watching Metro’s new enforcement effort to make sure it is applied evenly and doesn’t unduly target certain places or groups.

The TV station also counted those skipping the fare at a few Metro stations, including Arlington’s Courthouse station.

“In just 20 minutes, we recorded 26 people hopping the [turnstile] at the West Hyattsville station — an average of 78 people per hour. Based on what we gathered, Courthouse in Arlington sees an average of eight jumpers an hour and three an hour at the Van Ness/University of the District of Columbia stop,” WUSA 9 reported.

Meanwhile, overly restrictive faregates have some critics, who say they constrict passenger flow, cost money to maintain and can make getting around more difficult for those with disabilities.

Given all of that, do you fully support Metro’s new measures? Let me know why or why not in the comments.

Morning Poll: How many pumpkins are you buying this year?

By ARLnow.com
Pumpkins outside Whole Foods in Clarendon in 2011 (staff photo)

There’s a nip in the morning air, the leaves are starting to turn, sweaters have been moved to the top dresser drawers, and the citizenry of Arlington is switching from cold brews to hot coffees.

Yes, it’s pumpkin season. And with Halloween less than three weeks away, we were wondering just how many pumpkins the average Arlingtonian buys.

Just one to display proudly? A dozen to line your walkway? None because seasonal decorating isn’t your jam?

Yes, inflation may be hitting our pocketbooks, but pumpkins, despite their size, remain in the mid-single-digits in price at the grocery store. It almost seems like a bargain.

So how many are you buying this year?

Morning Poll: What do you call the second Monday in October?

By ARLnow.com

Columbus Day is the one federal holiday that Arlington County government does not observe.

Both because it’s a convenient holiday to swap for an off day on the unofficial holiday of Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — and because, despite his exploration feats, Columbus is regarded by some as “a murderer, tyrant, and scoundrel,” Columbus Day here is just any other day for county employees.

Of course, for many — including federal employees and Arlington Public Schools students — Columbus Day is a day off. But Columbus is not always mentioned as the reason.

“No School for Students (Countywide PL for Staff)” is how APS describes today’s day off, while other holidays on the school calendar are named.

Arlington Transit, meanwhile, is operating on a modified schedule, but Columbus is not credited.

“In observance of the Indigenous People’s Day holiday on Monday October 10, 2022, ART will be operating on a Saturday schedule,” the transit agency wrote.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is now recognized by the White House, but started in the states, with South Dakota first adopting a version (“Native American Day”) as an alternative to Columbus Day in 1989 and other states like Alaska and Minnesota following suit in the mid-2010s. In some cases it’s used instead of the term Columbus Day, while in others it’s used in addition.

Columbus has his supporters, who tout his accomplishments despite all of the negatives associated with his journeys. And there are those who have simply always known today as Columbus Day and aren’t going to start calling it something else now.

But for others, calling the second Monday in October Indigenous Peoples’ Day is preferable.

With Columbus out of favor as a historical figure, especially locally, we’re wondering how many Arlington residents have, in their personal lives, taken to referring to today’s holiday as Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day.

Morning Poll: Do you take any steps to prepare for hurricanes (and their remnants) in Arlington?

By ARLnow.com
Hurricane Ian as of 9 a.m. on Wednesday (via National Weather Service)

Hurricane Ian is poised to slam parts of Florida today and tomorrow before making its way north, potentially bringing heavy rain to our area.

Virginia often urges residents to have a hurricane preparedness plan, but we’re wondering whether Arlington residents actually do that. After all, it’s the coastal areas like Virginia Beach that are more vulnerable to hurricanes, while Arlington is more insulated from the worst of the impacts thanks to our inland location.

The most significant hurricane to threaten Arlington in recent memory was Hurricane Irene in 2011, but while it did pack tropical storm-force winds that caused some damage, numerous downed trees, and power outages, most poll respondents said it wasn’t as bad as expected.

That’s not to say that a hurricane cannot, under the right conditions, eventually cause even worse damage here — so perhaps it will pay to be prepared.

But how many Arlington residents actually take concrete steps to prepare for hurricanes here? Let’s find out.

Image via National Weather Service

Morning Poll: Should we all just drive golf carts?

By ARLnow.com

Golf carts (Photo by Ralph [Ravi] Kayden on Unsplash)
An Atlanta suburb is known for its “miles of natural, wooded beauty” — and its 10,000 golf carts.

At 26.04 square miles, Peachtree City is just a touch smaller than Arlington County size-wise, though its population of 36,000 is a fraction of Arlington’s nearly 240,000. The master-planned community is best-known for its unique way of getting around: on almost 100 miles of golf-cart-friendly, multi-use paths.

There’s some suggestion that transportation planners across the country are beginning to see the benefits of adding golf carts to the modal mix. From a Twitter thread (and Slate article) last month:

As you might have gleaned above, the places where golf carts are catching on are in Sun Belt cities that rarely experience very cold weather.

The knock on bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters and other micro-mobility options — Arlington has long pushed bicycling in particular as a transportation alternative that doesn’t clog roads or pollute skies — is that they are highly undesirable in wet or cold weather, and not accessible for the elderly and some with differing abilities.

Golf carts at least partially solve those issues, though cold weather and snow remain challenges.

Even setting aside the weather, the advantages of golf carts — greener, cheaper, friendlier and more enjoyable commutes, for instance — run into the wall of reality in Arlington when one considers that they occupy a middle ground between driving cars and walking/biking that our transportation network is not set up to handle.

Peachtree City has an extensive trail network built out and golf-cart-ready, but Arlington’s trails were made for those on foot and on bike, not in electrified passenger vehicles traveling 20 mph.

Still, it’s fun to envision a future for Arlington that involves more golf carts as mobility devices. At the very least, the size of Arlington and its growing network of urban villages makes it more realistic.

Today we’re wondering: on the completely theoretical premise that a magic wand is waved and Arlington suddenly golf-cart-friendly like Peachtree City — used by much of the population, with safe and convenient trails — would you drive one?

Photo by Ralph (Ravi) Kayden on Unsplash

Morning Poll: Do you support ranked choice voting?

By ARLnow.com
Voting at Swanson Middle School in November 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington could use ranked choice voting in next year’s primaries, ARLnow reported yesterday.

From our article:

The system, also known as “instant runoff,” prompts voters to rank candidates and a winner is selected over the course of many elimination rounds.

The Board could vote in November to introduce ranked-choice voting (RCV) during the primaries next June. […]

The survey of voter preferences went live yesterday (Wednesday). From now until Nov. 4, locals can share any comments and questions they have about RCV, whether they’ve voted that way before and — on a scale of “very unfavorably” to “very favorably” — how they view it.

The county may be surveying residents, but we also wanted to gauge reader opinions on ranked choice voting, which some see as a way to encourage more candidate diversity while minimizing the chance that a fringe candidate wins due to other candidates splitting the vote.

RCV is also being recommended by a citizen task force that was charged with recommending ways to improve Arlington politics.

Opponents say ranked choice is confusing to voters, produces results similar to standard plurality voting, and is inferior to conducting an actual runoff election between the top vote-getting candidates.

What do you think?

Morning Poll: Is mid-September too early for Christmas?

By ARLnow.com
Christmas decoration in the Pentagon City Costco on 9/14/22 (photo courtesy John Antonelli)

Christmas items are now on display at the Pentagon City Costco.

Reader John Antonelli sent the photo above, which is perhaps jarring given the current beautiful, 80 degree weather — and the fact that many of us have not even started thinking about Halloween.

“Ho ho ho,” Antonelli said in his email.

But perhaps Christmas items in September are fine. Maybe there’s a subset of the population that appreciates getting to prepare for the holiday more than three months in advance.

Which of the following do you most associate with?

Morning Poll: Is a dip in home prices a good thing?

By ARLnow.com
For sale / contract pending real estate sign (file photo)

The once-hot real estate market in Northern Virginia is cooling as interest rates rise.

The median home sale price dipped slightly in July. While Arlington’s stats did not include a price drop — prices here have held up better than the outer suburbs — the number of home sales dropped.

More from the Sun Gazette:

The median sales price for homes that sold in Northern Virginia in July stood at $580,000, according to figures reported by the Virginia Realtors trade group.

While higher by nearly 5 percent than the $553,000 recorded in July 2021, the $580,000 figure trails the median sales price of $583,000 for the first seven months of 2022.

Put another way: While the year-to-date median sales price through July was up $13,100 (from $539,900 during the first seven months of 2021), July 2022’s sales price was down $3,000 from the same point a year before.

A sign of the apocalypse? No. But decidedly a sign of cooling. Especially as the summer months tend to be among the strongest, price-wise, in the local real-estate market.

Today we’re asking a somewhat counterintuitive question: do you, personally, think this dip in prices is a good thing?

After all, the run-up in home costs have come at the expense of affordability for first-time homebuyers, pricing many middle-income families out of the market for homes in places like Arlington, even as it has benefited existing homeowners.

So, purely from your perspective, do you see a home price swoon as a net negative or a net plus?

Morning Poll: Where are you from, originally?

By ARLnow.com
Light streaks from cars on I-395 in Shirlington during a cloudy evening (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

A decade ago, we asked readers where they were from, originally.

The poll found that only 11% of readers were from Arlington and only 20% from elsewhere in the D.C. area. Combined, that’s less than the just over 35% who said they were originally from the “north.”

On a Friday in late August, we’re asking that question again, but with the regions more precisely defined. Let’s see if the number of Arlington and D.C. area natives is higher than last time.

Morning Poll: What do you consider an ideal temperature range for outdoor exercise?

By ARLnow.com
A runner at Long Bridge Park (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

After a pretty nice couple of days, temperatures in the 90s are back — and sticking around for awhile.

That’s not great news if you’ve been waiting for cooler weather as fall approaches, so you can better enjoy your outdoor fitness routine.

The return of the heat has us wondering: what do you consider an ideal temperature for outdoor exercise — like running, biking, and tennis — or strenuous activities, like mowing the lawn?

Are you more a fan of sunny 75 degree afternoons, misty 45 degree mornings, or something else? Let us know in the poll and in the comments below.

Morning Poll: Has remote work made your team more productive?

By ARLnow.com
Person working on laptop (Photo by Burst on Unsplash)

Nearly half of remote and hybrid government workers say their team performance has improved during the course of the pandemic.

That’s according to new research from Crystal City-based consulting firm Eagle Hill Consulting.

From a press release:

 Forty-six percent of government employees who telework – both fully remote and hybrid employees – say their team’s performance improved during the past two years. Only 35 percent of in-person government workers say their team’s performance has improved during the period, according to new research from Eagle Hill Consulting.

And as the trend for remote work continues among both federal and state and local governments, more than half of the government workforce reports teleworking, either in a fully remote (26 percent) or hybrid environment (24 percent). A substantially higher number of younger workers in government report working fully remotely (34 percent) as compared to mid-career (24 percent) and older workers (11 percent). Those working in-person are far more likely to be older workers (70 percent).

Findings like this may lend further credence to the idea that hybrid and fully-remote work environments are not just a pandemic blip and are here to say, which will present significant challenges for both office building owners and local governments, including here in Arlington.

Today, we wanted to pose the performance question to readers, as well.

Are you working remotely, either on a full-time or hybrid basis? And, if so, do you think remote work has improved or hurt your team’s overall productivity?

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