An increase in crime has resulted in the Giant Food store at 3131 Duke Street locking one of its two front doors, as staff say that shoplifting has become a daily occurrence.
“It’s kids, grownups, everybody,” store manager Zaina Calo told ALXnow. “They try to steal fish, and from the whole meat and seafood department, wine. It doesn’t matter. Anything, really.”
Last month, an employee got maced when he confronted a suspected shoplifter. The suspect walked into the store wearing brass knuckles and armed with mace, Calo said. He has not been arrested, but has been banned from the store. Store staff call the police when the suspect arrives, but he leaves before they arrive, she said.
“Shoplifting happens every day,” Calo said. “It’s gotten pretty bad, but honestly it’s getting a lot safer with our door closed, with our hours reduced.”
Changes at the store include reducing store operations by an hour to 10 p.m., limiting the number of items customers can take to self-checkout aisles and locking one of two entrances. Now customers at the store have to walk past checkout counters, the customer service counter and a bank before walking out.
Shoppers at Giant Food stores are now greeted at the front door with the following message from Giant President Ira Kress:
You may notice changes to your checkout experience as you are shopping with us today. Due to a significant increase in crime and theft that we and many other retailers are experiencing across our market area, we have made several changes to our operating procedures to mitigate the impact of theft to our business. We know that these changes may cause some inconvenience or be disruptive to the experience you are used to, and I assure you we are making these changes out of necessity to prioritize the safety of our associates and customers.
We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure you receive an exceptional experience every time you shop with us and on behalf of Giant Food, we appreciate your patience and understanding.
A 14-year-old was arrested this weekend after an attempted carjacking on the 2700 block of Duke Street.
The incident occurred at Carydale East (2727 Duke Street) around 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 29.
Police said minor injuries were reported in connection to the carjacking. Scanner traffic indicated that there were three men and one of the attempted carjackers was armed with a knife.
UPDATE(4/29/23 4:45 pm):: There was one arrest made in connection with this incident, a 14-year-old juvenile male.
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 29, 2023
Image via Google Maps
A clerk at the 7-Eleven convenience store at 3023 Duke Street was shot in the leg in a robbery early this morning.
At around 2 a.m., a man dressed in black wearing a black mask went into the store, displayed a handgun and walked behind the counter, according to staff. The suspect reportedly shot into the floor behind the counter and the bullet ricocheted and hit the clerk in the leg.
The clerk was “seriously injured with non-life threatening injuries,” APD tweeted.
Police were dispatched to the scene after a report of the suspect fled with an undisclosed amount of cash from the register.
The store is located across the street from Bishop Ireton High School and a block away from the Alexandria Commons Shopping Center.
No arrests have been made in connection to this incident. Anyone with information can call the police department’s non-emergency line at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: In response to a commercial robbery/shooting there is a moderate police presence in and around the 3000 block of Duke Street. One person was seriously injured with non-life-threatening injuries. APD is on the scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/3PWZFEvuqt
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 17, 2023
Map via Google Maps
Traffic might be a little slower around Lincolnia and Landmark this week due to lane closures on Duke Street.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) said in a release that there will be daytime closures on Duke Street between Oasis Drive and South Walker Street starting today (Tuesday) through Thursday.
“Single-lane closures along eastbound and westbound Duke Street will take place Tuesday between noon and 3:30 p.m.,” VDOT said in the release, “and Wednesday and Thursday between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day.”
The shift will allow the deck to be replaced on the eastbound side of the bridge over I-395, part of the rehabilitation of the Duke Street bridge. The improvements aim to extend the life of the bridge and boost safety for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.
The project’s website said improvements for the bridge include:
- Replacing the concrete bridge deck and beams
- Upgrading the westbound sidewalk to a shared-use path
- Widening the eastbound sidewalk
The project is scheduled for completion this winter.
According to the release:
Once the shift is complete, the eastbound Duke Street lanes over I-395 will be temporarily routed over the westbound side of the bridge alongside the westbound lanes. This shift will allow the deck to be replaced on the eastbound side of the bridge. In addition, as part of the shift, drivers along the northbound I-395 ramp to westbound Duke Street will temporarily encounter a stop sign instead of a yield at the end of the ramp. These traffic patterns are scheduled to be in place until mid-summer.
Alexandria: On Tue 4/11 from noon-3:30PM, and Wed 4/12-Thu 4/13 from 9:30AM-3:30PM each day, Duke St (Rt 236) will have single-lane closures at I-395 to implement a traffic shift as part of the bridge rehab project. More info: https://t.co/MHunSHokhi pic.twitter.com/ZNnT6ks3Kj
— VDOT Northern VA (@VaDOTNOVA) April 10, 2023
Image via Google Maps
Alexandria transportation officials say that a pilot program to ease evening congestion on and around Duke Street is working and they want to make the changes permanent.
City staff announced last night (Wednesday) that the first and second phases of the Duke Street Traffic Mitigation pilot have improved evening peak traffic and reduced cut-through traffic near the busy roadway. The project launched last summer with extended green traffic lights on Quaker Lane and Duke Street from 4 to 6 p.m., while green lights were shortened on West Taylor Run Parkway, Cambridge Road, Yale Drive and Fort Williams Parkway.
“We did have very positive results on cut-through traffic for most roads,” said Dan Scalese, a senior transportation manager with the city. “This has been a benefit. We’ve seen reductions in cut-through [traffic] and that Duke Street is moving.”
Traffic volumes decreased on Cambridge Road by 48%; on West Taylor Run Parkway by 54%; on Yale Drive by 76% and on Fort Williams Parkway by 47%. Cut-through traffic did increase, however, on Quaker Lane by 39%.
“We obviously saw more Quaker Lane backup,” Scalese said. “Our next step is to essentially going to a maintenance-type mode, (where) this is now considered a permanent infrastructure feature. We will be monitoring the networks, not just one area, and tweaking as necessary.”
City staff will discuss the mitigation phases in a meeting at Bishop Ireton High School on Monday, April 17. The proposal then goes to the Traffic and Parking Board at 7 p.m. at City Hall on Monday, April 24.
In the meantime, city planners are also working on ways to improve bus transit — as well as bicycle and pedestrian facilities — along Duke Street from Landmark Mall to the King Street Metro Station.
Dubbed Duke Street in Motion, the project proposes a series of congestion-relieving changes such as dedicated bus lanes along the center of the road or the curb and bus-rapid transit stations every half-mile.
City Council is expected to approve a preferred alternative for the project in July.
(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) An Alexandria man is being held without bond after allegedly carjacking a DASH bus in the West End last Thursday night.
Lorenzo Johnson, 33, was arrested after allegedly carjacking the bus near the intersection of Duke Street and Quaker Road. The incident occurred just before 10 p.m. No weapons were used and no one was injured in the incident, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
“Police immediately responded to the area to find the vehicle (the bus) stopped after hitting one vehicle in the roadway,” APD said in a release.
DASH said in a statement that the bus in question was out of service at the time of the carjacking.
“At the time of the incident, the vehicle was unoccupied and had no passengers on board,” Josh Baker, General Manager and CEO of the Alexandria Transit Company said in the statement.
Johnson was charged with grand larceny auto, drunk in public, driving while intoxicated, accident hit and run property damage, and other traffic offenses. He goes to court on March 28.
On February 9, Johnson was also arrested for allegedly trespassing and being drunk in public, and goes to court for those offenses on March 10.
Baker said in the statement:
One of our DASH employees was the victim of the theft of a DASH bus while on an authorized break. The vehicle was out of service and had no passengers on board. Our driver acted swiftly to notify authorities and was able to overpower the perpetrator, safely stopping the vehicle after a minor collision without any injuries or further property damage. We are grateful and proud of his heroic actions ensuring there were no injuries as a result of this crime.
Map via Google Maps
Notification:: There is a moderate police presence near the intersection of Duke Street and Quaker Lane. This is in response to a carjacking. No weapon(s) or injuries were reported in connection with this incident. The vehicle has been recovered and a suspect is in custody. pic.twitter.com/KuVz3vJtk7
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) February 24, 2023
News Release:: APD makes arrest in a carjacking incident.
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a carjacking of a DASH vehicle that occurred Thursday, February 23, 2023.
Read more:: https://t.co/okZ0dNMZa3 pic.twitter.com/HMuejZJWR0
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) February 27, 2023
No injuries were reported or arrests made after multiple shots were fired in the 200 block of Yale Drive last night.
The Alexandria Police Department was dispatched to a residential area directly behind the Alexandria Commons Shopping Center at around 8:30 p.m. There were between six-to-eight shots reported by multiple callers, and police found shell casings and multiple vehicles struck.
The suspects, described as three young males in dark clothing, fled the scene on foot. No ambulances responded to the scene.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the Alexandria Police Department non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Map via Google Maps
Alexandria’s Duke Street transitway could have dedicated bus lanes, but it’s unlikely they’ll run the full length of the corridor.
At a presentation to the City Council on Monday, city staff offered a look at how plans for the Duke Street transitway plans are coming together.
The idea of the transitway is to redesign the streetscape to better facilitate public transit. The project looks at Duke Street between the Landmark area and the King Street Metro.
Hillary Orr, deputy director of Transportation & Environmental Services, and project manager Jen Monaco said an advisory group suggested dedicated bus lanes at either end of the project area, but possibly keeping buses mixed into the regular flow of traffic towards the center of that corridor — between Jordan Street and Roth Street.
“At either end, [we’re looking at] at design options that do the most for transit: center and curb running,” said Monaco. “In the middle of the corridor, where taking more space means greater impacts on property, they chose to look at mixed traffic and a bidirectional option. We’re combining these options for each segment into two end-to-end corridor alternatives to allow for a more complete analysis.”
Where the city could install dedicated bus lanes, that could take a travel lane away from cars.
“Right now there are three travel lanes plus alternatives and even more at some intersections,” Orr said. “We are looking at taking one of those lanes in each direction and converting them into bus lanes.”
Monaco said the goal is to bring a recommendation to the City Council this summer.
The transitway is part of a broader suite of improvements for Duke Street. Orr noted that Duke Street is the highest crash corridor in the city.
“There are a lot of real issues with this corridor,” Orr said. “It’s a central connection for our community to reach homes, businesses, jobs, parks and libraries, but there is a lot of traffic congestion that leads to cut-through traffic in neighborhoods.”
Mayor Justin Wilson said one of his hopes for the project is to fix some of the crash-prone and all-around terrible intersections where Duke Street crosses Jordan Street and Quaker Lane.
“At both of those intersections could end up with solutions that become the focal points of the project… Jordan especially because of the service roads and the complexity of that,” said Wilson. “It’s a mess for pedestrians and a mess for drivers. It’s a horrible intersection for drivers. Anything we can do to improve the flow through there is a real opportunity for us. While this is a transit project, it’s a project that could have some significant ancillary benefits to pedestrians and drivers throughout this corridor.”
As the city works through some of the most high-crash intersections, it’s setting its sights on twin troublesome intersections in southern Old Town: the intersections of Duke Street with Route 1 (South Henry and South Patrick streets).
The Duke Street intersections with Route 1 are among the most crash-prone in the city, with over 70 crashes at the intersection since 2014, the city said in a release. Of those, four resulted in severe injuries and more than 20 resulted in non-life-threatening injuries.
The intersections are just north of where the two streets converge, crossing with the aterial Duke Street. Contributing to the chaos is a right turn lane off Duke Street onto South Henry Street.
The City of Alexandria has launched a the “Duke Street & Route 1 High Crash Intersection Audits Project” with the goal of evaluating safety issues and developing designs for improvements.
The City is collecting feedback on mobility, safety and access issues at the intersections. Feedback can be submitted online anytime before Tuesday, Feb. 28.
The project is supported by a grant from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) Regional Roadway Safety Program.
Alexandria Police are investigating a person of interest after Sunday night’s shooting near Holmes Run put a man in the hospital with multiple injuries.
The incident occurred at around 6 p.m. near an apartment complex in the 4600 block of Duke Street, according to police. A 22-year-old man was shot and suffered “multiple injuries” and is expected to recover.
“APD is currently investigating a person(s) of interest in relations to this incident,” Alexandria Police spokesman Marcel Bassett said.
No other information was released. Shortly after the incident, APD tweeted that it believed there was “no current threat to the public.”
The incident is still under investigation and APD asks anyone who with information to contact Detective John Bratelli via phone at 703-746-6699, email at [email protected], or to call the APD non-emergency line at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: There is a moderate police presence in the 4600 block of Duke Street. This is in response to a shots fired incident resulting in one person injured. The victim’s condition is unknown at this time. APD believes there is no current threat to the public. pic.twitter.com/LNTNKxVTIt
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) January 15, 2023
Map via Google Maps
