Thursday, October 17, 2013

Bikeshare Safety, An Oxymoron?

Hey Yupette,

What is it with the people who rent Bikeshare bicycles? No helmets, dark clothing, reckless behavior.

Yesterday I was brushed off the sidewalk on Washington Boulevard by a Bikeshare renter who ran a traffic light and zoomed up on the sidewalk through a curb cut. Talking on a cell phone.

What ever happened to the County's bicycle safety program?

Harrison, 22201

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Arlington's Wastewater Treatment Plant - Malfunction Junction

Hey Yupette,

Want to know the scariest place in Arlington? It's Arlington County's Wastewater Treatment Plant, on Four Mile Run. Anytime there's a major rainfall the alarms start going off non-stop and the alarms don't stop going off until it stops raining.

Apparently, $568 million isn't enough to ensure the plant can adequately treat a combined flow of wastewater and stormwater without humans constantly having to override automatic control systems, constantly repairing state-of-the-art wastewater pumps and other equipment, and preventing hazmat leaks from blowing the plant, the lovely Metrobus repair facility, and beautiful Arlington Ridge sky high.

As a member of my Kiwanis club, who's a fed up plant operator, stated to me: "There are about as many alarms going off in the plant's control center whenever there's a storm as on the bridge of the Enterprise when the Klingons get within a light year on Star Trek".

I live on Arlington Ridge and I would call the County Manager's office but the County Manager and County Board only listen to Vornado.Thanks for your blog.

John M.