On Alexandria's Wish List: 2 New Metro Stations
Map It:
Braddock Road Eisenhower Avenue King Street Van Dorn Street
METRORAIL RIDERS who head through Alexandria might someday have to stop at two new stations being proposed for the Blue and Yellow lines at Potomac Yard and in the Eisenhower Avenue corridor. The city council has given approval to a plan that would have developers near the proposed sites help finance the construction of the two stations, as the Examiner reported on Monday:
City Council members have instructed staff to add language to Alexandria's draft master transportation plan that would bar the city from approving development ... unless the development clearly contributes to the funding and building of a Metro station.Blue and Yellow Line trains run through stretches of track where stations can be miles apart, as is the case with Eisenhower Avenue, King Street, Braddock Road and Reagan National Airport.
But don't expect stations to materialize in the near term: They cost about $100 million a piece and would take years of planning to make a reality.
Continue Reading "On Alexandria's Wish List: 2 New Metro Stations" »
IF YOU NORMALLY use the Eisenhower Avenue or Huntington stations on the Yellow Line during the weekend, take note. This weekend, there will be no Metrorail service between those two stations and the King Street station. Instead, Yellow Line trains from the District will run to the Blue Line's Franconia-Springfield terminus via King Street. Shuttle bus service will operate between Huntington and King Street, with a stop at Eisenhower Avenue.
The work will start Friday at 9 p.m. and wrap up at closing on Monday, which is Veterans Day.
Map image courtesy WMATA
Significant Weekend Delays for Blue, Yellow Lines
Map It: Braddock Road Eisenhower Avenue Franconia-Springfield
Huntington
King Street
National Airport Van Dorn Street
IF YOU PLAN to travel to/from/through Alexandria this weekend, be aware that trackwork on the Blue/Yellow line tracks near Braddock Road will likely cause significant delays starting Friday night in the 10 o'clock hour.
Blue and Yellow Line trains going between the District and Virginia will terminate at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport station. South of the airport, the Blue and Yellow lines will be operating in two separate segments:
» Every 30 minutes, a Blue Line train will operate between the airport and Franconia-Springfield via King Street.
» A Yellow Line shuttle train will operate between King Street and Huntington.
The work is scheduled to wrap up before opening on Monday.
» "Weekend Braddock Road Work to Cause Blue and Yellow Line Delays" [WMATA]
Alexandria's Weapon Against Smoking: Red Tape
Map It: Braddock Road Eisenhower Avenue King Street Van Dorn Street
VIRGINIA LAWMAKERS might have not moved to push a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants in the commonwealth, but that doesn't mean that Alexandria can't try for its own prohibition. The city isn't technically able to ban smoking outright, but it is considering a plan to alter its zoning and permitting rules to prevent new restaurants from allowing smoking, and to make it difficult for existing ones to allow customers to light up.
As The Post's Annie Gowen writes:
Alexandria would seize control of the smoking issue with such mundane tools as use permits. When a bar or restaurant came to the city to request a permit, the city would require it to be smoke-free before granting the permit. Restaurants that have permits must agree to go smoke-free in three months or risk future restrictions or even closure.Who knew city bureaucracy could be creative?
» "Alexandria's End Run on Public Smoking" [WaPo]
Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post
YES, ADRIAN FENTY'S swearing-in was all for show yesterday — he'd already been officially sworn in, along with the new D.C. Council, in a private ceremony on Tuesday. But nevertheless, the public inauguration, pictured above, was a clear public signal that Fenty was now at the center of the District's political stage. During his inaugural address, Fenty waxed inspirational, telling his constituents that the time has come to "fulfill our destiny."
But to some, the feeling of Fenty's public inauguration inside the Washington Convention Center lacked something: that Fenty energy seen out on the campaign trail. As The Post's Marc Fisher writes:
The applause was generous, the enthusiasm appropriate to the occasion, but this was not Adrian Fenty's crowd. ... In the back of the room, behind the red ropes that separated the ticket-holding swells from hoi polloi, people were busy swapping business cards, resumes and job-hunting tips. (A member of the permanent bureaucracy referred an office-seeker to an old buddy in a city agency: "You call him, you hear? He's taking care of his people.")So the more things change, the more things stay the same?
The main priority, according to Fenty, is fixing the District's troubled public schools. During a news conference at 10 a.m. today, Fenty plans to introduce his highly anticipated plan for the schools, which he's said will involve a mayoral takeover of the system. Last night, the new school board president, Robert Bobb, said he was deeply opposed to Fenty's plan, setting the stage for the first test of not only a new mayor, but also a new school board president.
» "Sworn In as Mayor, Fenty Vows 'Greatness' for District, Schools" [WaPo]
» "A New Engine, But No Machine" [WaPo]
» "New Chief Lashes Out at Takeover Proposal" [WaPo]
What else making news on this Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007? Let's get to it.
» WIZARDS BEAT BUCKS: In a 108-105 win, the Wizards beat the Milwaukee Bucks; Gilbert Arenas scored 32 points, including a critical buzzer-beating three pointer, pictured at right. More from The Post's Ivan Carter. [AP via ESPN; WaPo]
Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
» TRAIN OPERATOR BARRED: The operator of an out-of-service Yellow Line train that struck and killed two Metro track workers last year has been permanently barred from operating trains and buses, Metro announced yesterday. The Post's Lena H. Sun reports that the "transit agency found that she did not use appropriate emergency braking procedures" before the fatal accident near the Eisenhower Avenue station. [WaPo]
» ROSENBAUM MURDER SENTENCE: As was mentioned yesterday, a 24-year-old convicted of second-degree murder in the January 2006 death of New York Times journalist David Rosenbaum was sentenced to 26 years in prison. His older cousin, convicted of first-degree murder in the case, is still awaiting sentencing. [WaPo via Free Ride/Express]
» MORE NEWS AND VIEWS, as always, are available at washingtonpost.com, Washington Post Radio and Slate.
A WARNING for the Yellow Line: Two track workers 
Addison Road