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).
After an editorial from Alexandria City High School student newspaper Theogony said students walk between classes because buses are not available, Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) leadership has responded that bus availability isn’t an issue and it could be cracking down soon on students walking between campuses.
Theogony reported that roughly 1,600 students travel between the King Street and Minnie Howard campuses of Alexandria City High School every day and hundreds of students say they’re unable to rely on bus transportation for that trip. Those students walk the 0.6 mile distance between campuses across the busy and dangerous Quaker-King-Braddock intersection.
The staffing crisis at Alexandria City Public Schools has simmered, according to a recent presentation to the School Board.
The school system was significantly challenged by a shortfall of more than 150 positions in the 2023/2024 school year. Now ACPS is short 12 .75 teachers, 12 bus drivers and 23 central office staffers.
The Alexandria City Council approved a series of changes to King Street near the Bradlee Shopping Center last night (Tuesday), but the discussion also touched on wider issues about how the City tackles its transportation infrastructure.
The changes will take the access two-way road parallel to the Bradlee Shopping Center and turn it into a one-way westbound street with a dedicated bus lane and a two-way bicycle trail.
Not long after warning families that the bus driver shortage will impact schools, Alexandria City Public Schools said it’s staggering student dismissal because of the driver shortage and schedule changes at the high school.
According to a letter from Alicia Hart, chief operating officer for Facilities and Operations at Alexandria City Public Schools, the school division will start having staggered student dismissal times for mid-day shuttle transportation at Alexandria City High School.
Alexandria City Public Schools is offering bonuses for a number of “hard-to-fill positions,” like bus drivers and math, science and special education teachers.
The employees who already work in these jobs will all get a $1,000 retention bonus in their paychecks next month, according to ACPS.
Last year saw the highest DASH ridership in the bus service’s history. This year, DASH beat its own record.
DASH said on Twitter that the final ridership figure for FY 2024 was 5.3 million, up from 4.5 million last year, which in turn beat the network’s record of 4.3 million in 2015.
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.
Alexandria’s DASH bus network is getting a new pilot that could make buses less of a hassle for those who use wheelchairs or scooters.
A small number of DASH buses will have the Q’Straint’s Quantum system installed. The system is designed to help those who use mobility assistance devices easily and quickly secure themselves on the bus. According to the release:
If Alexandria wants the transit corridors it dreams of, Planning Commission Chair Nathan Macek said it’s going to need to do more to secure federal funding.
In a budget discussion at the Planning Commission meeting last week, Macek noted that there is “no plan to pursue federal money” for two of the major transit corridors in the city budget.
Alexandria is getting $3.5 million in federal funds to pay for public safety, transit, affordable housing and flooding infrastructure projects, Northern Virginia Congressman Don Beyer (D-8th) announced today.
“Even in the minority amid a divided and chaotic Congress, I am laser focused on helping my constituents and benefitting Northern Virginia,” Beyer said in a statement.
