I-66 Tolls Shifted Behavior, Did Not Improve Traffic — “The new high-occupancy toll lanes on one of the busiest highways in the Washington region have sparked dramatic shifts in commuter behavior, prompting motorists to alter their commute times and routes, data show, while yielding tolls as high as $47.50 — some of the highest per mile in the country.” [Washington Post]
‘Green’ Vienna Businesses Recognized — “Nine Vienna businesses who have successfully completed the Town’s 2018 Sustainability Challenge were recognized at last night’s Town Council meeting… Through the program, certified businesses tally points on a checklist of green practices that they undertake as part of day-to-day operations.” [FairfaxNews]
Local Restaurants Open On Christmas — Staying in town for the holidays and planning to dine out? Patch has compiled a list of McLean, Vienna and Tysons restaurants that are planning to remain open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. [Patch, Patch]
Rough Night for Silver Line Commuters — Those heading home on the Silver Line last night faced delays, offloading and other issues during the evening commute due to a track problem outside of Foggy Bottom. [Twitter, Twitter]
Tysons Corner Center estimates 3.65 million shoppers are likely to visit the mall during this year’s holiday season.
With the crush of shoppers filling parking lots and local roads, the mall and I-495 Express Lanes operator Transurban put together some suggestions for spending more time shopping and less time parking.
The best time to shop, we’re told, is before noon from Monday through Thursday, between Dec. 10-20. On Dec. 21, winter break for many local schools starts and lasts until Jan. 4, meaning even the mornings at the mall are more likely to be crowded.
The fastest suggested route into the mall is to access to eastern garage near Barnes and Noble using Westpark Drive. Shoppers are also encouraged to use the Jones Branch Connector, which partially opens this weekend.
Transurban, naturally, recommends the Express Lanes as a time-saving option.
“Shoppers driving to the mall can save time by taking the 495 Express Lanes and using Westpark Drive for direct access to Tysons Corner Center,” said Elisa Bell, a marketing director for the company.
Metro is also an option. The Tysons Corner Metro station connects to The Plaza, which is connected to Tysons Corner Center.
If you want a take a car but don’t want to park, services like Uber and Lyft can get you there — just “ask your driver to enter the Center near the entrances to Rt. 7 or International Drive off Fletcher Street to avoid time in traffic around the Center,” according to the mall.
Valet parking is available for $12 near Coastal Flats outside the Bloomingdale’s. A portion of valet proceeds are also donated to the Northern Virginia Family Services. The “Front and Center” parking in Garage C, meanwhile, is closest to the mall and costs $7. Both of these parking options earn shoppers discounts at mall stores and restaurants.
For those who don’t mind a longer walk, Garage B and C are both still free.
The 85 students from four Fairfax and Falls Church public schools expected to graduate yesterday from the Capital One Coders program at the Capital One headquarters in Tysons East. What they weren’t expecting were free laptops given away by the company to each of the graduates.
The Capital One Coders program trains local middle school students after school for ten weeks. Students learn the basics of programming and eventually work up to developing their own mobile applications.
Part of the surprise at the graduation was gifting each student their own laptop and giving a $10,000 grant to the schools for STEM education. The kids went home with the laptops, but the grants will go to the schools at the end of the spring semester.
“The coders program started in 2014,” said Jay Sanne, Vice President of Software Engineering for Capital One. “It is deployed in each of our major people centers. It’s had a great response from schools and associates.”
Sanne said the coders program is part of a commitment to building a 21st century workforce with technology skills.
Typically students develop games, although Sanne said the applications students build are often pretty sophisticated. Sanne noted there was one student early in the program who developed a mobile application to automate her family’s chicken coop so she wouldn’t have to leave the house to open up the coop and let the chickens out.
“It’s amazing to see them going from week one to week ten, where they’re demoing real mobile apps,” said Sanne. “We see the excitement in the kids as we’re teaching the program.”
At the graduation, the students at the Capital One Coders program also demonstrated their apps for parents and loved ones in attendance. Different prizes were awarded, like most creative or most technical.
Longstanding tensions over improvements to Louise Archer Elementary School in Vienna escalated to a proposal to deny Fairfax Schools continued use of trailers and fine the school system for violations as long as they’re still in use.
While the proposal wasn’t supported by the rest of the Council, its creator, Councilmember Pasha Majdi, expressed frustrations echoed by others.
“This is a bad joke and nobody’s laughing,” said Majdi. “I graduated from Louise Archer and went to class in trailers. My son starts elementary school [there] in nine months. My recommendation to the town is that we rename this provision from temporary trailers to generation trailers.”
One trailer was removed earlier this year as it began to deteriorate, according to the staff report. Students were relocated to two additional trailers, which are 17 and 19 years old and have a maximum lifespan of 25-30 years.
Staff from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) said the school’s renovation would be unlikely to be completed before 2023, and even that is reliant on construction money being approved in a referendum for 2021. An addition onto the school is planned for 2025.
“It’s an embarrassment that the school system can’t get their act together and move quicker on this,” said Councilmember Howard Springsteen. “It’s been 20 years we’ve been promising this… I give you guys an F for the ability to manage these projects.”
Springsteen said he didn’t have a lot of faith that the school system would be able to deliver that addition by 2025.
FCPS also faced criticism for coming to the Town Council for re-approval of the trailers four months after the approval had expired.
“You need to get here before the application expires,” said Councilmember Douglas Noble. “The clock was for August 22, not today. They need to be here with an application in July 2 two years from now.”
Despite these concerns, the Town Council didn’t go along with Majdi’s proposal to deny the trailers continued use renewal. Councilmember Tara Bloch said while she was frustrated by the trailer situation, pushing students out of the trailers and back into the already overcrowded school would hurt students.
The council voted 6-1 in favor of allowing continued use of the trailers.
Photo via Google Maps
New residential buildings are coming to The Boro, but a new partnership with WhyHotel means many of them might temporarily be hotel-style rentals before they’re leased.
WhyHotel is a startup based in D.C. that takes unrented units from recently-built apartments, from studios to two-bedroom units, and rents them out as hotel spaces and pay some of the rent back to the developer. Meanwhile, on-call staff handle the cleaning and other guests needs.
In addition to new WhyHotel locations planned in Arlington, the company announced Monday that it will partner with The Meridian Group and Kettler to operate a “pop up” hotel in The Boro (8395 Greensboro Drive). Up to 150 residential units will be used as WhyHotel rentals. Guests will be able to stay in the units starting late summer or early fall next year.
The new WhyHotel spaces will be located in Rise, a 27-story luxury high-rise apartment building scheduled to open sometime in 2019.
Image via The Meridian Group
The log cabin at 307 Cabin Road SE has survived for over 80 years, but it couldn’t survive development plans to subdivide the lot it sits on.
Last night (Monday), the Vienna Town Council voted to approve a subdivision of the cabin that would ultimately result in its destruction. But like the Planning Commission at their meeting in November, the Town Council couldn’t find a compelling reason to deny the application, which cabin-aside would be an otherwise unremarkable request.
The cabin is not a designated historic location, which means it has no legal protections. Members of the Town Council noted that it was one of several buildings in the town that have some historic relevance but not enough to protect or have an impact on the local community.
There is also the issue that the building is also in poor shape, with rotting wood and a fragile structure. The owner of the site told the council that the building could not be saved.
“This does mean things to the community,” Councilmember Carey Sienicki. “We heard from citizens that this is an important structure. Unfortunately, it was in disrepair. It can’t be moved.”
Instead, some of the logs from the site may be salvaged as it is taken apart. The council also proposed working with Historic Vienna to preserve pieces of the building and erect a plaque, either at the site or at a display the Freeman Store and Museum.
Members of the council lamented that while the developer American Signature Properties had said they were amenable to historic research and preservation as long as it didn’t interfere with development plans, representatives of the group at earlier meetings concerning the cabin had showed little interest in any form of preservation.
Town Attorney Steve Briglia told council members that there was very little the town could do to force the developer to engage in preservation measures for the cabin.
Photo via Town of Vienna
New French Bistro Coming to Mosaic District — “Brothers Ian and Eric Hilton are betting third time’s a charm for the Mosaic District space where both RJ Cooper’s Gypsy Soul and Mike Isabella’s Requin Brasserie imploded. The restaurateurs behind Chez Billy Sud, Marvin, and around a dozen other bars and restaurants will open a French bistro in the Fairfax development by early summer.” [Washingtonian]
How to Prevent Clogged Pipes — “Avoid clogged pipes this holiday season — don’t pour fats, oils and grease down the drain. Wipes pots and pans clean before rinsing them in the sink. Cooking oil can be recycled at the I-66 transfer station and I-95 landfill complex.” [Twitter]
Holiday Hours for Tysons Malls — “Many malls will be offering extended hours in the days before Christmas, including Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria.” [Patch]
Tysons Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in the Tysons area.
We’ve scoured the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield and McLean. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!
Tuesday, Dec. 11
Best Trails for Winter Hikes
REI (8209 Watson Street)
Time: 7-8 p.m.
Winter doesn’t have to mean the end of your outdoor activities. This free discussion tomorrow will look at what trails and scenic tours are still available during the winter. The session is free, but advanced registration is required.
Kirby Road Sidewalk Community Meeting
Chesterbrook Elementary School Cafeteria
Time: 7 p.m.
This meeting will discuss the sidewalk extension project planned for Kirby Road near Chesterbrook, connecting the neighborhoods to the eastern side of the road to the shared use trail on the west side.
Wednesday, Dec. 12
A Conversation with Dr. Jerry Gordon
FCEDA Headquarters (8300 Boone Blvd)
Time: 2-5 p.m.
Dr. Jerry Gordon, President of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, will discuss development and question and answer session before a holiday reception at 3:30 p.m.
Lox and Legislators
Temple Rodef Shalom (2100 Westmoreland St)
Time: 7:30-9:30 a.m.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington is hosting a breakfast with elected officials and presenting its 2019 legislative agenda. Prices for an individual “mensch” ticket is $36.
Ha Ha Hannukah, A Jew-Ish Comedy Show
Tysons Biergarten (8346 Leesburg Pike)
Time: 8-9:30 p.m.
The Biergarten often has comedy shows, but this week’s special show will feature Jewish stand-up comedians. Doors open at 7 p.m. Entry to the show is free.
Thursday, Dec. 13
Annual Champagne Gala
McLean Wine Outlet (6727 Curran St)
Time: 5-8 p.m.
Champagnes and sparkling wines from around the world will be available for sampling at the annual Champagne Fest. Food and cheese spreads that pair with the champagnes will also be served. Tasting is $30 per person.
A Vienna log cabin, which may or may not be historic, could be demolished soon as the plot its on is subdivided.
The Vienna Town Council is scheduled to vote tonight (Monday) on whether or not to approve the subdivision. Staff recommended approval, but the building’s historic value is still under discussion.
County tax records say the cabin was constructed in 1925, but the staff report notes that aerial photography from 1937 shows the lot being empty. In a letter to the Town Council, Michael Gelb, Chairman of the Planning Commission, said that Historic Vienna had expressed an interest in exploring more preservation or commemoration options for the site. According to Gelb:
No neighbors appeared at the Planning Commission meeting regarding the proposed subdivision, but Gloria Runyon, a representative of Historic Vienna, said the log structure may have historic value and that Historic Vienna wants to explore preservation/commemoration options. Ms. Runyon noted that the structure was erected by an African-American resident of Vienna. Historic Vienna had just learned of the proposed subdivision so did not have a specific proposal. She did not oppose the subdivision, but said Historic Vienna would like to work with the builder (American Signature Properties) and the Town on some type of recognition for the structure.
The cain is located at 307 Cabin Road Southeast. The one-and-a-half story building is bordered by five single-family detached dwelling lots. The applicant proposes making improvements to the property frontage, including a new sidewalk, curb and gutter.
Gelb also noted that while the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the subdivision, commission members had expressed concern about the fate of the log cabin. Gelb said Fred Eisenhart of American Signature Properties, the property developer, said that since the structure was not a registered historic property there were no legal restriction protecting it.
“Mr. Eisenhart said the company would talk with Historic Vienna, but some Commissioners voiced doubts about the depth of his commitment,” Gelb wrote in his letter. “Mr. Eisenhart responded that he did not mean to convey a lack of enthusiasm, but Commissioners agreed that the Chairman should note their concerns in this memo.”
The Tysons area narrowly avoided snowstorms that hit much of the rest of Virginia yesterday, but cold weather still ahead could pose a threat to the local homeless population.
According to the Mayo Clinic, visible signs that someone may be experiencing hypothermia include shivering, clumsiness, or signs of confusion or memory loss. Victims of hypothermia may have slurred speech or mumble, and may exhibit shallow breathing. Drowsiness, or unconsciousness, are also associated with hypothermia.
If you see a person who may be at risk of hypothermia, Fairfax County says you should call the police non-emergency number at 703-691-2131 for them to be taken to one of the local hypothermia prevention shelters.
The Hypothermia Prevention Program is part of the county’s efforts to prevent and end homelessness. Local hypothermia shelters operate seven days a week with a no turn-away policy outside of normal operating hours, based on weather conditions and temperatures.
The closest shelter to Tysons is the Falls Church Homeless Shelter at 217 Gordon Road, which is scheduled to operate seven days a week until March 31. Doors at the shelter open at 6 p.m. and close at 8 a.m. The shelter can accommodate twelve individuals.
The shelter provides a warm bed and case management services, which includes employment and housing assistance. Hot meals, prepared by families, faith communities and local restaurants, are delivered every evening.
The next closest is the Embry Rucker Community Shelter in Reston. Hot dinner, breakfast, bagged lunches, showers, laundry, and basic self-care supplies are all made available to individuals participating in the program.
At least once a week, nurse practitioners will be visiting the hypothermia shelters to check on patients, and medical outreach workers will visit to assist with enrollment into the Community Health Care Network’s free clinic.
Photo and graphic via Fairfax County Office to Prevent and End Homelessness.
