After the Traffic and Parking Board approved the removal of 20 parking spaces on Russell Road near Naomi L. Brooks Elementary in July, the director of Alexandria’s Transportation and Environmental Services is proposing a different option.
First reported by Alexandria Brief, T&ES director Leah Riley proposed Alternative C, which she says will minimize parking impacts while prioritizing pedestrian safety, neighborhood concerns and the Traffic and Parking Board’s request for more parking to accommodate school staff.
Alternative C will go to the Traffic and Parking Board in September. The Russell Road changes are expected to happen in 2027 as the city repaves the roadway.
The director said T&ES developed Alternative C in coordination with the Alexandria Fire Department and Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School leaders to support school operations and emergency access, and Principal Suzanne Hess has expressed support for Alternative C.
“Alternative C advances the City’s Safe Routes to School and Complete Streets goals by delivering targeted pedestrian safety improvements where they are needed most, preserving and enhancing parking opportunities for school staff and nearby residents where feasible, and reflecting the collaborative efforts of City staff, the Fire Department, school leadership, and the community,” Riley said in the letter to the board. “I believe this approach provides a balanced and practical solution that improves safety for students and other pedestrians while responding to the operational needs of the surrounding neighborhood.”
The proposal includes curb extensions at Russell Road intersections with W. Myrtle Street, W. Chapman Street, W. Oak Street and W. Maple Street to improve pedestrian visibility and reduce crossing distances. Median refuge islands, a key component public speakers had advocated for at the Traffic and Parking Board hearing, are proposed at the intersections with W. Masonic View Avenue and W. Walnut Street. By comparison, three median islands were proposed in the board-approved Concept 2.
“By locating the refuge islands at the intersections closest to Naomi Brooks Elementary School, Alternative C concentrates these enhanced crossing treatments where pedestrian activity is greatest and where they can provide the greatest safety benefit for students and families walking to and from school,” Riley wrote.
The new proposal being sent to the Traffic and Parking Board would have a net loss of two parking spaces and addition of two loading spaces:
- Removal of five on-street parking spaces on the 400 block of Russell Road
- Removal of five on-street parking spaces on the 500 block of Russell Road
- Removal of one on-street parking space on the 700 block of Russell Road
- Removal [of] two on-street parking spaces on the 800 block of Russell Road
- Addition of five unrestricted on-street parking spaces on the 600 block of Russell Road
- Addition of two loading/unloading spaces on the 600 block of Russell Road, as requested by the school for parents and visitors needing short-term access
- Addition of six on-street parking spaces on Johnston Place
By comparison, the board’s endorsement of Concept 2 would remove 20 parking spaces:
- Removal of four on-street parking spaces on the 300 block of Russell Road
- Removal of six on-street parking spaces on the 400 block of Russell Road
- Removal of six on-street parking spaces on the 500 block of Russell Road
- Removal of one on-street parking space from the 700 block of Russell Road, and
- Removal of three on-street parking spaces on the 800 block of Russell Road.
According to the T&ES letter, Alternative C would result in 128 parking spaces between Summers Drive and W. Cedar Street, an increase of six over the existing count. The board-endorsed option would set 102 parking spaces. Unrestricted parking spaces — currently 58 over the 10 blocks — would be 49 under the board approval and 61 under the T&ES alternative.
Riley acknowledged there was “significant public support” for Concept 2 that the board approved and agreed that pedestrian median islands provide safety benefits. Much of the public testimony at the Traffic and Parking Board hearing voiced support for median islands and daylighting (the practice of restricting parking near crosswalks) to improve visibility and safety for pedestrians.
However, the concern of parking for Naomi L. Brooks Elementary staff was mentioned in written testimony, since the school does not have a staff parking lot.
Dane Lauritzen, the Traffic and Parking Board member who made the motion on Russell Road, plans to further review Alternative 3.
“But initially I feel T&ES is making the wrong decision,” Lauritzen shared on social media. “Partly I feel T&ES misrepresents the Board’s instruction to work with the school. And partly because I feel T&ES actions seriously undermine stakeholder trust from those who supported Option 2.”
The Traffic and Parking Board meets next on Sept. 28.
