Need for more parking spaces at Sydenstricker Park and Ride

Sydenstricker Park and Ride (https://sluglines.com/slug_pickup/Sydenstricker-Rd) is a popular slug pickup location for commuters heading to the Pentagon. For years, the Sydenstricker parking lot with 170 spaces gets full by 7:00 AM. When the parking lot gets full, commuters park along the Hooes road as a overflow parking. The Fairfax county is proposing parking restrictions to protect the residential area along 8530 Hooes road and 8556 Hooes road on the north and along 8521 Hooes road and 8547 Hooes road on the south. In the survey conducted by the county in Feb, 2018 there were about 30 cars parked on the north side of which 29 were commuter cars, and 13 cars were parked along the southern side of which 10 were commuter cars. Survey doesn't not include the cars that were parked along the island. Parking in this area along the residents will be restricted to residents with parking permit. Commuters are advised not to park along the island, and recommended to park at the Rolling Valley (https://sluglines.com/slug_pickup/Rolling-Valley/) or Saratoga (https://sluglines.com/slug_pickup/Saratoga/) Park and ride lots that are underutilized.

There will be a hearing on September 25, 2018 at 4:00 PM at the Fairfax County Government Center to establish the Sydenstricker Residential Permit Parking District (RPPD).

Read More

I-66 tolls hit another high

September 5, 2018, I-66 Tolls hit another high of $46.75 today at about 8.20 AM for 20 minutes and dropped to $45.00 at 8.40AM. This is just 75 cents short of the current record of $47.50 on February 28, 2018. Around 40 drivers paid more than $40 toll on that day. This is probably the highest toll in the world at about $5 a mile for 9 miles.

There were no known accidents or breakdowns this morning, just volume. On top of that, to the most part all metro and buses were functioning without a hitch. Traffic was light during the summer, with the schools opening this week, looks like the entire Northern Virginia workforce along the I-66 corridor decided to drive to work today. Commuters say this may be due to lack of enforcement, not necessary all of them paid the hefty toll.

(Photo Credit: Stephen L)

Read More

How commuters lookout for each other!

There are many drivers who find a slugs belonging left in their vehicle, post them on lost and found or social media sites in an attempt to reunite the items with their owners. But, we find drivers who go even further! For example, going around the parking lot pressing the panic button to identify the car to leave a note, or even going as far as to take the keys to the dealership in hopes of reuniting the keys with their owners.

But today, we came across a driver who dropped off slugs and continued to pickup her kids from the daycare. Her kid's sharp eyes found some keys in the backseat of the car and told their mom. She immediately messaged us on FaceBook and asked how she can return the keys back to the slug. We spread her message on social media and slug lines lost and found forum. We also asked her to leave a note in the lot where she picked her. Still, she didn't stop there, she was worried about the slug who may have issues finding a ride home.

An hour later we checked with her if she was able to reach the rider, and let her know we can post it on social media again. She said she found the driver! We always follow up to find out if the missing items found their way home. Driver responded, "I got the kids situated and went back up to the Rt.234 parking lot and at first I didn’t see anyone so I waited because the key fob was older and you couldn’t tell what kind of car it was. So the. I kept driving around because I knew the person would look distraught or be looking in their bags. And sure enough I pulled around again and I saw a young lady looking through her purse at her car and I asked her if she lost keys. And she said yeah and was so relieved. So that was amazing. I’m glad I found her."

This is a great example of the amazing slug community we have created together!

Read More

More challenges to NoVA Commuters and the Pentagon Slugs

If your normal commute in NoVA isn't stressful enough, Metro is throwing another challenge to Silver, Orange, and Blue line riders. Commuters who slug to the Pentagon and transfer to the Metro have to take the bus instead. 

Starting August 11, 2018, WMATA will be performing maintenance work along the Silver, Orange, and Blue lines for the next 2 weeks. Silver and Orange lines will be single-tracking between McPherson Square and Smithsonian stations, with trains running every 20 minutes, with 50-60% REDUCED service. The bigger impact on slugs is the Blue line shutdown between Rosslyn and Arlington Cemetery from August 11 to August 26.

WMATA is encouraging Metro riders to use other modes of transportation during this shutdown to avoid long delays and overcrowding on platforms. Below are some options that may work for those traveling on the affected Metro lines.

I-95 Commuters:

• Rosslyn commuters slugging to the Pentagon can take Ominride from the Pentagon to Rosslyn/Ballston http://www.prtctransit.org/commuter-bus/schedules/dalecity-pentagon-am.html
• Crystal City commuters slugging to the Pentagon can take ART 43 https://www.arlingtontransit.com/pages/routes/art-43/

I-66 Commuters:

• Pentagon commuters slugging to Rosslyn can take ART 43 https://www.arlingtontransit.com/pages/routes/art-43/

For more information on Metro rail disruptions and alternatives check https://www.wmata.com/service/status/details/2018-Capital-Project-McPherson-Smithsonian-Advisory.cfm

If you planning to drive to avoid all these changes, pickup slugs and cruise on Express lanes for free.

Read More

Another challenge to an afternoon slug pickup location - This time it is 15th and NY

Since the beginning of this year, afternoon sluglines have faced several challenges. It started with the DC officers forcing drivers to move away from the 14th street and L'Enfant pickup locations, construction at the Pentagon, and followed by Arlington police officers forcing drivers to move away from the Crystal Drive pickup locations. As some of them are being addressed by respective authorities, there comes another challenge to 15th and NY pickup location. We already have issues with the vehicles parked past 3:30 PM at 15th & NY. Last week DC Motor Coach parking posted a new sign saying 15th and NY slug pickup location will be converted to a tourist bus stop...

(Photo Credit: Kristina T)

Read More

Temporary Relocation of Rt. 610 Staffordboro Blvd. and Mine Road Slug Stations at the Pentagon

Effective Monday, July 23, Rt 610 Staffordboro Blvd. and Rt 610 Mine Road PM Pick-Up locations will be relocated to the Kiss and Ride areas on North Rotary Road between Corridor 2 and 3 entrances.

Due to the current 395 Express Lanes/Eads Street construction project and increased traffic volume observed on surrounding roadways, two slug stations for PM pick-up along Fern Street will be temporarily relocated to North Rotary Road as a traffic mitigation strategy.

Beginning Monday, July 23,

• Rt. 610 Staffordboro Blvd. and Rt. 610 Mine Road slug stations will be temporarily relocated from Fern Street to N. Rotary Road Kiss & Ride areas on North Rotary Road for afternoon slugging pick-ups.
• Rt. 3 Fredericksburg and Rt. 17 Stafford will remain in the same location near Fern St. and the Motorcycle Lot.

Signage will be in placed in the Pentagon South Parking areas to direct slugs and vehicles to the temporary locations. Please see attached map for the temporary locations and vehicle/pedestrian navigation on the Pentagon Reservation. Please follow signage and traffic control direction. If you have any questions, please contact the WHS TMPO at 571-372-7124 or whs.pentagon.em.mbx.dod-shuttle-bus@mail.mil.

Read More

New sluglines along I-66 corridor to assist drivers to avoid the outrageous I-66 tolls

Happy New Year! 

It is evident that people living outside beltway are outraged by the new I-66 tolls. More than 14,000 clean fuel vehicle drivers lost their HOV exemption who were allowed to use I-66 during HOV hours. With tolling in effect, many residents in the region are now considering slugging, the nation’s most efficient transportation system, organized and manged by the commuters, for the commuters.

Organizing sluglines is not an easy task, it is a major change in the way people commute. It requires commitment and flexibility from the commuters. To identify pickup and drop off locations, commuters are coordinating via I66sluglines, a facebook group. We have about 500 commuters interested in slugging and expected to grow organically by number of locations and commuters as it did along I-95 corridor. Commuters are encouraged to join the group to share their preferred locations and time.  

After a month of coordination and communication with I-66 commuters there are five morning pickup locations along  I-66 and five afternoon pickup locations inside beltway and DC. We still have to run it through the local government.  Most of the afternoon sluglines are co-located with the existing sluglines in DC. Depending on the demand locations may be added or modified by the commuters.

Read More