parking | ARLnow.com

Board Approves New Office Parking Policy

Published December 16, 2013 at 9:50AM

The county will have the same minimum standard for parking spaces as before, but developers will now be allowed to make contributions to county transportation funds in exchange for being allowed to build fewer spaces than the minimum. Among the funds to benefit from the contributions are the county’s Transportation Demand Management fund and funding for transit, bike and pedestrian infrastructure.

“This policy will help ensure that our commercial buildings work for everyone — the developers, the people who travel to and from them to work, shop, dine or do business, and the surrounding neighborhoods,” Board Chairman Walter Tejada said. “It provides a framework that will allow developers to build less parking in commercial areas without increasing traffic on our streets.”

Weather

Snow Delays Some County Services, Parking Still Enforced

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 10, 2013 at 2:00PM | Updated December 10, 2013 at 4:04PM

Earlier — All of the weather advisories for Arlington County have been cancelled and the snow has stopped falling, but the storm’s effects still linger around the county.

There are 250 customers without power according to Dominion’s outage map. Some of those are residual from Sunday’s ice storm, which knocked out power to about 1,700 Arlington customers.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 3, 2013 at 10:35AM | Updated December 3, 2013 at 11:17AM

Projected Subsidy Soars for Aquatics Center — The planned Long Bridge Park Aquatics Center could require more than $4 million per year in subsidies from the county government, according to new projections. That’s up from projections as low at $1 million per year. “Certainly there are other priorities that arguably should come before building a luxury pools facility,” said local fiscal watchdog Wayne Kubicki. Construction contracts for the aquatics center are expected to be awarded early next year. [Sun Gazette]

County May Allow Less Office Parking, For a Fee — Arlington County is considering a system that would allow office developers to build less than the currently-required amount of parking, in exchange for a per-parking-space fee. The fee would then be used for public improvements in the area around the building, or for Transportation Demand Management Services for the building’s tenants. [Greater Greater Washington]

News

County to Get Pay by Phone Parking Meters

By Katie Pyzyk

Published November 26, 2013 at 2:30PM | Updated August 21, 2014 at 10:23AM

The county’s Department of Environmental Services (DES) hopes to have the system up and running by the fall of 2014. Right now DES is waiting for the police department to update its parking enforcement system before moving forward.

DES Parking Manager Sarah Stott explained that the handheld devices currently used by parking enforcement officers are not connected to a wireless system. ACPD needs to purchase new wireless handheld devices that are connected to “the cloud” where all the pay by phone information is stored. Once the system is in place, officers can type in a license plate and a message will pop up if the meter user paid by cell phone. Some systems also allow officers to type in a location and instantly know which cars on that block paid by cell phone.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 24, 2013 at 8:30AM | Updated October 24, 2013 at 10:16AM

Treasurer Makes Deal for iPark Refills — Arlington County Treasurer Frank O’Leary has struck deals to allow the county to refill iPark devices, while adding more devices to the cache that can be used to replace non-functioning units. The county paid $10,000 to the bankrupt manufacturer of the devices for the codes necessary to add value without additional authorization or payment to the company. The move comes about a month and a half after the company’s bankruptcy suddenly prevented the county from refilling the devices. [Sun Gazette]

Man Gets 10 Year Sentence for Custis Trail Robbery — A 23-year-old D.C. resident has received a 10 year sentence for a robbery on the Custis Trail that left a jogger with a head injury and lingering cognitive effects. The attacker and his 17-year-old brother, who’s expected to receive a 1.5 to 3 year sentence, were both arrested as they fled toward the Ballston Metro Station. The victim, a 55-year-old personal trainer, says he still suffers from headaches, nightmares and memory loss. [Washington Post]

News

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published October 17, 2013 at 9:15AM | Updated October 17, 2013 at 2:18PM

County Seeks Federal Funds for Transportation Projects — County officials are expected to apply for three grants for non-vehicular transportation projects. The $1 million in grant money would cover a bicycle and pedestrian connection between Four Mile Run Trail and Potomac Yard, improvements at Ashlawn Elementary School, and street and sidewalk improvements along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. [Sun Gazette]

Man Hospitalized After Fall at Airport — A man has been hospitalized after falling from a roadway at Reagan National Airport on Tuesday. He apparently climbed over the protective barrier near the ticketing level roadway and fell to the arrivals roadway below. [Washington Post]

News

Board to Examine Permit for New School

By Katie Pyzyk

Published September 17, 2013 at 11:30AM | Updated September 17, 2013 at 2:19PM

Plans for the new school have been in the works for some time, and the Arlington School Board unanimously approved a conceptual design in February. Although a number of concerns from the community have arisen during the planning process, county staff recommends Board approval for the use permit.

One issue that previously prompted a meeting is the traffic impact a new school would have on the surrounding area. A study indicates traffic impacts only occur during a 15 to 20 minute “peak” period during school arrival and departure times. It is therefore suggested that the two schools stagger their start/end times to reduce this traffic impact, with Williamsburg having an earlier start time than the new school. Staff believes the new school’s parking lot has been adequately designed to prevent long lines of waiting cars from spilling into the neighboring streets during drop off and pick up times.

News

iPark Devices No Longer Accepting Refills

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 5, 2013 at 3:30PM

The manufacturer, ePark Systems, declared bankruptcy Tuesday, Arlington Chief Deputy Treasurer Carla de la Pava said, notifying the county of the impending bankruptcy at about 1:00 that morning. Funds that are still on the devices can still be used, but refills cannot be processed.

The county first stopped selling the iParks in January 2011 when ePark Systems stopped manufacturing them due to financial troubles, but started selling the devices again nine months later when the company had “recapitalized,” Treasurer Frank O’Leary said at the time.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 5, 2013 at 8:30AM

Board Approves Paid Parking at Arlington Mill Center — The Arlington County Board has approved a plan to have drivers pay for parking longer than 4 hours at the new Arlington Mill Community Center. The plan, approved by a vote of 3-2 in a special Board session, is intended to discourage commuters from using the center’s parking garage. Chris Zimmerman and Board Chair Walter Tejada voted against the plan, arguing that parking should be free at all times. [Sun Gazette]

Arlington Seeks Better Bike Map — Arlington County is asking for public input into its effort to design a better bike map of the county. Bike Arlington has created a short survey for local cyclists. The survey will remain open until Sept. 17. [Greater Greater Washington]

Around Town

Former Funeral Home Site Now a Parking Lot

By Katie Pyzyk

Published April 19, 2013 at 3:45PM

By 2013, the site at 3901 N. Fairfax Drive had become a parking lot (Staff photo by Katie Pyzyk)

Arlington Funeral Home at 3901 N. Fairfax Drive in Virginia Square was demolished last June in anticipation of the construction of a new mixed use development. For now, the site instead serves as a temporary surface parking lot.

The County Board approved the development’s site plan at its meeting on January 21, 2012. The idea is to build a 10-story building with three levels of underground parking. The development would contain office space, ground floor retail and a black box theater.

News

Board to Consider Food Truck Parking Change

By Katie Pyzyk

Published April 18, 2013 at 3:45PM | Updated April 18, 2013 at 8:22PM

Proposed ordinance changes include extending the amount of time food trucks can park in one space from one hour to two hours. Currently, food trucks must move after one hour, but the ordinance wording is vague and doesn’t specify how far the vehicle must move, causing problems with enforcement. That’s another issue board members will examine on Saturday.

Food truck vendors have argued that the 60 minute rule hurts business because they were often forced to move in the middle of a lunch rush, or else face a citation. County staff appears to agree, based on the following excerpt from the staff report:

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 20, 2013 at 9:05AM | Updated March 20, 2013 at 10:22AM

It’s the First Day of Spring — At 7:02 this morning, astronomical winter ended and spring officially began. Spring also means longer days. Currently, we’re gaining about two and a half minutes of daylight per day. [Capital Weather Gang]

EFC Has Fullest Metro Parking Lot — East Falls Church has the fullest parking lot in the Metro system, with a 120 percent usage rate. Demand for the lot is only expected to increase when the Silver Line opens. [Washington Examiner]