Plans to build the future pedestrian bridge from Crystal City to National Airport are firming up.
A new report outlines the impact the bridge could have on the environment. It also details how the project will relate to separate plans to redo roadways and add more parking, new car rental facility and office space.
The environmental assessment says the impact on scenic views for drivers on the GW Parkway, as well as vegetation removal, is expected to be relatively minimal. Up to 146 trees could be removed for construction and the area would later be replanted.
Now through Oct. 3, community members can comment online on the report, Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Erin Potter tells ARLnow. They can also attend a public hearing on Sept. 19 at the Aurora Hills Recreation Center (735 18th Street S.).
Even with the pedestrian bridge, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which governs DCA and Dulles International Airport, says it does not project reduced vehicle traffic to and from the airport. As such, it is designing significant upgrades for drivers.
“The overall number of passengers and employees shifting to the multi-modal access would not have a notable effect on the forecast traffic demand on the Airport roadway network or the demand for on-Airport passenger and employee parking,” a report for the MWAA project says.
While MWAA is not leading the bridge project, it did have input on where the pedestrian bridge could go, the report says. It notes that where the bridge goes and what angle it is at will not alter the project’s environmental impacts.
MWAA asked Arlington County and the Virginia Dept. of Transportation to move the bridge to reduce impacts on existing parking and accommodate a proposed elevated ramp west of the West Entrance Road, the report says.
“Arlington County and the CC2DCA project team have been working closely with MWAA staff to coordinate delivery of the safety and access improvements provided by both projects,” says Potter.
Construction on the CC2DCA bridge is expected to begin construction in late 2027 and last for two years, Potter said. Since MWAA is still finalizing a timeline for its road improvements, VDOT and Arlington are blocking off an area where the bridge could go and deciding on a final alignment later.
The new report describes how the preferred option marries two other alternatives: one that crossed the GW Parkway and Mount Vernon Trail at a significant angle and another that provided a straight shot. The new renderings also show that, of the two Mount Vernon Trail link options, a more curved path was chosen.
As planning efforts continue for projects at DCA, the surrounding area is set to see changes, too.
An airport access road is set to be removed to make way for a redevelopment project proposed by JBG Smith. Near the Crystal City-side of the bridge, a second entrance to the Crystal City Metro station and a new Virginia Railway Express station and Amtrak platform are being built.
Meanwhile, the Mount Vernon Trail is set to be widened to 11 feet, a planned Crystal City bicycle network could be completed next year and the bus rapid transit network will be extended to Pentagon City.
Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARMnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza.
Legroom while traveling tends to be limited. With small pockets on the back of airplane seats to store belongings, one tray that opens to set things in front of you and no cup holder. Passengers can be uncomfortable for hours.
However, a Clarendon resident’s product is working to change that.
The Airplane Clip by FLYGA — previously known as the Sip n’ Clip — was created in 2017 to benefit travelers.
The product clips to an airplane’s backseat tray table — in its upright position — to hold drinks and provide more leg room, or to be used as a phone stand to watch movies on during a flight, owner and inventor Seth LaPierre said.
He explained how his company and product have changed since last speaking to ARLnow, when the clip first gained traction on Amazon and in airports.
The first change LaPierre made was transitioning to a new product name that aligned more with the one product and its use.
He also landed a deal with 40 Boxes, the website linked to the Deals & Steals segment on Good Morning America.
“They liked my product and wanted to make a deal,” he said. “This is hopefully a good first step to eventually get the product on an episode of Good Morning America itself.”
In April, LaPierre was able to sponsor the Airport Customer Experience Symposium by giving away branded clips with the event’s logo. This led him to gain Freeman, Deloitte and the Charlotte Airport as new clients.
The local inventor says he also received “verbal yeses” from Peet’s Coffee and InMotion’s National Airport locations, as well as the San Diego Airport to test sales of the product in their stores.
After setbacks due to Covid, LaPierre expressed his excitement over travel resuming post-pandemic since the official launch of the clip in 2022.
LaPierre started his company in Arlington and explained how influential the county has been in the creation and success of the clip.
“My product was designed throughout my journeys flying out from DCA. Access to that airport and living in Arlington were instrumental in my design process,” he said.
The attractions in the D.C. area allow for Arlington to be a hub for business travelers and tourists.
“Being a travel product in an area with so much travel has been… important for my business,” he said.
When we asked last year, just 25% of poll respondents said they were heading out of town for Memorial Day.
That compares to 35% who said they were traveling for Memorial Day in 2013.
With the holiday weekend coming up, and with Covid even less of a factor this year, we wanted to see if the 2023 travel figures would be substantially different than 2022.
At the same time, we were interested to know just how long your Memorial Day trips would be — short jaunts that require no additional weekday time off other than the long weekend, or longer voyages.
Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that highlights Arlington-based startups, founders, and local tech news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1515 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn.
Anna Sullivan remembers when she used to mark out her travels on a physical map using push pins.
It helped her visualize everywhere she had ever been — but, being a map, she could not just pull it out if a friend planning a trip asked her where to visit or eat. Sometimes, her mind would go blank during these “on the fly” requests for recommendations.
“It’s hard to think back on a trip sometimes,” she tells ARLnow. “I thought, ‘It’d be cool to have this with you all the time.'”
That is how the former Ballston resident came up with the idea for Pinplanet, which she describes as a digital travel scrapbook and trip planner. While she is the creative force behind the app, Harout Boujakjian, who lives in Courthouse, handles the technical, programming side of things with a third team member, Andrew Hornstra.
Sullivan and Boujakjian tested out Pinplanet on recent trips to Ireland and Mexico. Now instead, of trying to remember which restaurants they ate at or excursions they went on, they can pull up locations and experiences they pinned.
“It’s nicely curated,” he said. “It’s so much easier to point people to it.”
Sullivan had been kicking around the idea since college but it never went anywhere until she met Boujakjian in the summer of 2021. They began talking about making the app that fall and had a soft launch of a progressive web application by May 2022.
“Friends and family who tested it out wanted it to be a native mobile app,” he said. “So we took the plunge and got an iOS app out in November 2022. That was our hard launch.”
Since then, Sullivan and Boujakjian have honed the app, finding and fixing bugs or discovering new features to add, while on trips to New York, Philadelphia and Cincinnati.
Next, he and Hornstra will build an app for Android, which he said is not an easy feat for such a small team, all of whom have day jobs.
Another function he aims to realize in the next year would be something like an “explorer page,” which would use pinned trips from followers — paired, perhaps, with machine learning — to generate a grid of recommended places to inspire future trips for users.
Taking a page from the book of social media and popular music platforms, Sullivan says she wants to create a year-in-review feature.
“We’re probably going to dive in more on the travel stats and figure out other ways to make it interactive and flashy — have a yearly snapshot of your travels,” she said. “We’d put together a video of places you pinned in 2023 and make that something you can share. People love that kind of stuff.”
Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that highlights Arlington-based startups, founders, and local tech news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1515 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn.
Sip n’ Clip, a portable drink holder for airplanes devised by a local inventor, is ready to take off.
The cup holder that clips into tray tables, which first launched on Kickstarter, is now on available on Amazon. Meanwhile, on the promotional products circuit, it has gotten into the hands of some big clients, according to the company’s founder, Seth LaPierre.
The Clarendon resident, who taught himself 3D printing to design and build a prototype, says getting the product listed by the e-commerce giant was also a big learning curve.
“I thought it was a platform you put stuff on and sell. There are so many layers to selling and marketing on Amazon,” he said.
LaPierre devised the cupholder to slot into tray tables after his wife couldn’t figure out what to do with her coffee cup on a flight to France. As a bonus, he says, it doubles as a phone stand and can hold certain baby bottles. He previously told ARLnow that there is nothing like it, specifically for airplane travel, on the market.
On Amazon, LaPierre aims to get enough reviews for Sip n’ Clip to participate in Amazon Launchpad, a service the company offers to help products get discovered faster.
“My ultimate goal is to be really proficient by the holiday season,” he said.
Earlier this year, LaPierre flew to Las Vegas to look for knock-offs and competitors at the Promotional Products Association International expo. There, he said, he did not find quite anything like it on the show floor.
“I walked 12 miles in one day, talking to people, and some said it was the best thing they had seen in years,” he said. “This was really encouraging because that’s going to be the main core of my business.”
While there, he connected with HALO, which he describes as the largest commercial product distributor in the industry, grossing some $1 billion in branded swag sales. LaPierre says the company asked him to supply Sip n’ Clips to them; after getting everything set up with HALO about a week ago, he is hopeful about the product being introduced to more corporate clients.
Sip n’ Clip will be sponsoring a corporate travel-related event in New York City as well as a airport customer experience symposium in Louisville, Kentucky, hosted by the Alexandria-based American Association of Airport Executives.
“I think that will be a really good growth opportunity and a good way to introduce Sip n’ Clip to airport channels on a larger scale,” LaPierre said. “We already have the Daytona Beach International Airport and the Akron-Canton Airport as customers.”
Additionally, LaPierre submitted a pitch to host his product on the shopping channels QVC and HSN.
“Those are huge things that I’m really excited about,” he said. “Now I’m getting more inbound leads, and people calling me and saying ‘Can you give me a quote?’ instead of me knocking doors.”
Travelers can expect several new eateries and stores at Reagan National Airport later this year.
A travel supply store with “Just Walk Out” technology, a D.C.-based bookstore, a local burger restaurant, and Chinese food chain P.F. Chang’s are all planning to open at DCA at some point this year, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) spokesperson Rob Yingling confirmed to ARLnow.
While a number of those businesses were announced last fall, many are now targeting a summer 2023 debut.
The Goods will be a traditional travel supply store located in Terminal 2 near the D gates, but what will make it unique is use of Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology. Meaning, customers can exit the store without going through a checkout line because ceiling-mounted cameras and artificial intelligence track selections.
Locals might be familiar with this technology since it is also employed at the Crystal City Amazon Fresh.
Inside “The Goods” will be a “store-within-a-store,” D.C.-based Mahogany Books. The Black-owned independent bookstore has a popular location in Anacostia and the airport shop will be its first location outside of the District.
Mahogany Books will not employ the “Just Walk Out” tech but will have a more “traditional purchasing experience,” per Yingling.
Both The Goods and Mahogany Books inside are expected to start selling this summer.
Also moving into Terminal 2 and near the B gates will be Lucky Buns, a popular burger and chicken sandwich spot originally started in D.C.’s Adams Morgan neighborhood. It’s run by celebrity chef Alex McCoy. The fast-casual spot, which now has several D.C. locations — as well as Baltimore and London outposts which have since closed — is expected to open this summer.
U.S.-based Chinese restaurant chain P.F. Chang’s, meanwhile, is moving into the new $400 million 14-gate concourse that opened in 2021, near the E gates. Despite a recent alcohol permit application, it remains unclear when that restaurant might open to the public.
“We are getting close to the opening of P.F. Chang’s at DCA but don’t have a date to announce yet,” Yingling said.
Over the last two years, DCA has welcomed a number of other popular and local eateries to the airport. Wolfgang Puck Bar + Bites, Peet’s Coffee, Mezeh Mediterranean Grill, Timber Pizza Company, and Elevation Burger have all opened since 2021.
(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) A major storm affecting most of the eastern U.S. and midwest is set to ramp up tomorrow, making for hazardous holiday travel.
Ahead of the storm, the Virginia Dept. of Transportation sent a clear message this afternoon: start your trip now, if you can.
The storm will mostly bring the D.C. area copious amounts of rain starting Thursday morning, along with gusty winds and bitter cold temperatures on Friday. Frozen precipitation beyond some possible snow flurries is not expected in Arlington, but points west and north will likely see snow, sleet and freezing rain.
Along I-81 and the Blue Ridge, the storm is expected to be a high-impact event, and travel on Thursday is “not advised,” VDOT says.
More from a VDOT press release, below.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is advising motorists traveling in and through Virginia to adjust their holiday travel ahead of winter weather expected in parts of the Commonwealth beginning Wednesday night and continuing through Friday.
Travelers are advised to shift holiday travel to Wednesday if possible. Travel on Thursday is not advised, especially through the western regions of Virginia along the Interstate 81 corridor, to avoid potentially hazardous conditions created by forecasted winter weather.
According to current forecasts, wintry precipitation is expected to arrive as soon as 11 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21 in the southwestern regions of the state, and move northward through the western third of the state, and into portions of northern Virginia through Thursday. Periods of heavy snow are expected along the northern sections of I-81 and the mountain passes including Interstate 64 over Afton Mountain and Rt. 33 between Standardsville and Harrisonburg early Thursday. Temperatures are expected to drop rapidly through the day on Friday leading to the potential for refreeze in areas where the pavement remains wet.
VDOT crews are pretreating roadways and interstates today in anticipation of the weather event.
With extreme low temperatures expected to move in Friday, motorists, if traveling, should pack an emergency kit and blankets, and have mobile devices fully charged in the event of a breakdown or emergency.
“Please continue to monitor forecasts closely as forecasts can improve or worsen quickly,” VDOT said in a separate advisory. “Drivers should expect roads to be impacted Thursday and Friday… Treat anything that looks wet as if it could be icy, especially bridges, ramps, overpasses, and elevated surfaces. If there is snow or ice on roadways, travel is hazardous.”
The transportation agency is currently pretreating roads and “will begin deploying trucks early Thursday morning to treat roads as needed.”
“Adjust travel plans and avoid all nonessential travel during the height of the storm,” VDOT said “This helps to avoid deteriorating conditions and to allow crews room to work.”
A Flood Watch, meanwhile, has been issued for the D.C. area ahead of the rain.
322 PM EST Wed Dec 21 2022
…FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT…
* WHAT…Flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible.
* WHERE…DC and portions of Maryland and northern Virginia, including the following areas: District of Columbia. In Maryland, Anne Arundel, Cecil, Central and Southeast Howard, Central and Southeast Montgomery, Prince Georges, Southeast Harford and Southern Baltimore. In northern Virginia, Arlington/Falls Church/Alexandria, Fairfax and Prince William/Manassas/Manassas Park.
* WHEN…From Thursday morning through late Thursday night.
* IMPACTS…Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…
– Moderate rainfall is expected Thursday into Thursday evening, with rainfall totals of one to two inches. This may lead to isolated instances of flooding, especially in urban and poor drainage areas.
– http://www.weather.gov/safety/floodPRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.
VDOT released the following timeline of expected conditions in Northern Virginia and western zones through Christmas.
Thanksgiving week is here and, based on past polls, that means about 45% of you are traveling.
Our 2015 morning poll on the topic found that most local Thanksgiving travelers — about 75% — will do so by car, while 20% will travel by plane.
With that in mind, we have three key tips for Thanksgiving road and air travelers.
1. If driving, leave earlier or later in the day
Expect plenty of traffic if you’re planning to drive to your destination on Wednesday, but you can avoid some of it by leaving earlier in the morning or later at night. The same applies for those driving back on Saturday or Sunday.
“Based on the traffic data, periods of heavy congestion are most likely to occur from mid-morning to evening on Wednesday, Nov. 23, afternoon on Saturday, Nov. 26, and all day on Sunday, Nov. 27,” said a VDOT press release last week.
Based on a VDOT map of past travel trends, there is likely to be a fair amount of traffic in and out of Northern Virginia on Tuesday as well, particularly around the evening rush hour.
VDOT will be suspending most work zones and lane closures from Nov. 23-28, but that will only marginally ease the traffic onslaught.
2. Reserve your airport parking now
If you’re flying out of Reagan National Airport and planning to drive there, parking is currently widely available in all three lots.
However, you’re unlikely to find much — if any — parking by the time Wednesday rolls around. Fortunately, as of publication, online reservations were still available for Terminal 2 and economy parking.
Meanwhile, if you’re flying out of Dulles International Airport, don’t forget that the new Silver Line extension to Dulles is now open.
3. Drive carefully (and if you don’t, State Police might stop you)
With so many people on the roads, sometimes after having a few drinks, Thanksgiving weekend is sadly a time of many serious crashes nationwide.
That’s why authorities regularly encourage drivers to be extra careful this time of year.
Virginia State Police announced this morning that it would be conducting extra patrols and enforcement for Thanksgiving. More from a press release, below.
For many Virginians, gathering with family and friends is the true meaning for Thanksgiving. Some will even travel long distances to share in these wonderful family moments. Just as important as it is to make sure those pies and casseroles make it to the dinner table safely, motorists need to make their own safety a priority, as well. Virginia State Police is reminding all drivers and passengers of all ages to buckle up this holiday weekend. Preliminary data show that 54% of those who have died in traffic crashes this year were not wearing a seatbelt or safety restraint.*
“The fact that more than half of those who have lost their lives in traffic crashes this year were not wearing a seatbelt is a tragic and inexcusable reality for Virginia,” said Colonel Gary T. Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent. “Your family wants you to arrive safely and clicking a seatbelt can help that happen. Virginia State Police and your loved ones want you to arrive at your destination safely – ditch distractions, comply with posted speed limits, never drive buzzed or drunk, and, again, always buckle up.”
The Memorial Day holiday weekend is almost here and with it comes the kickoff to the unofficial summer travel season.
AAA expects 39.2 million people will travel 50 miles or more this weekend, an increase of 8.3% over 2021. Most — nearly 35 million — will travel by car. Another 3 million will travel by air, a 25% increase from last year, the automobile association predicts.
Overall, that’s still down from the pre-pandemic 2019 figures of 42.8 million overall travelers, including 3.22 million air travelers.
When we asked ARLnow readers about their upcoming travel plans last month, 27% said they had no plans at the time to spend 2+ nights away from home this summer, while 60% said they were planning between one and three trips.
Of course, this Memorial Day weekend comes amid yet another Covid wave that, while less deadly than past waves, still means plenty of disruption to plans and apprehension about visiting vulnerable loved ones. Then there are those sky-high gas prices — a national average of $4.60 per gallon, per AAA.
With all that in mind, today we’re asking readers: are you planning to travel this weekend? And we’ll be comparing the results to a similar poll in 2013 when just shy of 35% said yes (at the time, the federal government sequester was blamed for dampening D.C. area residents’ enthusiasm for holiday travel).
As commuters left to wet roadways this morning, predictions about when rain would switch to snow, and how much snow would fall, shifted.
Arlington is still under a Winter Weather Advisory until 1 p.m. today but Capital Weather Gang reports that the changeover to snow may be delayed in the D.C. area, lowering snow accumulation predictions.
The National Weather Service says snow accumulations up to 1 inch would mostly be on grassy areas. Arlington Public Schools closed today, using the school system’s last traditional snow day, in response to the initial weather advisory that forecast up to 2 inches of snow following rain during the morning commute.
Arlington County Department of Environmental Services tweeted that crews would focus on preventing ice buildup.
“With expectations dwindling for any significant snow today, County crews will focus on preventing ice buildup as temperatures drop below freezing this p.m. and stay there into Sunday. Plan for a slow Friday,” DES posted.
The National Weather Service said to plan on hazardous road conditions, slow down and use caution while driving.
“When venturing outside, watch your first few steps taken on steps, sidewalks, and driveways, which could be icy and slippery, increasing your risk of a fall and injury,” the NWS advisory reads.
Wires were also down in the Lyon Park area, closing a section of Washington Blvd. between 2nd Road N. and 4th Street N., Arlington County Police said.
6:30a update: Switch from rain to snow may be DELAYED until 8 to 10a in DC area. This could lower accumulation potential somewhat to more like a coating to 1" (rather than closer to 2"). But quick burst of snow still possible after switch.
Details: https://t.co/QzFeGlwLwV pic.twitter.com/WTeKasytP4— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) January 20, 2022
See the latest update to the advisory below.
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC
732 AM EST Thu Jan 20 2022DCZ001-MDZ011-013-014-016-504-506-508-VAZ052>056-502-201800-
/O.CON.KLWX.WW.Y.0008.000000T0000Z-220120T1800Z/
District of Columbia-Southern Baltimore-Prince Georges-
Anne Arundel-Charles-Central and Southeast Montgomery-
Central and Southeast Howard-Southeast Harford-
Prince William/Manassas/Manassas Park-Fairfax-
Arlington/Falls Church/Alexandria-Stafford-Spotsylvania-
Southern Fauquier-
732 AM EST Thu Jan 20 2022…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM EST THIS
AFTERNOON…* WHAT…Rain briefly changing to snow by the end of the morning
commute, with snow accumulations of up to one inch mainly on
grassy surfaces.* WHERE…The Interstate 95 corridor from northeastern Maryland
through the Fredericksburg area, including the DC and Baltimore
metros.* WHEN…Until 1 PM EST this afternoon.
* IMPACTS…Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous
conditions will impact the morning commute.PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
Slow down and use caution while traveling.
When venturing outside, watch your first few steps taken on
steps, sidewalks, and driveways, which could be icy and slippery,
increasing your risk of a fall and injury.
Folks wanting a weekend trip to Virginia Beach can now catch a luxury motor coach — with leather seats and hot towels — that has regular departures from Fashion Centre at Pentagon City.
Rides with the bus company, ROX, started July 1, 2020, and ended 90 days later as coronavirus cases rose in the fall. Service between Arlington and Virginia Beach started back up in July, and the company is set to bring a Charlottesville-Virginia Beach route online in September.
Today, the Virginia Beach-based company has three motor coaches that seat up to 23 passengers (a normal bus has 56 seats). Buses leave Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Each ROX bus has WiFi, individual charging outlets and chargers available on-demand. Riders can choose from a digital library of books, movies and TV shows, and are served a complimentary meal, snacks and soft drinks, with the option to buy alcohol.
“It’s better than any first class flight you’ve been on,” said ROX founder Jeff McWaters, a businessman and former Virginia state senator, who represented part of Virginia Beach.
McWaters, who founded the health insurance company Amerigroup, got the idea from his personal experience traveling for work between Virginia Beach and D.C.
If all the employees drove, “no one could work, it was dangerous, and we had issues,” he said, while flying was a hassle with frequent delays, and trains had poor WiFi and food.
With ROX, the former senator is looking to invigorate the commercial connection between the two hubs while taking advantage of a growing preference for remote work, with occasional trips to the office.
“We learned during the pandemic, you can work from home, you can work from the park, you can work with a glass of wine, but you can’t work on I-66, working on trains is spotty, and you can’t work on airplane,” he said. “You can work on the ROX.”
So far, most riders are using the bus for leisure, but McWaters predicts business travel will return.
ROX stops at Fashion Centre because it is well-connected and offers shopping and dining, he said. The mall, which offers luggage storage, alos has an Avis rental car outpost, and riders can catch the Metro or a car to get to other parts of Arlington, D.C. or the airport.
“It’s got everything,” he said.
While the bus service was shut down, the company earned income from private charters of a fourth bus. That coach features reclining seats, a kitchen, a sofa and eight televisions, including one outside for tailgating.
The bus has been to “some fun places,” and is set to embark on a 10-day hunting trip to Wyoming this fall, said Janice Tuckman, a sales representative for ROX.
“We picked up group at the The Greenbrier and drove them on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, where they visited distilleries and stayed at an Airbnb. They had a whoopin’ good time, and after four days, headed back to Greenbrier.”
