The Buckingham Herald Tribblog

Representatives of Harris Teeter, Goodyear, and the American Service Center have been meeting with each other over months to discuss possible redevelopment options in the 500 and 600 block of N. Glebe Road. The potential changes—a long-shot at best—would completely change the look of the block, especially the section north from the Harris Teeter grocery store to the Goodyear Tire company at the corner of N. Carlin Springs Road. The ideas floating would move or expand the businesses, creating underground or garage parking, retail space and apartments.

This is according to Terry Serie, an Arlington County Planning Commission member who spoke at the Buckingham Community Civic Association last night. (He actually was invited as a member of the Bluemont Civic Association, and was not speaking officially for the Planning Commission last night.)

The companies have been speaking on their own, and the Planning Commission hopes to get all of them in the room together this summer to see what, if anything, would be worth pursuing, Mr. Serie said.

“I’m expecting that nothing will happen,” he said, given the complexity and scope of a project like this.

He said that last year’s proposed redevelopment of the Goodyear and the small house on N. Carlin Springs next to the tire company is currently off-line, but that has nothing to do with the discussions with the other companies, he said.

The Planning Commission is a citizen advisory board that helps the elected county board with "orderly development of the locality" the county's web site says.

The topic that Mr. Serie actually came to speak about, however, was the newly approved outdoor seating at the Union Jack’s pub, located on the ground floor of the Ballston Commons Mall with a store-front on N. Glebe Road. The outdoor space allows for 54 seats, but many more people than that for standing room. Couple that with Rock Bottom Brewery’s Wednesday night outdoor kegger next door, and the noise, especially in the evening is a bit much for people living in the townhouses across the street from the mall, said Mr. Serie, who lives in one of the townhouses, part of the Bluemont Civic Association.

That civic association only learned last week about the proposed expansion of the outdoor seating, too late to mount an effective campaign. Plus, the company scaled back its plan so that it did not need the complicated Site Plan review or an Arlington County Board vote. County staff could OK the project on their own, consulting only the Ashton Heights Civic Association where the mall is located.

Bluemont Civic Association voted to write a letter to County Manager Ron Carlee, asking that Bluemont receive notices of decisions being made in the 600 block of N. Glebe Road that face the Bluemont, even though the mall and garage property are inside the Ashton Heights neighborhood.

The BCCA voted to write a similar letter.

Also speaking at the BCCA meeting was Tom Hutchings, an Arlington County planner who ran through the $2.4 million renovations of three N. Glebe Road intersections at Fairfax Drive, Wilson Blvd., and Carlin Springs Road, called the North Glebe Road Pedestrian Improvements Project. This has been years in the making, and much of the construction has already been completed.

Wider sidewalks and skirts on the Exxon gas station and Goodyear corners has been completed, as has been shrub removal —allowing greater driver/pedestrian visibility—on the median just south of the intersection.

The most heated of the discussions among the people was how best to calm traffic entering and exiting the Ballston Mall parking garage.

Mr. Hutchings explained that planners tried to place raised crosswalks across the entrance to the garage, but the Virginia Department of Transportation would not allow it.

“We were hoping the bump-up would slow the cars down,” he said. VDOT also would not allow 10.5 foot traffic lanes, insisting instead on 11 feet.

People talked about getting better signs alerting drivers to watch for pedestrians. Mr. Hutchings said he would ask, at the request of the BCCA, that the entire corner, and especially the exit from the mall, be made “no right turn on red.” No promises in that, though.

This project started in 1999 and was projected for completion at least six months ago. Last report put the project at $1.9 million.

Finally, BCCA President Pat Hope made official what was clear to many: he will not seek another term as BCCA president. Mr. Hope is running as a Democrat in the 47th District of the Virginia House of Delegates. As a Democrat, he is widely expected to win the race and will not have time for both positions. He can serve until November, he said at the meeting. The BCCA will pick up the search for a replacement at the September meeting.

Proposed Mixed-use Building for Goodyear Site

A Decade for New Lights and Curb Cuts

I am still on summer hiatus, but the news was just too big to ignore at last night's meeting, so I thought I'd give a quick post. More on this in the fall, no doubt. --ST

Labels: asc, ashton heights, bluemont civic association, goodyear, harris teeter, pedestrian, redevelopment, traffic

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 6:01 AM 0 comments

June 13: Assault/Indecent Exposure, 900 block of N. Irving St. At 3:30a.m. a woman was walking when an unknown man grabbed her behind. When the victim turned around, the suspect then exposed his buttocks to her before fleeing the area. The suspect is described as an African-American male in his early 20s, 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 160 pounds. He was wearing a light colored t-shirt and dark pants.

June 20: Attempted Sexual Assault, 900 block of N. Taylor St. At 3:45a.m., a woman was walking when an unknown male approached her. He forced her into some bushes and attempted to remove her clothing. She fought him and yelled “Fire.” Witnesses ran to the area and the suspect fled. He is described as a white Hispanic male, 20 to 30 years old, wearing a button down shirt, dress pants, dress shoes, and a dress belt.

June 30: Assault and Battery (Arrest), 200 block of N. Glebe Road. At 11:45a.m., a woman attacked an adult and three juveniles while on a bus. The suspect was located by police. Angela Orji, 26, of Arlington, was charged with four counts of Assault and Battery. She was held on a $4,000 bond.

June 30: Disorderly Conduct (Arrest), 200 block of N. Glebe Road. On June 30 at 11:45a.m., a man interfered with the investigation of the above assault and refused to leave the area. Santos Cabrera Gonzalez, 44, of Arlington, was charged with Disorderly Conduct. He was held on a $1,000 bond.

June 19 (From a press release): The Arlington County Police Department is investigating a critical pedestrian accident that occurred on Wilson Blvd.on Friday evening.

Shortly before 11 p.m. on Friday, June 19, 2009, a pedestrian was struck by a white Ford F-150 truck. The accident occurred at the intersection of North 10th Street and Wilson Blvd. A pedestrian was crossing North 10th Street when he was struck by the vehicle. The driver of the striking vehicle stayed on scene and was interviewed by police. The pedestrian was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

Mark Planisek, 49, of Washington, died on on Wednesday, June 24, 2009.

The Arlington Police Department asks that any witnesses to the accident contact Det. Richard Conigliaro at 703-228-4159. Det. Conigliaro can also be reached via email at Rconig@arlingtonva.us.

Click the icons and lines for more information. Red=Person-to-person crime; Yellow=person-to-structure/vehicle crime; Blue=stolen vehicle; Purple=vehicle-to-vehicle crime; Aqua=miscellaneous. A dot in the icon indicates more than one suspect or victim. Click here for a larger map

Labels: arlington forest, ashton heights, Buckingham, Crime, Police

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 10:49 AM 0 comments

The man who accosted several Swanson Middle School students at a bus stop in Buckingham yesterday afternoon has been held under a mental detention order, but has not been charged with a crime.

He is known to police and has a history of mental disorder, said Arlington County Police Detective Crystal Nosal, the public information officer for ACPD. The incident occurred on the 4100 block of N. 3rd St., according to an email sent from Arlington Public Schools.

Police do not believe that the person was attempting abduction, as was first feared, but he may have tugged on the shirt of a boy, which is “scary for a 14-year-old,” Det. Nosal said.

He might be charged with assault and battery for the shirt-tugging, but police are waiting for a health evaluation before proceeding, the detective said. They are not releasing his name at this time since he has not been arrested and because police do not want to run afoul of the Health Information Privacy Act.

The email from the school thanked police for quick action and commended the students for following some basic safety tips such as walking in groups and telling adults quickly so that appropriate action could be taken.

May 4: Robbery, 4200 block of Wilson Blvd. At 4:45p.m., a man was walking when two unknown men approached him from behind. The suspect pushed the victim into a wall and demanded money. They then ran from the area. Both suspects were tall, muscular, African American males in their late teens. They were wearing sweatshirts with scarves covering their faces.

May 1 (delayed reporting to police): Robbery, 4300 block of N. Henderson Road. At 11p.m., a man was standing in front of a building talking on a cell phone. Two unknown men approached him, assaulted him and took his cell phone. The suspects were both African-American men in their early 20s. They were wearing dark clothing.

May 1 (delayed reporting to police): Attempted Robbery, 4300 block of N. 4th St. At 8:30p.m., a man was leaving a laundry room and two unknown men attempted to rob him. The suspects were unsuccessful and fled the area. Both suspects were African-American males in their 20s wearing dark clothing. The victim did not report the incident for six days.

May 9: Destruction of Property, Drunk in Public (Arrest), 900 block of N. Kenmore St. At midnight, a person witnessed a man damaging windshield wipers on several vehicles. Police apprehended the suspect. Kevin Chan was charged with Drunk in Public and held until sober.

May 10: Assault and Battery, 200 block of N. Glebe Road. At 9:45p.m., a man entered a store and assaulted an employee. He attempted to get the employee to leave the store to fight with him in the parking lot and left. The employee called the police. The suspect is a bald African-American male in his 40s, 6 feet tall with a heavy build. He was wearing dark jeans and a checkered patterned long sleeve shirt.

May 19: Filing a False Police Report (Arrest), 3800 block of N. 7th St. At 4:30p.m., a woman reported that her ex-boyfriend abducted and assaulted her. During the investigation officers found the event was fabricated. Leyla S. Kampman, 19, of Arlington, was charged with Filing a False Police Report. She was held on a $1,000 bond.

Click the icons for more information. Red=Person-to-person crime; Yellow=person-to-structure/vehicle crime; Blue=stolen vehicle; Purple=vehicle-to-vehicle crime; Aqua=miscellaneous. A dot in the icon indicates more than one suspect or victim. Click here to view larger map.

Labels: arlington forest, ashton heights, Buckingham, Crime, Police

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:36 AM 0 comments

Oct. 24: Robbery, 4300 block N. Wilson Blvd. At 3 p.m. a man was leaving a garage on his scooter when an unknown subject jumped in front of him. The suspect assaulted the victim and pushed him off the scooter. The suspect also stole property from the victim. The suspect was an African American male, 25 years old. He was last seen wearing jeans, a long dark jacket, and a pullover.

Oct. 26: Robbery, 4200 block of N. 2nd Rd. At 11:30 p.m., a man was walking home when two unknown men knocked him down and assaulted him. The suspects fled on foot with the victim’s wallet. The suspects are described as tall, thin, African American males wearing black hooded sweatshirts.

Oct. 27: Stolen Auto, 800 block of N. Randolph St. License tag #NY DNA8075. The SUV is a 2006 black Ford Escape.

Oct. 28: Death Investigation, 800 block of N. Greenbrier St. At 3 p.m., a man was working inside a dirt trench at a residential construction site. The trench collapsed, trapping him inside. Pablo Gonzalez, 59, of Falls Church, was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation is ongoing.


View Larger Map

Labels: arlington forest, ashton heights, Buckingham, Police

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:19 AM 0 comments