If you’ve traveled along Duke Street during rush hour, you probably recognize the intersection above, and might even have a visceral reaction to it. The one-late turn from Duke Street onto Telegraph Road, and by extension to the Beltway, faces frequent backups not only along Duke Street, but in surrounding neighborhoods packed with cut-through traffic.
The bad news: the Duke Street transit overhaul isn’t going to touch that intersection.
In the docket for an upcoming Transportation Commission meeting, city staff unveiled plans to open op a process to “define the future of Duke Street.”
In a 2008 Transportation Master Plan, the city identified several corridors through Alexandria as prime locations for transitways — redesigned streets to meant to emphasize high-frequency and reliable public transit. A 2012 concept plan further elaborated with a more detailed framework for what transitways would entail.
The controversy over the Seminary Road Diet has been front and center this election season, with a majority of City Council candidates saying they will vote to reverse it if elected.
Council candidates have been peppered with questions on the road diet, in addition to their general philosophies on roadway development and community engagement.
Capital Bikeshare is expanding into Alexandria’s West End, with three new stations scheduled to be installed in June.
The expansion is part of a seven-station growth planned to expand the bike infrastructure network across the West End.
Early voting begins for June 8 Democratic primary — “Early voting will begin on April 23 for the June 8 Democratic primary election in the City of Alexandria. The ballot includes contests for Virginia Governor;Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; House of Delegates (45th District); Mayor and City Council.” [Zebra]
Alexandria to renovate baseball field near Mount Vernon Community School — “The project is scheduled to begin Monday, April 26 and work will occur Monday through Friday from approximately 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Work is planned for the restoration of approximately 39,600 square feet turf. This includes the installation of irrigation. The work area will be closed to the public during the installation period.” [Zebra]
Alexandria is seeking state funding for a couple of transportation projects, but competition is fierce in a region full of localities hoping to overhaul their transit systems despite the pandemic’s dire financial ramifications.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) recently announced the shortlist of proposed transportation projects that could receive funding through the Commuter Choice program. Each project is scored based primarily on technical merit — like how many people benefit and how much travel time is saved — but also on criteria like cost effectiveness and interagency collaboration.
An update to the Alexandria Mobility Plan could reshape some of the ways the city approaches transit, streets and more.
The city is soliciting public feedback on the new update to the Alexandria Mobility Plan (AMP).
Some changes are coming to the George Washington Memorial Parkway to make it safer for travelers between Alexandria and the eponymous President’s home at Mount Vernon.
According to the National Park Service (NPS), part of the change will be a road diet — a term that could trigger flashbacks for veterans of the 2019 Seminary Road Comment Wars.
Alexandria’s DASH bus network could soon be completely free for all passengers.
In a recent newsletter, Mayor Justin Wilson said he is proposing to make DASH free for all riders to go along with a planned overhaul of the bus network going into effect in September.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg joined Governor Ralph Northam, Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) and regional railway leadership at Alexandria’s Union Station to mark a $3.7 billion investment in Virginia rail and the signing of the Transforming Rail in Virginia agreement.
The investment and agreement is designed to pave the way towards increased VRE and Amtrak service, greater connectivity to other parts of Virginia, and to lay the groundwork for a high speed rail corridor — something that’s been a talking point for Buttigieg over the last few months.
After years of public outreach, a new planned overhaul of the DASH but network is scheduled to launch this fall.
At a meeting last night, DASH representatives said the phased replacement of the current coverage-focused network — a design with a focus on ensuring all Alexandrians have access to some level of bus service — to a service focused model — one that decreases coverage but increases frequency and reliability of its bus lines.
