Columbia Pike | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published July 12, 2018 at 8:55AM | Updated July 12, 2018 at 1:27PM

Stream running in a concrete channel behind houses in North Arlington (staff photo)

Arlington Named Top Digital County Again — “Arlington County is the No. 1 digital county in the nation for a third straight year. The Center for Digital Government and National Association of Counties 2018 award recognizes Arlington for its best technology practices in areas of open government, transparency, public engagement, planning, cyber security and operations.” [Arlington County]

Robbery in Courthouse — Two men reportedly robbed the Dunkin’ Donuts on Wilson Blvd in Courthouse yesterday evening. The men demanded money and fled the scene with cash but did not display any weapons during the robbery, according to initial reports. [Twitter]

News

Crime Report: Driver Arrested for Brandishing BB Gun

By ARLnow.com

Published July 11, 2018 at 3:45PM | Updated February 28, 2020 at 10:39AM

File photo

The incident happened last Tuesday shortly after 11 a.m. on the 4000 block of Columbia Pike, just east of S. George Mason Drive.

Police were called and located the vehicle and the suspect nearby, according to the latest Arlington County Police Department crime report.

News

Crime Report: ACPD Looking for Pushy Bike Thieves

By ARLnow.com

Published July 5, 2018 at 2:15PM | Updated February 28, 2020 at 10:39AM

File photo

The incident happened this past Sunday evening on the 1200 block of S. Courthouse Road, just south of Columbia Pike.

The four suspects stole a bike from the building’s storage area despite being discovered by the resident.

News

ART Prepares to Roll Out 13 New Buses Over the Next Few Months

By Alex Koma

Published July 3, 2018 at 2:45PM

Arlington Transit is prepping 13 new buses to start picking up riders in the coming months.

County transportation spokesman Eric Balliet told ARLnow the bus service received the new vehicles a few months back, and hopes to have three making the rounds before the month is out.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 2, 2018 at 9:35AM

Motorcycle Crash Closes Columbia Pike — Columbia Pike was closed in both directions for just over two hours this morning while police investigated a serious accident. A motorcycle reportedly crashed into a minivan between S. Frederick and Dinwiddie street, near the Arlington Mill Community Center. The motorcycle rider was seriously hurt and two people in the van were also taken to the hospital. [WJLA, Twitter]

Man Arrested for Threatening FCC Chair’s Family — A California man has been arrested and charged with sending emails that threatened to murder FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s family, over his support of the rollback of net neutrality rules. Pai has two children and lives in Arlington. Per an affidavit, one of the emails “listed the names and addresses of three preschools located in or around Arlington, Virginia, followed by the following sentence: ‘I will find your children and I will kill them.'” [Gizmodo, Washington Post]

News

More Than 100 Cyclists Flood Columbia Pike to Advocate for Better Bike Routes

By Alex Koma

Published June 25, 2018 at 3:45PM

Cyclists hit Columbia Pike to call for better bike routes (photo courtesy of Chris Slatt)

More than 100 bicyclists hit Columbia Pike on Saturday (June 23) to draw attention to a new push to improve bike routes along the road.

The newly-formed advocacy group Sustainable Mobility for Arlington County organized the roughly two-mile-long “Bike for the Pike” protest ride, which ran down Columbia Pike from the Penrose Square Park to the intersection with with S. Four Mile Run Drive.

News

Long-Awaited Columbia Pike Bus Service Changes Kick Off Sunday

By Alex Koma

Published June 21, 2018 at 10:45AM

Bus riders along Columbia Pike will see significant service changes starting Sunday (June 24), as part of the long-awaited “premium transit network” planned for the corridor.

Metrobus will soon offer five streamlined routes along the Pike, down from 11, and offer more frequent service across all of those routes, Arlington transportation officials told the County Board Tuesday (June 19).

News

New ‘Main Street’ Banners Approved for Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com

Published June 18, 2018 at 10:45AM

As expected, the County Board approved the banners — which proclaim the Pike to be “Arlington’s Oldest and Newest Main Street” — at its meeting on Saturday.

The initial 48 banners will cost just over $11,000 to install and will be paid for and maintained by the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization.

News

Arlington’s Metrobus Service Set for Route Changes Starting Next Month

By Alex Koma

Published June 18, 2018 at 9:45AM

Metroway bus at station (file photo)

Metro is making some changes to a handful of its bus routes around Arlington, in a bid to make service more efficient and save a bit of money.

WMATA’s Board of Directors approved a series of changes to Metrobus routes across the region on Thursday (June 14), including adjustments along six routes in the county. All of the alterations will take effect on July 1, and they mark the latest in a slew of recent changes to Metrobus service in Arlington.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 15, 2018 at 8:45AM | Updated June 15, 2018 at 9:39AM

Fox in a backyard (Flickr pool photo by GM and MB)

Free Admission at New Observation Deck — The new observation deck in Rosslyn is holding “Arlington County residents day” this weekend. Arlington County residents with valid ID can present it at the Observation Deck at CEB Tower box office for free admission from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. [Observation Deck at CEB Tower]

Stanley Cup to Visit ACPD Today — The Arlington County Police Department is set for a visit from the Alexander Ovechkin, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and the Stanley Cup today. [WUSA 9]

Events

Columbia Pike Blues Fest Returns Saturday

By Melanie Pincus

Published June 13, 2018 at 4:45PM

17th Annual Columbia Pike Blues Festival (photo courtesy of Columbia Pike Documentary Project)

The 23rd annual Columbia Pike Blues Festival will take place this Saturday (June 16) from 1-8:30 p.m.

The event is free and will take place near the intersection of S. Walter Reed Drive and Columbia Pike. Singer/songwriter Don Bryant will headline the festival, which features blues, R&B and funk performers of regional and national acclaim.

Around Town

UPDATED: New Caps Banner Above Columbia Pike Prompts Community Consternation

By Alex Koma

Published June 6, 2018 at 3:45PM | Updated June 7, 2018 at 10:33AM

A Washington Capitals banner hanging above Columbia Pike (photo courtesy of Michael Garcia)

Update on June 7 at 10:30 a.m. — Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization officials say they’ve struck a deal with the Capitals to resolve this dispute.

Each group will now post a banner above Columbia Pike, one facing east and one facing west. They believe a contractor for the Caps inadvertently disposed of the old CPRO banner, and the team plans to replace it, at no cost to CPRO.