safety | ALXnow

After 70 crashes over the last decade, Alexandria begins the process of fixing two Duke Street intersections

Published February 7, 2023 at 10:45AM

Duke Street intersections with Route 1 (image via City of Alexandria)

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.

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published February 3, 2023 at 3:30PM

The base of the Appomattox statue is now located at Bethel Cemetery in the Wilkes Cemetery Complex (staff photo by James Cullum)

The long and tangled history of the Appomattox statue that once stood at the intersection of S. Washington Street and Prince Street took another turn this week as ALXnow learned the base had been installed in a Carlyle-area cemetery.

The statue had been removed in 2020 after years of debate over its presence. While some neighbors have expressed misgivings at the base’s new home above Confederate graves in the Bethel Cemetery not far from historic Black cemeteries, the new location is on private property and the cemetery’s owner said he’d like to see the statue reinstalled there.

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Alexandria considering ‘no turn on red’ restrictions for some Old Town and Parker-Gray intersections

By Vernon Miles

Published January 5, 2023 at 2:15PM

Intersection of Henry Street and Oronoco Street (image via Google Maps)

A few intersections along Patrick and Henry streets could turn into “no turn on red” intersections as part of an effort to clamp down on crashes in Old Town and Parker-Gray.

Both streets were identified as high crash corridors in the city’s Vizion Zero Action Plan. The city said over a dozen people have been struck and injured walking on Patrick and Henry streets in Old Town since 2016.

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ACPS considers making school resource officers into teachers and informal counselors

By James Cullum

Published December 19, 2022 at 2:55PM | Updated December 20, 2022 at 11:37AM

About 58% of Alexandria City Public Schools students feel safe in school, with bullying, gang activity and selling/using drugs topping a new list of concerns.

Consequently, ACPS is considering enhancing the role of its school resource officers to not only serve as law enforcement but as teachers and informal counselors.

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Alexandria conducting more ‘walk audits’ to find pedestrian safety issues around schools

By James Cullum

Published November 7, 2022 at 3:30PM | Updated November 22, 2022 at 10:49PM

School buses on W. Braddock Road on Dec. 10, 2021 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria has started identifying pedestrian safety improvements around Alexandria City High School and a number of other school campuses.

Staff with the city’s Department of Transportation & Environmental Services are creating “walk audits” with available for public review in a final report by next June.

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ACPS officials say new safety policies are working

By James Cullum

Published October 27, 2022 at 3:45PM

Alexandria City Public Schools officials say that their strategies to make school safer are working, although it will take time to tell if they’re right.

Flanked by city, school and police officials, interim Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt said at a student safety forum on Wednesday night that crime incidents are down this school year.

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ACPS to address school safety in public forum tonight

By James Cullum

Published October 26, 2022 at 1:00PM

Alexandria City Public Schools leaders will be on-hand tonight (October 26) to discuss school safety.

The conversation starts at 6:30 p.m. at George Washington Middle School (1005 Mount Vernon Avenue), and speakers on the panel include interim Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt, ACPS Director of Safety and Security Services John Contreras, and Director of School Social Work Faiza Jackson.

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ACPS to consider extending agreement for school resource officers until end of school year

By James Cullum

Published October 24, 2022 at 1:00PM | Updated October 24, 2022 at 5:53PM

Alexandria Police at Alexandria City High School's Minnie Howard Campus. (staff photo by James Cullum)

Updated at 5:55 p.m. The Alexandria School Board on Friday (October 20) received a recommendation to extend its agreement with the Alexandria Police Department to provide school resource officers at the city’s high school and middle schools until the end of the 2022-2023 school year.

The School Board will vote on the matter at its upcoming meeting on Thursday, November 10.

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Anti-drunk driving campaign offering free Lyft rides on Halloween

By Vernon Miles

Published October 19, 2022 at 10:45AM

As has become a tradition at every major holiday where drinking is involved, Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) is offering free Lyft rides during the Halloween weekend.

the 2022 Halloween SoberRide program will be in effect from 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29, until 4 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30.

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Alexandria opens up about progress on Holmes Run Trail fix and Mount Vernon Trail widening

By Vernon Miles

Published October 18, 2022 at 11:00AM

A trail over Holmes Run closed in 2020 after flooding damaged the trail system (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

In an update (page 7) prepared for a Transportation Commission meeting tomorrow night, staff outlined some of the progress made in the Complete Streets program along with a look at what’s ahead for some of the city’s most popular trails.

One of the biggest items is progress on the long-awaited Holmes Run Trail Repairs. Portions of the trail have been closed since flooding in 2019 destroyed much of the creek-adjacent infrastructure. The report for the Transportation Commission outlined what’s ahead for those repairs. Parts of that trail, the report said, could be completed by next spring.

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Virginia Attorney General Miyares to discuss school safety with Alexandria leaders

By James Cullum

Published October 13, 2022 at 1:05PM

Alexandria Police at Alexandria City High School's Minnie Howard Campus. (staff photo by James Cullum)

City leaders are arranging to meet Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares next month in response to an effort to curb violence within Alexandria City Public Schools.

The discussion with Mayor Justin Wilson, School Board Chair Meagan Alderton and interim Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt was initiated in August, when Miyares sent a letter offering the support of his office.