Some residents have pushed back on proposed lane changes and parking removals on Braddock Road ahead of the Alexandria Traffic and Parking Board’s review on Monday.
The changes are being proposed on the major route between West Street near the Braddock Road Metro and Russell Road in the Del Ray and Rosemont neighborhoods. The city has worked on the Braddock Road Corridor Improvements project since last year as a response to concerns from Alex311, the 2023 Safe Routes to School walk audit at George Washington Middle School and the Virginia Department of Transportation.
According to the city’s project website, the proposed pedestrian and bicyclist improvements include:
- Providing continuous bike lanes between West Street and Russell Road
- Adding a two-way bike lane connecting the Potomac Yard Trail, the Metro Linear Trail, and Braddock Road Metro Station
- Adding new bike lane connections on Commonwealth Avenue as it intersects Braddock Road
- Providing safer crosswalks at intersections and near the Metro through shorter crossing distances and improved visibility
The roadway changes that the Traffic and Parking Board will consider are:
- Reducing lanes in each direction from two to one on Braddock Road between Mount Vernon Avenue and West Street
- Removing on-street parking on Braddock Road between Mount Vernon Avenue and Russell Road, except about 100 feet in the unit block of E. Braddock Road and 60 feet in the 200 block of E. Braddock Road
- Consolidating the turn lanes and through lanes on the Braddock Road approaches to the intersection of Braddock Road, Russell Road, and W. Alexandria Avenue
- Consolidating turn and through lanes at approaches to the intersection of Braddock Road and Commonwealth Avenue
- Consolidating the eastbound turn lanes and through lane on Braddock Road at Mount Vernon Avenue, and convert the westbound lanes from three left, through and right lanes to two through/left and right-only lanes.
- Removing on-street parking on Commonwealth Avenue between Braddock Road and Spring Street
- Adding a commercial loading zone on Braddock Road between the Yates Corner driveway entrance and the Metro Linear Trail
- Relocating one disability parking space from the unit block of W. Braddock Road and adding ones on Hancock Avenue at Braddock Road and Luray Avenue at Braddock Road
In a video update to constituents, Mayor Alyia Gaskins noted that the Traffic and Parking Board, not City Council, votes on the project. The mayor said she received feedback from residents in support due to bicycle access improvements and those opposed due to parking concerns in front of homes.
“The reason the project is being proposed is to improve safety, accessibility and connectivity to the Braddock Road Metro, to the Potomac Yard Trail, to the Metro Linear Trail and to George Washington Middle School,” Gaskins said.
The project has been underway since last year. In March 2025, 70% of 251 respondents to a city survey question indicated that Braddock Road feels unsafe for families walking and biking, as well as for kids walking by themselves. In another survey question, 64% of 282 respondents reported that people drive too fast on Braddock Road. An additional community survey with 587 respondents taken from Sept. 10 through Oct. 5 found the “vast majority of respondents supported the project goals,” according to the docket.
However, opposition to some of the proposed changes has come from public safety workers, residents and even a church along Braddock Road.
Daniel McMaster, a deputy fire chief, wrote to Transportation and Environmental Services staff that the Alexandria Fire Department supports all changes — except the area around the rail track underpass at the Braddock Road Metro station.
The deputy chief said protected bike lanes combined with one lane removal will require emergency vehicles to force cars through the area to yield.
“Please understand that our concerns are magnified on this project because the area of Braddock Road in question is the primary route of travel for emergency vehicles entering and exiting the north end of Old Town,” McMaster wrote in a Feb. 12 letter. “It is heavily travelled by our units and needs to always be as passable as possible.”
In a letter to city staff, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church leaders detailed how church members and various community groups using church space reply on the Braddock Road on-street parking. They warned that eliminating Braddock Road parking would create a “ripple effect” on surrounding neighborhood streets like Luray and Hancock Avenues.
The church requested the city maintain on-street parking and the handicap parking near its entrance.
“On Sundays, some weekday mornings, and many weeknights, all spaces around our church are filled,” congregation president Scott Baker and The Rev. Kate Costa wrote. “Removing Braddock Road parking would create a major barrier to attendance and participation.”
Brittney and Riley DePiano, residents on Braddock Road, shared safety concerns about removing parking spaces that also serve as loading zones.
“The proposal will not increase safety. To the contrary, it will heighten pedestrian risk and generate additional congestion,” the DePianos wrote in a letter to the Traffic and Parking Board. “With no legal loading areas, delivery drivers, contractors, service personnel, and church visitors will have no choice but to park on side streets and cross Braddock Road at uncontrolled points.”
The Rosemont Citizens Association formally opposed removal of Braddock Road parking spaces in a letter to the city. However, board member Dina-Maria Deringer shared support in her personal capacity, saying she has not observed most Braddock Road parking spaces used between Mount Vernon and Commonwealth Avenues.
“I am very much in favor of organizing our streets to make them safer for everyone,” Deringer said in a letter to city staff. “I would love to see protected bike lanes on Braddock Road, and don’t believe the loss of this parking outweighs the long term benefit to more residents and everyone else traveling on Braddock.”
The Del Ray Citizens Association, the other civic group in the project area, shared support for the proposal in a letter.
“We acknowledge that there is an impact to street parking access for residents who live on Braddock, but also must recognize that homes in this area largely have off street parking and that studies suggest the street parking is not heavily utilized,” wrote Tim Laderach, the Del Ray Citizens Association president who is also running in Saturday’s City Council firehouse primary.
According to the meeting docket, “the project team [has] made several changes based on community feedback” over the course of planning:
The team evaluated reversing the direction of West Alexandria Avenue but ultimately did not recommend that change after hearing resident concerns. Instead, staff have worked with neighbors to identify and implement short-term measures to reduce instances of wrong-way driving. The team has also worked to retain several on-street parking spaces near a home on East Braddock Road where off- 52 street parking is not available. Additionally, staff has worked with Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and offered to relocate and augment the existing disability space on Braddock Road.
Public speakers will testify at Monday’s 7 p.m. in-person and virtual public hearing before the Traffic and Parking Board’s vote.
Image via City of Alexandria.
