Tire Thefts at Horner Road Commuter Lot is Not an Isolated Incident!

Wheels Stripped off at Horner Road Commuter Lot - March 31, 2016

Wheels Stripped off at Horner Road Commuter Lot - May 19, 2016

Finding a parking space at the Horner Road Commuter Lot and commuting to work is stressful enough. To come back from work to finding cars оn blосkѕ, ѕtrірреd оf all four wheels and vandalized is whole another thing. It didn't happen to all 3000 commuters who park at the lot, but had happened for about 40 commuters in the last one year.

1. 18th May, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/frankjprincipi/posts/815825411882072 - Approx. 7 vehicles vandalized
2. 31st March, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/sluglinesdotcom/posts/1164142536929666 - Approx. 12 vehicles vandalized
3. 10th March, 2016, http://wtop.com/prince-william-county/2016/03/thieves-strike-horner-road-commuter-lot/ - Approx. 4 vehicles vandalized
4. 21st February, 2016, http://potomaclocal.com/2016/02/21/sedan-left-on-blocks-at-horner-road-commuter-lot-in-woodbridge/ - Approx. 4 vehicles vandalized
5. 14th January, 2016, http://wtop.com/prince-william-county/2016/01/tire-thieves-targeting-horner-road-lot-in-woodbridge/slide/1/ - Approx. 4 vehicles vandalized
6. 19th October, 2015, Wheel thefts reported at park-and-ride lot in Prince William County - Approx. 3 vehicles vandalized
7. 9th September, 2015, http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Commuters-Find-Cars-Stripped-of-Tires-at-Va-Park-and-Ride-Lot-326853841.html - Approx. 4 vehicles vandalized
8. 28th May, 2015, http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Tire-Thieves-Hit-Va-Commuter-Lot-Again-334388281.html - Approx. 3 vehicles vandalized

Surveillance cameras are definitely a good deterrence, but the last incident on the 31st March, 2016 was executed while there were cameras at both choke points. That leaves us with questions, if those cameras are good enough to recognize the license plates? Do we have tools to analyze the video footage? Should the cameras cover the entire parking lot?

Crime breeds crime, 40 victims in one year is good for some thought and action. 

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New SlugLines Mobile application to connect commuters

Every Northern Virginia resident knows the pain and anguish they experience in a gridlock while commuting between home and office.  The Sluglines assist drivers by reaching the two or three persons High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) requirement, and passengers in getting a free ride to their destination.

Sluglines Mobile App

Drivers had to drive to the slug line to check if riders are waiting. Sometimes they have to wait to get riders while there are riders waiting half a mile away. Now with the Sluglines mobile application, riders can check in to show their availability drivers can find real-time status of the line and navigate to other pickup locations where there are more riders. It works the same way for the riders

No more long waits, connect with commuters in real time with the Sluglines app, navigate your way through for a quicker commute. The Sluglines mobile application is available on Google Play Store and Apple iTunes for free. Download the Sluglines App and start Checking In

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New HOV-3 ramp to Mark Center on I-395 to set to open today

The new HOV-3 ramp set to open today Jan 12, 2015 is guaranteed to save time for the Mark Center commuters. HOV traffic exiting to the Pentagon also may get some relief as this new ramp may take some of the traffic that exits at the Pentagon and circle back to the Mark Center.

I-395 HOV ramp to Mark Center

I-395 is the first reversible High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes build in 1969, it was initially built for buses and then evolved into HOV-4 and then to HOV-3. I-395 is one of the best investments that the federal government made, it moves 14% more people in 2 HOV lanes compared to the 4 general purpose lanes.

In 2005 the BRAC realignment approved by the congress mandated the move of many DoD offices from leased office space to secure sites that could meet DoD's security standards. As a part of BRAC initiative, the Mark Center was built in 2012 by the federal government to house about 7000 staff with about 2800 parking spaces.

To elevate the peak hour traffic caused by the new Mark Center, DoD invested $20 Million to construct short-term improvements along Seminary Road and enhanced public bus transportation. VDoT invested additional $76 Million to build 0.8 miles of reversible HOV-3 ramp from I-395 HOV lanes to seminary road, an auxiliary lane on I-395 north, bike trail and other developments along Seminary road. Construction of the HOV ramp began in March 2014 and is set to open on January 12, 2015. These lanes are expected to carry over 500 high occupancy vehicles during peak hours alone. This includes the Mark Center traffic as well as other regional traffic.

Today there are about 300 commuters slugging into the Mark Center from Woodbridge, Stafford and Fredericksburg, mostly coordinated by email groups restricted for Mark Center staff. There is also a designated staging area for slugging along the north parking garage entrance on Mark Center Dr.  Eventually, slugging is expected to grow as drivers possibly drop of slugs at the Mark Center and take off to nearby destinations like they do at the Pentagon. Unlike the Pentagon where Metro rail and buses are available, the Mark Center is served by limited public bus service that can take slugs to nearby work locations.

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