The Mount Vernon Trail has secured a place in Rails to Trails Conservancy’s catalog of the nation’s best trails.
Trails advocacy organization Rails to Trails Conservancy announced that the Mount Vernon Trail received 58% of public votes to win the Hall of Fame accolade. The other nominees were National Battlefield Trail in Texas and the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Ohio. Public voting was open from Aug. 5 to 16.
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.
The 18.5-mile Mount Vernon Trail is vying for the Rails to Trails Conservancy’s 2026 Trail Hall of Fame and needs public votes to win the accolade.
Mount Vernon Trail is one of three nominees for Rails to Trails Conservancy’s Hall of Fame, which the nonprofit has been recognizing multi-use trails on since 2007. Other nominees this year are the National Battlefield Trail in Texas and the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Ohio. Online voting started Aug. 5 and closes Aug. 16. Mount Vernon Trail fans can vote daily.
Parking changes will be coming to Russell Road near Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School after action by the Traffic and Parking Board Monday.
The Traffic and Parking Board voted 5-2 to remove 20 parking spaces in several blocks of Russell Road. Board Member Dane Lauritzen made the motion to recommend more parking space removals than city staff had proposed. Staff’s proposal would have resulted in a net loss of two parking spaces.
A contentious proposal to remove on-street parking between the 400 and 800 blocks of Russell Road is heading to Alexandria’s Traffic and Parking Board tonight (Monday).
The recommendations would remove on-street parking in the area around Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School (600 Russell Road) and create “painted curb extensions, high-visibility crosswalk markings, and improved ADA curb ramps at six intersections on Russell Road, and a new pedestrian crossing at West Chapman Street.”
An Alexandria man faces a felony theft charge after allegedly being found with a stolen bicycle that had a tracking device on it.
The victim reported to the Alexandria Police Department that a chain was cut and his Cannondale Quick CX bicycle was stolen on April 25 in the 4400 block of Taney Avenue in the city’s West End, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit. The victim also told police that he had a tracking device on the bike, which is worth about $1,500, and that it was still located somewhere within the same block.
Alexandria and the D.C. region are gearing up for an annual celebration of bike commuting next week.
On Friday, May 15, Alexandria will host six citywide “pit stops” for national Bike to Work Day, where cyclists can partake in special events and giveaways. The free event “encourages the public to consider bicycle commuting as an affordable, fun, and environmentally friendly mode of transportation to get to work,” according to a city announcement.
Just before snowflakes fell on Monday afternoon, a class of third graders at Patrick Henry K-8 School were outside in the school basketball court learning how to ride bikes.
For three weeks every school year, all third graders at Alexandria City Public Schools are fitted with Trek bikes and taught bicycle safety and riding by volunteers and staff working with the Alexandria Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee‘s (BPAC) Bicycling in the Schools initiative. This school year, 1,266 students are in the program, which is currently seeking more volunteers.
Third graders at Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School were unexpectedly surprised with free Huffy bikes during an assembly this morning (Friday).
Earlier this month, the students participated in an essay contest writing about what they want to be when they grow up. Only the top three essayists would win bikes, the kids were told.
Alexandria and the Old Town Farmers’ Market are looking for volunteers to deliver food to residents in need as part of the Bike for Good program.
The groceries are collected as the market outside City Hall (301 King Street) in Old Town winds down, and volunteers can expect to make deliveries from between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., according to the city.
What a week in Alexandria. If we were making hay instead of paragraphs, the barn would be full.
Alexandria is bracing for the impact of President Donald Trump’s recent executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt says that the school system is “deeply concerned” and that the action raises questions about future federal support.
