Regional transportation officials brought their quest for input on ways to rejuvenate the Route 7 (King Street and Leesburg Pike) corridor to Alexandria on Tuesday (June 9).
“This, combined with other conversations, it’s really helpful,” said Vikram Sinha, a Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) senior program manager who leads the Envision Route 7 initiative.
As planning efforts move eastward toward Alexandria, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) has embarked on a new round of community engagement in its Envision Route 7 effort to upgrade transit options.
Both in-person and online opportunities will be available over the next month, focused on the eastern portions of what will become a 14-mile bus rapid transit (BRT) line running from Tysons to Alexandria’s Mark Center.
Alexandria City Public Schools is asking the city for permission to use a temporary parking lot in Potomac Yard — once part of the former arena proposal — for school buses this summer.
ACPS filed a special use permit application with the city asking to temporarily use a 45,000-square-foot lot for three months at 3331 Exchange Avenue in the Potomac Yard neighborhood. The property was pitched in 2023 as a new $2 billion home for the Washington Wizards and Capitals before losing support in Alexandria and fizzling out with lawmakers in Richmond.
Alexandria’s DASH bus service kicked off April’s Month of the Young Child this morning (Monday) with the unveiling of a bus covered with early childhood development messaging intended to inspire parents.
The bus “takeover” was unveiled at DASH headquarters (3000 Business Center Drive) and includes exterior wraparound messaging and interior display messaging on five principles to help young children thrive. Mayor Alyia Gaskins, DASH CEO Josh Baker and Michelle Smith Howard, CEO of Kids’ First Years, were among approximately 50 children and adults who attended.
The Alexandria City Council and School Board have several big-picture items up for discussion early next month.
On Monday, August 4, the Joint City Council/School Board Subcommittee will discuss a proposal to put Alexandria City High School kids on DASH buses starting in fall 2026, collective bargaining with ACPS staff, and the school system’s Long-Range Educational Facilities Plan.
Welcome to Friday’s weekly roundup of our top stories.
With ALXnow, it’s easy to catch up on the latest news in Alexandria. This week, we focused on coverage of our local, state, and federal governments. We also reported a lot of crime, including a homicide in the city’s West End.
Three men are in custody after allegedly assaulting a man and stealing his shoes on a DASH bus this afternoon (Tuesday) in Alexandria’s West End.
The Alexandria Police Department confirmed that three adult males were arrested in the incident. A DASH bus driver called in a fight in the bus between multiple males at around 2:20 p.m. in the 2500 block of N. Van Dorn Street.
The Alexandria Police Department is on the lookout for a white Ford F-150 pickup truck that allegedly took off after crashing into a Metrobus in Old Town.
A bus driver alerted police that the F-150 struck a rear-view mirror of the bus at 11:09 a.m., and reported that the truck didn’t stop and continued northbound on Washington Street in the direction of D.C., according to dispatch.
Alexandria is seeking $3.5 million in state funding for a new feature that could improve bus stops across the city.
Hillary Orr, deputy director of the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services, said in a letter to the Transportation Commission that the city is proposing to apply for a grant from the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) improvement program and the Regional Surface Transportation Program (RSTP).
A cyclist sustained a non-life threatening injury after being struck by a Metro Bus at a busy Alexandria intersection on Sunday afternoon.
The incident occurred at around 4 p.m. in the area of King Street and S. Walter Reed Drive, according to the police scanner. The area is west of the ramps to Interstate 395.
A four-year-old student with autism walked away from Jefferson-Houston Elementary School in Old Town last month and was found barefoot in the middle the street by a school bus driver near the King Street Metro station.
A number of school officials were consequently placed on administrative leave by Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt.
