The following is an update from our neighborhood’s PYMIG liaison, Steve Crime.

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There are three items of interest to share with the Community:

1. Truck cleaning. Daphne Kott, a member of the City’s staff, responded to our request to determine whether the builders were following proper procedures for cleaning trucks leaving the worksite in the north park. Here is her response:

I spoke to Fred [Robertson, of WMATA] and had the City Inspector verify the in-place vehicle wheel cleaning practice(s). A wheel wash rack is installed within the site. The wash rack is used for vehicles that are traversing the mud/non-stabilized areas of the site. When no vehicles enter the site and traverse muddy areas, then no wheel washing is performed. PYC has installed the access road and thus the vehicles entering and exiting the site are not encountering the mud, so they are not needing to utilize the wheel wash station. The only sediment on the wheels is from the stone dust from the installed access road.

With all construction sites there is no practical way to keep the street leading to the construction entrance pristine. There will always be a measure of sediment on the street during the construction activity, which PYC will address as expediently and reasonably as possible. This is currently being done with the use of the street sweeper. There will be a greater level of sediment on the street in this early phase of the project because it’s basically an earthwork exercise. The City Inspector is on site daily to ensure the street is cleaned to an acceptable level at the end of each workday.

The intent of the condition is to keep mud/excessive sediment off of the street. And to prevent sediment from washing from the street during rain events into the storm sewer system. The expectation was never to have no trace of sediment on the adjacent street. We can clarify this issue and the level of street cleaning that can be achieved at the next PYMIG meeting.

Using the wash station at this phase would not prevent sediment from entering the street. The washed wheel would only pick up more stone dust as they exit the site. The City Inspector will continue to monitor this issue and ensure the street is cleaned to a practical level. Again, the wash station is in place and will be used when the vehicles are required to traverse muddy/non-stabilized areas within the site.

2. Traffic Circle. Contractors from VA Dominion Power were on-site yesterday at the traffic circle to begin the process of removing the eastern streetlight. They used a backhoe to break through concrete and dig down to expose the streetlight’s electrical connections. (see photo below, left)

3. Parking. A comment was posted on the PG HOA Facebook page that someone intended to park their car in the alley behind their home to protect the vehicle from dust. Please be aware that the City considers our alleys to be fire lanes and established emergency vehicle easements over all of them. The easement includes a provision that parking is not allowed; therefore, the City can ticket or tow the vehicle. City signs with notices of the easement and parking restrictions can be found at every alley entrance. (see photo below, right)