City Council | ALXnow

Eisenhower Roadway Improvements Face $2 Million Budget Gap

Published January 21, 2020 at 10:35AM

Improvements planned for the east end of Eisenhower Avenue have come back significantly over budget and city staff are working to find a new funding source.

The Eisenhower Avenue Roadway Improvement Project would add a left turn lane onto westbound Eisenhower Avenue at Mill Road — a site of frequent congestion as Mill Road leads up to the Beltway — and Mill Road would be widened. At the other end of the improvements, the traffic circle at the end of Eisenhower Avenue to the east would be replaced with a T intersection.

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City Council to Weigh Relieving Regulatory Burdens for New Businesses in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published January 3, 2020 at 3:30PM

Starting a new business can be tricky, and the Alexandria City Council is working to make it easier for a number of establishments to open faster.

This spring, the Planning Commission and City Council will vote on a package of regulatory changes that will speed up the approval processes for a number of new businesses.

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Priorities: Alexandria Planning Commission to Approve Timeline on City Plans and Studies

By James Cullum

Published January 2, 2020 at 2:00PM

The City Council debates rent hike caps and funding for the Ramsey redevelopment (Image via the City of Alexandria)

North Potomac Yard, the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, affordable housing and more! It’s budget season, and you know what that means — the Alexandria Planning Commission will soon begin looking into prioritizing city-related plans and studies with the updated Interdepartmental Long-range Planning Work Program.

So… what plans and studies will Alexandria focus on in the near future? Don’t worry, those interested will have plenty of meetings to attend.

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Alexandria Bans Electronic Scooters from All City Sidewalks

By Vernon Miles

Published December 16, 2019 at 10:45AM | Updated December 16, 2019 at 11:14PM

Electric scooters’ tempestuous relationship with Alexandria sidewalks has just come to an end.

At the City Council’s public hearing on Saturday, Dec. 14, the council voted to approve a second phase of the pilot program with a few notable changes from the current program.

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Alexandria’s Largest Infrastructure Project is Getting More Expensive

By Vernon Miles

Published December 12, 2019 at 10:30AM

As Alexandria’s Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) project RiverRenew starts making progress, it’s looking increasingly likely the project’s cost will approach the half-billion dollar mark.

During an update at the City Council meeting on Dec. 10 (Monday), Mayor Justin Wilson said the price will be towards the upper end of the $370 to $555 million price range.

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Tensions Flare on City Council as One Member Fights to Reverse Seminary Road Decision

By Vernon Miles

Published December 11, 2019 at 11:45AM | Updated December 12, 2019 at 10:33AM

Seminary Road (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated 12/12) In the last thirty minutes of last night’s City Council meeting, the typically uneventful oral reports escalated into a verbal brawl over the Seminary Road diet.

The controversial lane reduction is part of the city’s Complete Streets project, which aims to change the city’s car-crowded roads into a more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly streetscape. On Seminary Road, that meant taking the formerly four-lane Seminary Road down to one travel lane in each direction with a turn lane/emergency vehicle lane separating them, and the addition of bicycle lanes on the side of the road.

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City to Consider Purchase to Keep West End Apartments Affordable

By Vernon Miles

Published December 10, 2019 at 2:05PM | Updated December 10, 2019 at 2:25PM

(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) Alexandria is hoping to buy an apartment complex in the West End to maintain it as affordable housing.

The City Council is scheduled to consider a $8 million loan to the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation (AHDC), an affordable housing non-profit established by the city in 2004, at a meeting tonight (Tuesday).

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City Council to Add Gender Identity and Transgender Protections to City Code

By Vernon Miles

Published December 9, 2019 at 11:45AM

The city will likely add gender and transgender identities to protected statuses in Alexandria.

The new ordinance is scheduled for an introduction and first reading at the City Council’s meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) and for public hearing and enactment on Saturday, Dec. 14.

News

Local Employment Center Wants to Get Hip With the Kids

By Vernon Miles

Published December 3, 2019 at 3:15PM

Alexandria City Hall sign (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

An Alexandria agency that helps locals adapt to a changing job market is itself trying to figure out how to adjust its services to meet the city’s changing marketplace.

Facing the impacts of Amazon’s looming arrival, the Workforce Development Center (WDC) is working to modernize and realign its services to fit with younger demographics.

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City Council Grapples with Implementing and Enforcing Scooter Rules

By Vernon Miles

Published December 2, 2019 at 3:25PM

It’s one thing to make rules for scooters, but on Alexandria’s City Council, there are concerns about how the city can enforce proposed new restrictions in Old Town.

During the City Council meeting last Tuesday (Nov. 26), the council worked to fine-tune the next phase of the city’s electric scooter pilot program and shape how that implementation looks when it’s applied on Alexandria streets.

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City Asks for Public Input on Eisenhower East Plan

By Vernon Miles

Published November 25, 2019 at 2:15PM | Updated November 25, 2019 at 2:52PM

Rendering of a proposed park under the Eisenhower Metro station (image via City of Alexandria)

As Eisenhower East continues to grow, the City of Alexandria is hoping for input on how to shape the community as it continues to grow.

City staff is working on an update to the 2003 Eisenhower East Small Area Plan. A lot has changed for the area since 2003, with the National Science Foundation moving in and new developments taking shape. A draft of the update to the Small Area Plan focuses on how to build or maintain affordable housing and open space amid new development in the area.