Snow Possible During PM Commute — Another “flurrypocalypse” is possible during tonight’s evening commute. Forecasters say some snowfall is possible durning rush hour, and the frigid temperatures could allow enough snow accumulation for a repeat of the nightmare commute of Jan. 20. Road crews, however, say they’re ready. [Capital Weather Gang, Twitter, Twitter]
What To Do If Someone Needs Shelter — With bitter, possibly record cold temperatures expected this weekend, Arlington County says residents should call the county’s Homeless Services Center at 703-228-1010 if they know of anyone who needs shelter from the elements. [Twitter]
Long-Time Electoral Board Member Reappointed — Allen Harrison, Jr. has served on the Arlington Electoral Board for 29 years and was just reappointed in time for the March 1 presidential primary. Harrison, who is the Republican representative on the Board, is thinking about resigning before the November general elections. He’s the second-longest-serving Electoral Board member in Arlington history. [InsideNova]
Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick
The National Weather Service is warning of a potentially messy commute tonight.
D.C. area commuters could face snow showers and strong winds during the evening rush hour, forecasters say.
NWS issued the following Special Weather Statement just after 1:50 p.m.
…SNOW SHOWERS AND STRONG WINDS EXPECTED TO IMPACT RUSH HOUR THIS EVENING…
A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE REGION THIS EVENING DURING RUSH HOUR. THE FRONT WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. THE SNOW SHOWERS WILL START TO MOVE INTO THE METRO AREA BY 4 PM AND SHOULD CLEAR THE REGION BY 8 PM.
THE SNOW SHOWERS MAY BE LOCALLY HEAVY AND COULD DROP A QUICK COATING OF SNOW IN SOME AREAS. WHILE ROAD TEMPERATURES ARE WARM AT PRESENT…GUSTY WINDS AND COLDER AIR MOVING INTO THE AREA MAY RESULT IN PATCHES OF ICE ON UNTREATED ROADWAYS THIS EVENING. THE GUSTY WINDS MAY ALSO REACH 50 MPH WHICH COULD CAUSE SPOTTY MINOR DAMAGE.
EVENING COMMUTERS SHOULD USE EXTRA CAUTION AND TAKE THEIR TIME. VISIBILITY COULD DROP RAPIDLY FOR A BRIEF PERIOD DURING HEAVIER SNOW SHOWERS…AND ROADS WHICH APPEAR WET LATER THIS EVENING COULD IN FACT BE ICY.
(Updated at 2:50 p.m.) At a public forum last night, Arlington residents spoke out against the Virginia Department of Transportation’s plan to turn I-66 into a toll road during rush hour.
VDOT officials met residents at Washington-Lee High School (1301 N. Stafford Street) to discuss the I-66 Inside the Beltway project, which would convert the highway into a toll road during rush hour by 2017 and increase the HOV requirement to three people by 2020.
While some Arlington residents have spoken out in the past about the HOV changes, the audience’s attention was on the dynamically priced tolls proposed by the transportation authority. Members of the audience — who mostly identified themselves as Arlington residents — had a chance to comment on or ask about the plan.
Not one person supported the tolls, even though the biggest impact is likely to be felt by commuters from the outer suburbs.
“The public isn’t benefiting from the HOT lanes, only the wealthy and the privileged,” said one person.
Under VDOT’s plan for I-66, during rush hour both directions of I-66 would be tolled, with the cost depending on the level of demand for the road. During the presentation last night, Amanda Baxter, a VDOT official, said tolls could be as high as $9 for the eastbound morning commute.
I-66 would be tolled for four hours during each rush hour period, possibly from 5:30-9:30 a.m. and 3-7 p.m., Baxter said.
The idea behind the I-66 project is to reduce the amount of congestion on the road, allowing people to move more quickly during rush hour, said VDOT official Rene’e Hamilton.
“Time is money, and basically we are giving people a reliable trip that they can calculate how much time it would actually take them to go through the corridor and to their destination,” she said.
The project aims to improve mass transit, as well, since buses get caught up in the rush hour traffic too, causing daily bus riders to be late to work at least once a week, said Kelley Coyner with Northern Virginia Transportation Commission.
“The same things that hold you up in a car, hold you up in a bus,” Coyner said.
Using the tolls and converting to HOV 3 likely means fewer cars will use I-66 during rush hour. The goal is to have cars and buses consistently traveling at 45 miles per hour during rush hour, Hamilton said.
Currently, speeds can be as low as five miles per hour during evening commutes and 25 miles per hour in the morning. Other times, speeds are as high as 55 or 60 miles per hour, leaving people with an unreliable way of measuring how long their daily commute will be, she said.
“Tolling the facility will help to manage the congestion along the facility and create a reliable trip,” Hamilton said. “That 45 miles per hour that HOV facilities are required to meet.”
The audience mainly took issue with the price of the dynamic tolling, saying it would hurt people who can’t afford to pay $9 every morning.
“These tolls are for a reliable trip for the wealthy,” a resident said.
Another compared paying to use a road to paying to send a child to a public school.
“I’m opposed to tolls,” she said. “I feel roads, like our schools, should be paid for by our taxes.”
With snow falling and the evening rush hour beginning, Arlington County snow removal crews are gearing up to keep primary and secondary arterial streets clear.
According to the Arlington County website, the county is currently in a Phase 1 snow alert. Soon, crews will likely move into Phase 2, clearing accumulated snow from arterial streets.
“Our crews are on alert and scheduled to work through the evening as needed,” said county spokeswoman Laura G. Smith. “The public [can] check the snow status on our website.”
The video above, released by the county on Wednesday, explains Arlington’s snow removal process and its four phases.
The video also reminds residents that, by ordinance, all Arlington property owners are required to clear snow and ice from public sidewalks adjacent to their property within 24 hours after snow stops falling. In the event of snowfall over six inches, that timeframe is increased to 36 hours.
Property owners are also prohibited from depositing snow onto roads and other public property.
