Bye and Bye, The Circle may be Broken

As most residents in NOVA are aware, VDOT is very close to imposing HOT lanes on Shirlington Circle. We think a majority of those citizens closer in (i.e. Arlingtonians and Alexandrians) feel that we are paying the price of those who CHOOSE to live in places like Woodbridge and Stafford. Those who live around the circle will receive NO compensation for the potential side-effects of the 5 year construction plan (i.e. declining property values, inability to rent).

Traffic on the Circle is really only busy 1 hour day in peak times, at most two. Is it really worth 5 years of construction?

Here are some other questions to ponder:

1. Should those who choose to live closer in and knowingly trade off house size, yard, etc...for shorter commute pay the price for those who live in urban sprawl?

2. VDOT would receive $195 Million from FLUOR and Transurban, the international construction firms promoting the hot-lanes. What type of oversight/audit will be conducted throughout the process?

3. Why aren't the towns who produce the commuters paying a tax specifically for these road improvements (i.e. similar to Metro to Dulles)?

4. What are the positions of our local Congressmen and highest public officials (Sens. Webb and Warner, Congresmen Moran, Connonlly, and Wolf, Gov. Candidates Creigh Deeds and Bob McDonnall)?

Let's keep up the civic engagement and public dialogue to make sure that NOVA is making the right choice!

Quest for the best (real) Turkey Sandwich in NOVA/DC

We have literally eaten at hundreds of restaurants in NOVA and DC and have not been satisfied that any DC restaurant serves a real turkey club. When I mean real, I mean hand carved turkey...no coldcut BS.

Now, I know, Clyde's serves real turkey...but I don't know of any other places. As a native Delaware Valley resident and someone who was raised on of diners with 250 menu items that tasted like home cooking. Oh, what I'd give for a real New Jersey Diner in DC...since Silver Diner, City Diner, Barnside Diner, Cesar's Cafe, or Bob and Edith's (yes, that's right) don't make the cut. Of course, they make the cut for greasy food, though their breakfast food is ususally passable.

Are there any suggestions where to find this mythical club sandwich?

Please find my favorite diner, the Colonial Diner as an example:
http://thecolonialdiner.com/menu_list.cfm?menuid=2#

President Obama at Dairy Godmother in Del Ray (Alexandria)

President Obama and the First Children visited an Alexandria ice cream landmark in Del Ray today. Did anyone seem him? We're glad that he's made his first epicurean exploration into NOVA...and into our backyard! Next stop Shirlington?

Here's the link to the story:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/?hpid=topnews

Kudos to Alexandria City Council

I'm sure some of you have noticed that the grass on the Alexandria side of Shirlington Circle has grown so tall that it is a traffic hazard, making an already precarious merge/yield even more dangerous. After weeks of waiting for the grass to be fully cut (since the City apparently thought cutting part of it was good enough), I decided to contact the Mayor's Office and City Council. I opted to use the email form on the Alexandria City Government website. I submitted the email on June 16 at about 9:45 pm and by 9 am the next morning I received the first of three emails from members of City Council. Below are the responses from Justin Wilson (City Council), Rob Krupicka (City Council), and Elaine Scott (Citizen Assistance), respectively. Elaine Scott actually CC'd all the members of City Council as well as the Mayor on her reply.

It's nice to feel that your local government hears and is receptive to the concerns of its residents. Now we'll see if the grass gets cut.

From Justin Wilson:

Thanks for the e-mail. I'm sorry to hear of the poor condition of the grass in the Circle.

During the most recently approved budget, due to severe budgetary constraints, the City Council made the decision to reduce mowing and grounds maintenance across the City. That being said, I will ask our Staff to ensure that this particular area is being maintained according to the new, reduced schedule.

I will let you know. Have a good week.

From Rob Krupicka:

We'll have staff look at this. Thank you for contacting us.

From Elaine Scott:

Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with the City Council. Your concerns will be forwarded to the appropriate City department for response. Responses are generally provided within five working days. If more time is needed, we will notify you.

The resurrection of this blog

Hello Readers:

So sorry we've been MIA for the last few months. We've had quite a busy schedule, part of which included our bathroom renovation. But hopefully we'll get back on track with regular posts this summer.

We've noticed increased interest and email traffic in our community regarding the proposed HOT Lanes. Park Fairfax residents are very concerned about how the construction of the HOT Lanes and their general presence will affect our community. We recently read that Shirlington Circle itself will essentially be demolished in order to rebuild it with more lanes and 6 stop lights. I don't know if that is the proposed construction plan, but that does not sound like a traffic enhancement to me.

Personally, I don't really see why our area needs to be involved in the HOT Lanes process at all. Traffic is rarely horrendous around the Circle or on our part of 395.