While Alexandria’s Transportation Commission endorsed a WMATA-backed plan to overhaul the region’s bus system, that approval was accompanied by concerns that the project won’t be able to achieve its lofty goals.
On paper, the plan put forward by the Washington Area Bus Transformation Project sounds ideal to any bus rider. The plan pushes for faster, more frequent, more reliable bus service that is also more affordable.
While more property owners have signed on to plans to shift Alexandria’s workforce to car-free, a report on those plans showed an increasing percentage of workers and residents in new developments driving alone compared to last year.
Some commercials and residential developments are required to have plans to get employees or residents to use non-car transportation to commute. These plans are called Transportation Management Plans (TMPs) and there are currently 75 developments in Alexandria with TMPs.
(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) After 20 years of planning, work has started on the Potomac Yard Metro station.
Officials past and present came together at 2 p.m. today (Thursday) at the future Potomac Yard Metro station, currently the parking lot of Regal Potomac Yard movie theater.
With construction back on track for the Potomac Yard Metro station, the city has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony early next month.
The groundbreaking is set for Tuesday, Dec. 19 from 2-3 p.m at the future northwest entrance, near the Regal Potomac Yard movie theater, which is nearing the end of its run. The theater is not included in the new Potomac Yard plans.
(Updated at 1:40 p.m.) With the acquisition of a Clean Waters Act permit, the Potomac Yard Metro station has been cleared to start construction.
On Friday, Nov. 15, the Army Corps of Engineers issued the final permit required for construction on the Metro station to start in the wetlands, staff said at a Nov. 19 meeting. The announcement was followed by a small round of applause from the Potomac Yard Metrorail Implementation Work Group (PYMIG), a group that’s been meeting since 2011 to consider issues related to opening a Metro station in Potomac Yard.
(Updated at 12 p.m.) A bald eagle rescued on Metro tracks has died — but not before revealing something interesting.
The eagle died earlier this week after being rescued near the Van Dorn Metro station tracks and rushed to the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center in Boyce, Virginia. His broken wing was a deep fracture down to the bone, and it was located too close to his elbow to ever heal properly, said service providers at the wildlife hospital.
Metro is moving forward with plans to develop the areas around the Huntington station in Fairfax County, just south of Alexandria.
The transit agency announced it would tap Stout & Teague as the property’s “master developer” by preparing and dividing the 12-acre site into parcels that could be then sold or leased to other developers.
