Ting Internet started providing some long-awaited competition to Comcast in parts of Alexandria earlier this year, now the company says it’s expanding to central Alexandria soon.
Catharine Rice, community engagement and public affairs manager, told ALXnow in an email that the company has finished microtrenching in work zone 1, the first area Ting Internet was implemented in Alexandria. Rice said Ting Internet is starting work in neighborhoods west of Braddock Road soon, but without any exact dates announced.
“We have now completed all microtrenching in our work zone 1, which includes all of Del Ray, and will head into work zone 2 shortly (west of Braddock Road),” Rice said.
Rice said the existing infrastructure made Del Ray and surrounding communities the ideal starting place.
“We originally began construction in northern Alexandria as our first work zone because there was already critical backbone infrastructure in place in the area,” Rice said. “It also creates a seamless starting point for construction as we build to the west and south. Most households in Del Ray, Beverly Hills, North Ridge, and Lynhaven can now sign up for service and we anticipate being able to begin construction on our work zone two in the near future.”
Rice also said “hundreds of residents” have signed up for Ting, but would not give ALXnow any exact numbers or any timetable for future expansion plans.
Arlington calls for aid, and Alexandria will answer.
Alexandria’s City Council is scheduled to vote at a meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 26, to support neighboring Arlington’s funding application for an expanded Shirlington Transit Center.
Arlington County is applying for funding from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority to expand the transit center in Shirlington, a major hub for bus traffic.
“Arlington County has requested $11.6 million to fund the Shirlington Bus Station Expansion,” Director of Transportation and Environmental Services Adriana Castaneda wrote in a memo. “This station is the principal transfer point for Arlington Transit (ART) bus service, Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) Metrobus service, and bus service (Routes 36A and 36B) in South Arlington.”
While the project is outside of Alexandria, Castaneda said Alexandria would benefit from the project as some of those added bus bays would serve the West End Transitway, which will stop at the Shirlington Bus Station.
“This capital project focuses on adding bus bays at the Shirlington Bus Station to meet future demand, including the space needed for future West End Transitway buses and any service improvements from Alexandria’s Transit Vision Plan, as well as expansion plans of Arlington Transit and WMATA,” Castaneda wrote.
The West End Transitway is a project that will connect transit facilities along the West End, from the Van Dorn Metro station up to Shirlington, passing through the redeveloped Landmark Mall site. The project is in the design phase, with construction scheduled for 2025-2026, opening sometime in late 2026.
Image via Google Maps
Ideally, the Four Mile Run Park Trail would connect the two sides of the Arlandria park. Since 2021 the bridge at the center of that trail has been shut down, but work is starting this month to change that.
An inspection in summer 2021 found a hole in the bridge and the city determined the bridge was not suitable for use. The bridge was closed in August 2021. A daytime detour runs just north of the bridge along the Four Mile Run Wetland Trail. The nighttime detour runs down to Reed Avenue
The City of Alexandria is starting work this month on a replacement bridge. Construction is scheduled to run until July 2024.
The city is also hosting an open house tonight (Wednesday) at the Leonard “Chick” Armstrong Recreation Center (25 W. Reed Avenue) from 7-8 p.m. to share more information about the bridge replacement project.
#ICYMI: Starting this month, construction work will begin on the Four Mile Park Trail bridge that connects Commonwealth Avenue to the main park.
Learn more at a community meeting this Wednesday, 7 p.m., at Leonard “Chick” Armstrong Rec. Center: https://t.co/mwDkA0dnmq pic.twitter.com/HgGefvvsvy
— AlexandriaVAGov (@AlexandriaVAGov) September 18, 2023
City leaders hope to make good use of the new government hub in the West End with a multi-language town hall event this weekend.
The event is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 24, from 1-3 p.m. in the Del Peper Community Resource Center (4850 Mark Center Drive) — colloquially called West End City Hall during development.
While other meetings are held for specific issues — like the Zoning for Housing/Housing for All discussion recently moved to Thursday, Sept. 28 — this town hall is focused more generally on issues around Alexandria.
“Mayor Justin Wilson, Vice Mayor Amy Jackson, and all members of City Council will be present to speak about the issues impacting you and your family,” the city said in a release. “You can also get the latest news on upcoming projects and initiatives in Alexandria. Spanish, Amharic, and Arabic interpretation services will be available at the event.”
Do you have questions regarding your City? We want to hear them!
Join us for our City Council Town Hall on Sunday, Sept. 24 from 1-3 p.m. at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center.
RSVP here: https://t.co/U0pugFFOe3 pic.twitter.com/EpD6UcpMaE
— AlexandriaVAGov (@AlexandriaVAGov) September 18, 2023
From tango to storytime, the Alexandria Library is hosting an array of events this month to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
The month of programming started on Sept. 15 and will run until Monday, Oct. 16.
There will be a bilingual storytime on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 10:15 a.m. in the Burke Branch Library (4701 Seminary Road). The event is aimed at children who are one or two years old.
There are storytime events throughout the month, including ones for older children and a book club for adults. There will be a screening of Encanto, one of the best Disney movies in recent memory, at the Duncan Branch Library (2501 Commonwealth Avenue) on Wednesday, Oct. 4 from 4-6 p.m.
There are also multiple dances and dance classes, including a Tango class on Tuesday, Sept. 26 from 4-5 p.m. in the Burke Branch Library.
The full list of events over the next month is available online.
Hispanic Heritage Month begins today, and the Library has events lined up throughout that will educate, entertain, and inform. https://t.co/yZ357nBrNB pic.twitter.com/VFK9VgCUKN
— Alexandria Library (@alexlibraryva) September 15, 2023
Image via PreilluminationSeTh/Unsplash
The Alexandria Board of Architectural Review (BAR) has a storied history of seemingly petty battles with property owners, but the newest one might take the cake.
City staff is recommending denial of a Certificate of Appropriateness for vinyl windows, window trim and shutters at a Parker-Gray home — meaning the owner may have to restore the original windows or find historically suitable replacements.
Last year, after extensive discussion, the BAR said a homeowner would likely have to remove newly installed HVAC piping from a building at 319 North Alfred Street — which was done earlier this year. In 2021, another Parker-Gray business got in hot water over a new paint job on a building in the historic district.
“The applicant is requesting a Certificate of Appropriateness for after-the-fact installation of vinyl windows, window trim, and shutters at the property located at 335 North Patrick Street,” the staff report said. “The application is in response to two separate BAR violations being issued to the property.”
The home was built in 1877 and was used as a grocery for a period in the early 20th century, the staff report said.
The report says the homeowner replaced wood windows, window trim and shutters with vinyl windows and shutters. The staff report quoted the city’s design guidelines in saying windows are a “principal character defining feature of a building” for both functional and aesthetic purposes and defines the “historic architectural style of a building.”
The bottom line, according to the staff report, is that the vinyl windows and shutters will have to be replaced.
“Staff finds that the installed windows, trim, and shutters do not comply with the relevant guidelines and policies and are inappropriate for this early Parker-Gray building,” the report said. “On numerous occasions, the Board has found that these products should not be used on buildings within the historic district, and in this case the fact that it is a corner building means that a larger number of window openings are directly adjacent to the sidewalk.”
The case of the vinyl windows is scheduled for review at the BAR meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
(Updated 9/19) The next public discussion for Alexandria’s Zoning for Housing/Housing for All is coming next week.
The second of three fall community meetings is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 28, from 6-8 p.m.
The proposal debuted at a joint City Council-Planning Commission meeting earlier this month. While the plan includes some significant changes, like the removal of single-family-only zoning, there were widespread concerns on the governing bodies that the practical impacts of these changes would be negligible without other significant alterations to zoning requirements like setbacks or density.
“Staff will summarize draft recommendations presented during the September 5 joint City Council-Planning Commission work session, review the schedule of additional engagement opportunities, and answer questions from the community,” the release from the City of Alexandria said.
The last meeting was on Thursday, Sept. 14, and was fairly uneventful. As with the upcoming meeting, there was no real public comment section, with a few public comments read aloud off note cards by city staff.
The meeting will be held in-person at the William Ramsay Recreation Center (5650 Sanger Avenue) or can be viewed online. In-person and virtual interpretation services will be provided in Amharic, Arabic and Spanish.
After a dip in 2020, Capital Bikeshare use in Alexandria has been on a rapid rebound and this year surpassed pre-Covid ridership.
The network overall hit ridership records this summer. Capital Bikeshare hit an all-time ridership record in Alexandria this July, with 10,652 total trips, according to a new report to the Traffic and Parking Board. There was an average of 343.6 trips per day in July.
“The Capital Bikeshare system has hit record ridership numbers systemwide and in the City of Alexandria in 2023,” the report said. “Four of the highest performing months of all time have been in 2023 so far.”
The report credited some of that success to a new e-bike model.
“High ridership has been aided by a new e-bike model that was introduced to the Capital Bikeshare system in March 2023,” the report said.
If you speed near an Alexandria school zone, you’ve been warned: starting next Monday, you could get a ticket from the speed cameras.
Speed cameras were installed earlier this year near Francis Hammond Middle School, John Adams Elementary School, Ferdiannty T. Day Elementary School and George Washington Middle School.
“An initial warning period was conducted in June at the end of the 2022-23 school year,” a staff report said. “The City issued over 3,500 warning notices during this time.”
After a second waring period, which started Aug. 21 and will end on Sunday, Sept. 17, the program will go live on Monday, Sept. 18 and begin issuing paid citations.
The staff report to the Traffic and Parking Board noted that there were some technical hiccups at the start of the most recent warning period:
During the warning period conducted at the start of the 2023-24 school year, staff faced a technical issue resulting in some flashing school zone signs not operating properly during school hours. This was the result of an equipment issue as part of parallel project to upgrade all of the City’s flashing school zone signs to current technology. Staff was able to resolve this issue quickly, and speed camera warning notices were not issued to drivers where the flashing school zone sign was not active
The maximum fine for a speed camera violation is $100, payable online, by mail or by phone.
Some upgrades to Alexandria’s stormwater management will mean a months-long closure of a road between the Carlyle neighborhood and Old Town.
The RiverRenew Project will require the closure of Jamieson Avenue between Holland Lane and S West Street, just north of the Alexandria National Cemetery.
At a City Council meeting earlier this week, Mayor Justin Wilson said intermittent closures started late last month but will escalate starting in October.
“From the first week of October through January 2024 [we’ll have] full closure of Jamieson in that section, 24/7,” Wilson said. “We have signs up, social media, mailings; we’re working to get the word out. There’s certainly a change coming and detours will be required.”
The RiverRenew project website said the closure is to allow work crews to access Hooffs Run.
“To prevent combined sewage from polluting and harming local waterways, RiverRenew crews must upgrade the Hooffs Run Interceptor at our construction sites north of Jamieson Avenue and within African American Heritage Park,” the website said. “RiverRenew crews must fully close Jamieson Avenue to through pedestrian and vehicular traffic while they work to connect these two areas.”
