From the 100 block down to the waterfront, King Street is a pedestrian zone. Now, that zone could be expanding a little further west to the 200 block of King Street.
The pedestrian-zones are closed to car traffic except where King Street intersects with perpendicular roads like S. Union Street. The closure, which started out in 2020, has since become a permanent feature of the Old Town blocks.
Mayor Justin Wilson and City Council Member John Chapman asked staff to move forward with a pilot program to turn the 200 block of King Street into a similar pedestrian zone.
The pilot could kick off as early as next month, though business owners on the block have had mixed feelings about the possible closure.
A community feedback survey conducted in 2022 found that 91% of respondents were happy with the pedestrian zones. An informal ALXnow poll found that 40% of respondents wanted the pedestrian zones slightly expanded, 33% wanted the zones expanded up to the Metro station. 26% wanted the zones to either not expand or go away entirely.
