transportation planning | ALXnow

Planned Alexandria Bus Network Boosts Frequency, but Cuts Coverage

Published October 25, 2019 at 10:30AM | Updated October 25, 2019 at 12:07PM

A DASH bus in Old Town Alexandria (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated 12:05 p.m.) A few bus routes through Alexandria’s residential neighborhoods could be axed as the city shifts the transit service from a coverage focus to a ridership focus.

At a meeting at the Burke Branch Library last night (Thursday), representatives from DASH and the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services presented plans that would increase the frequency of service on the population-heavy periphery of Alexandria. The trade-off, however, is that certain areas currently served by bus routes in the residential core of the city could lose those routes.

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Part of King Street Could Close to Vehicle Traffic as Early as April

By Vernon Miles

Published October 16, 2019 at 4:15PM

The City of Alexandria is once again preparing to shut cars out of the end of King Street and convert it into a pedestrian-only walkway.

A plan is currently in the works to close the 100 block of King Street to car traffic on weekends to turn the area near the waterfront into a pedestrian boulevard. At the Waterfront Commission meeting yesterday (Tuesday), city staff presented the timeline for when that closure could happen.

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What the City Is Doing About Abandoned Scooters

By Vernon Miles

Published October 16, 2019 at 9:45AM

Bird scooter abandoned in the Four Mile Run wetlands (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

When Alexandria officials said they hope to see birds return to the Four Mile Run wetlands, they weren’t referring to Bird scooters — but yet, there was at least one there, in the water.

Concerns about scooters on sidewalks have dominated the local debate about the personal mobility devices, but the issue of abandoned scooters is nonetheless something with which Alexandria policymakers will have to grapple.

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Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published October 7, 2019 at 8:00AM

Car-Free Block of King Street Planned — “Members of Alexandria’s City Council Wednesday night OK’d a proposal by City staff to begin laying the groundwork for a pilot program that will see a part of lower King Street closed to cars on weekends, beginning in April. The pilot project would close the 100 block of King Street to traffic on weekends through October.” [Alexandria Living Magazine, Patch]

For Sale: Historic House With Notorious Past — “The nonprofit organization that owns the site of one of the most notorious slave pens in the nation has put the building and its basement museum up for sale, after struggling for years to pay for the mortgage, property taxes and repairs. Freedom House, a registered National Historic Landmark in Alexandria, Va., is being advertised as an office or residential property priced at $2.1 million.” [Washington Post, WTOP]

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Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published October 2, 2019 at 8:00AM

Matt Neumann with Capital Bikeshare checks bikes on King Street in Old Town Alexandria. (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Historic Waterfront Building Becoming Restaurant — “More details have recently been unveiled about the cafe and market going in at the 10 Duke Street warehouse building. Alexandrian Murray Bonnitt, a custom builder who specializes in historic preservation, is renovating the building, which served as a Civil War mess hall. Dubbed The Mill, it is part of the Robinson Landing development on Old Town Alexandria’s waterfront.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]

City Recognizes Cybersecurity Month — “During National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, and year-round, the City of Alexandria encourages the public to understand the importance of cybersecurity and to stay safe and secure online.” [City of Alexandria]