After the permanent closure of the 200 block of King Street to vehicular traffic was approved last year, Alexandria is making upgrades to the block.
The Alexandria Department of Transportation & Environmental Services announced plans to add permanent improvements to the pedestrian block. The last city budget allocated $350,000 to make improvements to the 200 block pedestrian zone.
Repaving started Tuesday and will be followed by curb repairs and installation of platforms in mid-August.
“In short, we are replacing some sidewalk bricks, adjusting the granite curbs, repaving the asphalt, installing platforms and bollards, and painting a new all-walk crosswalk at King St. and Lee,” T&ES spokesperson Ursula Ramos told ALXnow.
The crosswalk at King and Lee Streets will be similar to the one at King and Union Street.
This 200 block hosts the Alexandria Visitor Center and a number of restaurants and businesses. City Council voted to make the 200 block closure permanent following a two-phase pilot program that ran from November 2024 through September 2025. City staff had reported that 87% of 1,842 community survey respondents supported making the closure permanent, with 12 of 16 businesses on the block backing the proposal.
The new improvements have garnered general support from business occupants.
“We have been in regular contact with the businesses on the block and they are generally supportive of the incoming improvements,” Ramos said.
The extension of the pedestrian zone to the 200 block came after the 100 block closure in 2021, followed by the unit block and the Strand near Waterfront Park in 2022. Both previous closures started as pilot programs during the COVID-19 pandemic before becoming permanent.
