A new Traffic and Parking Board member appointed by Alexandria City Council had testified against the Braddock Road changes the board approved in February.
Rosemarie Spano was appointed by City Council as a citizen member of the board on April 14. Spano replaces former Chair Ann Tucker, who had served on the board for 10 years and had her last meeting in March. Spano told ALXnow her term starts in May.
While Spano fills one vacancy, the board will soon have another. Casey Kane, whom the board selected as chair at its Monday meeting, will leave the board at the end of June. Annie Ebbers was chosen as vice chair. The next Traffic and Parking Board meeting is May 18.
The Traffic and Parking Board approved the Braddock Road redesign between West Street and Russell Road in the Rosemont and Del Ray neighborhoods in the early morning hours of Feb. 24, following hours of public testimony from bike lane supporters and residents opposed to the parking reductions and the consolidation of several turn lanes.
Spano had testified as second vice president of the Rosemont Citizens Association, which formally opposed the removal of parking spaces on Braddock Road between Russell Road and Mount Vernon Avenue.
Spano told ALXnow she applied for the Traffic and Parking Board seat “because I value the many ways Alexandria residents move through the City to support the businesses, restaurants, and neighborhoods that make Alexandria home.” She hopes to bring experience working with transportation projects and programs to the board.
On how she would approach road configuration decisions like the one concerning Braddock Road, Spano said she is “committed to listening to residents and thoughtfully balancing the needs of those affected as I review proposals related to parking, traffic flow, mobility and accessibility.”
The Traffic and Parking Board’s decision on Braddock Road will be the subject of a City Council appeal on May 16.
The board will also receive future updates on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Braddock Road Metro proposal, which was released one month after the board’s Braddock Road decision. The WMATA plan proposes relocating the Braddock Road Metro pickup and drop-off areas to the street and reconfiguring the bus loop to accommodate future mixed-use development.
Image 2 via City of Alexandria
