Currently, in Alexandria, drivers have to yield to pedestrians, but a new state-level change has given Alexandria the authority to tell drivers to stop.
According to a memo from Hillary Orr, deputy director of Transportation and Environmental Services, a change to City Code requiring drivers to stop for pedestrians crossing the street is heading to City Council in December.
“In December, City Council will consider a change to City Code requiring motorists to stop for pedestrians crossing or attempting to cross the street,” Orr said. “Currently, City Code requires motorists to yield to pedestrians, which was consistent with State Code.”
But Orr said the state legislature granted more authority to localities to install signs requiring drivers to fully stop at crosswalks. Currently, drivers only have to yield to pedestrians. While the difference between “stop” and “yield” may be technical, Orr said the new language will allow Alexandria to do more to enforce crosswalk infractions.
According to Orr:
In the 2023 legislative session, SB 1069 provided authority to named localities, including Alexandria, to install signs requiring drivers to stop for pedestrians who are crossing or attempting to cross the street. Additionally, the Vision Zero Action Plan identifies the strategy 2A.4 to ‘pursue and support state legislation to require drivers to stop, rather than yield, for pedestrians in the crosswalk.’ Therefore, staff is proposing an update to Section 10-3-924(D) to mirror state legislative language. The proposed change is both consistent with Vision Zero goals and increases the legal standing to enforce crosswalk infractions.
The proposed change is scheduled for review at the Transportation Commission meeting tomorrow (Wednesday).
There’s not a speck of snow on the forecast, but Alexandrians might see snow plows making the rounds across the city today.
The city’s Department of Transportation & Environmental Services (T&ES) is doing a practice run today for potential wintery conditions.
“If you see snow plows on Alexandria streets on November 13, they are not responding to an actual snowstorm but are instead practicing their routes and equipment readiness,” the city said in a release.
According to the release:
Test runs are an essential part of the City’s winter preparedness strategy; they help T&ES, and other City agencies involved in winter weather response, to respond promptly and effectively to keep our streets clear and our community safe when a snow event does occur.
Such drills give snow plow operators the opportunity to refamiliarize themselves with equipment, routes, and safety procedures to enhance their efficiency when responding to snow and ice events. The dry runs also allow T&ES to identify and address any maintenance or operational issues with our snow plows, ensuring they are in peak condition when winter weather arrives.
As always, T&ES encourages everyone to exercise caution when encountering snow plows on City streets. Even when there isn’t snow and ice on the ground, we ask residents to please give snow plows space to safely maneuver.
Weather experts are predicting a potential winter wonderland this year, with estimates of up to six or seven inches of snow, Washingtonian reported.
The Virginia Dept. of Transportation is mulling expanding the Express Lanes system to a section of I-495 from Fairfax County across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and into Maryland.
The city of Alexandria, however, is skeptical of the current plans, as many of the alternatives come down to adding traffic lanes. Staff say these changes could hamper attempts to get people out of their cars and onto public transportation, including future transit across the bridge.
VDOT has wrapped up a study of how to improve transportation and reduce rising congestion along this segment of I-495. So far, it has come up with several preliminary alternatives, including adding general purpose lanes, express lanes or reversible express lanes and allowing part-time shoulder use.
“We are evaluating transportation improvements that would extend and provide continuity of the express lanes system on the southern section of the Capital Beltway,” said VDOT project manager Michelle Shropshire in a September public meeting.
In his most recent newsletter, Mayor Justin Wilson said the city has expressed to VDOT its concerns regarding “induced demand, increased cut-through traffic, potential impediments to future transit connectivity over the Wilson Bridge and more.”
“The City has generally had a ‘cautiously skeptical’ stance towards similar proposals in the past,” Wilson said. “We have worked with the Commonwealth to ensure that these projects generate revenue for transit initiatives and include protections to prevent such efforts from exacerbating cut-through traffic on City streets.”
Traffic on I-495 — between Route 1 and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge — is also a concern, however.
There is severe eastbound congestion from 3-7 p.m. starting at the Van Dorn Street interchange, Shropshire said.
“Travel through this area is often impacted by accidents,” she said. “During the Covid pandemic, there was a significant decrease in traffic volumes but we are currently experiencing traffic at or above pre-pandemic volumes.”
Now that a slate of alternatives have been identified, the next step for VDOT is to gather feedback and select a handful to evaluate via an environmental assessment. People can learn about the project and answer a short survey online or write to VDOT with their comments.
A preferred alternative is expected to emerge next spring.
In his newsletter, Wilson shared what city staff said about the study in a letter sent to VDOT sent last month:
- The criteria provided, including continuity of the Express Lane system, seem to bias the selection of alternatives towards those that include new Express Lanes, rather than those that prioritize transit and transportation demand management measures.
- Additional lanes may lead to additional demand on; therefore, increased traffic on the facility overtime.
- Reduction in congestion may reduce the number of crashes, but it could cause increased severity of crashes as vehicles are able to travel at higher speeds.
- Express Lane options could add constraints on providing new transit, specifically Metrorail lines on this corridor and across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in the future.
- New access points from I-495 to and from Alexandria could cause increased traffic on City streets.
- Right-of-way impacts have not yet been identified, and project limits should be minimized to minimize the impacts on adjacent and nearby properties.
VDOT has said that the alternatives it will consider for I-495 will be informed by a concurrent transit study.
In addition to incentives for riders, this recently completed transit study recommends new bus service, arguing it would be more cost-effective than rail, per the September presentation.
Woodrow Wilson Bridge was designed with additional space for future transportation needs and to accommodate future rail across the bridge, according to VDOT.
“Future rail service on the bridge would not be precluded by 495 Southside Study alternatives,” says the transportation agency.
The Alexandria Planning Commission unanimously endorsed a sweeping overhaul of the city’s zoning ordinances on Wednesday night, giving City Council the green light to vote on it later this month.
There were more than 100 attendees and 51 speakers at the Planning Commission’s five hour public hearing, which ran after midnight. The speakers were a mixed bunch, with about half supporting the legislation and the other half opposing it.
The Zoning for Housing overhaul is intended to expand new affordable housing opportunities and would reshape a host of ordinances, including changes to single-family zoning, expansion of transit-oriented development, reducing parking requirements for single-family homes and analyzing office-to-residential conversions.
“I think we’re going to have to be nimble with this,” said Planning Commission Chair Nathan Macek. “I do think, though, we want to be careful with this particular market, and given the challenges that this distressed office space has already, we just have to be sensitive of the fact that we not douse the potential for the development because we’re trying to put too many constraints on it.”
City staff tabled one initiative — a bonus height amendment that incentivizes developers to add affordable housing to projects in exchange for two additional stories of construction in areas where height limits are 45 feet or more. Del Ray residents protested the move, with many saying that its approval would destroy the neighborhood.
“Staff’s recommendation is to table this proposal as several existing zoning provisions, that are not proposed to change under this package of reforms, would severely curtail this provision’s regulatory and financial viability,” according to a staff report.
Prior to the meeting, Mayor Justin Wilson said on social media that the city’s zoning laws are outdated. Wilson said that the proposed policies will desegregate the city, and that a number of zoning ordinances in the 20th century divided the city by race.
Alexandria is having a spirited conversation about laws that prohibit building anything but detached single-family homes.
8 NEW CONSTRUCTION detached, single-family homes have sold in 2023:
AVERAGE sale price: $2.17M
LOWEST sale price: $1.90M pic.twitter.com/2krQ1uXw5D
— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) October 31, 2023
Alexandria’s affordable housing crisis
Alexandria is currently experiencing an affordable housing crisis, and lost 90% of its affordable housing stock between 2000 and 2017. The city has pledged to produce or develop thousands of units to meet 2030 regional housing goal set by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
According to the city:
According to U.S. Census figures, nearly twenty percent of Alexandria’s 80,000 households with incomes up to $75,000 are cost burdened. Approximately 19,000 households are paying more than the federal government indicates they should for housing, leaving little in their households budgets for necessities. The City projects that the number of households in Alexandria will rise to about 100,000 households by 2035. The longstanding imbalance between housing supply and demand, exacerbated by stagnating wage growth particularly in low to moderate-wage sectors, is a key factor underlying the high cost of housing, imperiling our ability to grow an economy that depends on a diversity of skillsets.
Alexandria middle school teacher David Paladin Fernandez said that many of his fellow teachers can’t afford to live in the city.
“I know multiple educators that live outside of Alexandria, some as far away as Fredericksburg,” he said. “They don’t live in these places because it’s convenient. They live in these places because that is where they can afford to live, meaning they will not be able to connect to the community in the same way a resident can. They will not have the benefit of the students and parents seeing them as fellow citizens of Alexandria, despite the fact that they’ve chosen to give their lives to serve the city.”
The city conducted dozens of public meetings for more than a year on the Zoning for Housing proposals, but only released a draft plan in September.
“The sessions have focused on general issues and goals, not specific proposals,” said North Ridge resident Sonny Yoder, who asked for a deferral. “Full disclosure came only 30 days ago.”
Luca Gattoni-Celli, founder of YIMBYs of Northern Virginia, said that the city can solve its affordable housing crisis and shouldn’t fear the solution. Gattoni-Celli lives in the West End, surrounded by thousands of city residents living in apartments, he said.
“Living near thousands of other human beings is nothing but a blessing for me and my family,” he said. “It’s wonderful.”
West End resident Kursten Phelps said that she got lucky eight years ago when she got a $5,000 raise and that she and her family were then able to afford to buy their home.
“We got very, very lucky,” Phelps said. “Many of our kids friends are being squeezed out of Alexandria because their rents are rising and there’s no available homes in their budget.”
Ian Smith, 24, has been living in an Alexandria duplex for the last three years, and said that young residents find it nearly impossible to afford to live in the city.
“Even though we get college degrees and work hard for our competitive jobs in the DMV area, basic aspirations like owning a home and starting our own families seem completely out of reach due to the cost of living,” Smith said. “We desperately need housing. This initiative is a great first step.”
Many city residents pleaded with the Planning Commission to defer the proposals, and said that the public has not had enough time to discuss the draft plans.
Roy Byrd, a 25-year city resident, is chair of The Coalition for a Livable Alexandria, a group founded this year largely in opposition of these rezoning issues. He said that there are several unknown variables that the public needs to understand.
“Will the median cost of a single-family home decline or increase by how much year-over-year over the next 10 years?” Byrd asked. “Will the proposed zoning changes result in an increase in revenue for the city, and if so, by how much during the 10 year period, and will it also result in lower property taxes and reduced fees for residents?”
City Council will conduct a public hearing on the Zoning for Housing package on Tuesday, Nov. 14, followed by a public hearing on Nov. 18 and a vote on Nov. 28.
More details on the draft initiative are below the jump.
Improvements to the pedestrian experience at Duke Street and Dulany Street aren’t just surface level: the entrances to the nearby Duke Street Tunnel are also getting a minor makeover.
The Carlyle Council said construction is ongoing today (Tuesday) on new gates for the tunnel.
The tunnel is still open, but pedestrians are asked to use caution due to construction and cyclists are asked to dismount their bicycles before entering the tunnel.
The Duke Street Tunnel allows easy pedestrian access from the King Street Metro station to the Carlyle neighborhood, though some commentators on previous stories said they either didn’t know the tunnel existed or lamented that it has fairly limited hours.
The city is also eyeing changes to Duke Street above the tunnel to make the intersection more pedestrian-friendly. The city is considering removing one of the left turn lanes at the intersection with Dulany Street — right in front of the entrance to the Carlyle neighborhood — and replacing it with a pedestrian island.
https://twitter.com/carlylecouncil/status/1719357312756822062
Image via Google Maps
As Metro stares down potentially devastating cuts, City Council member Sarah Bagley said the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is grappling with similar funding struggles as it tries to redefine itself.
Bagley, who serves on the VRE Operations Board, said the rail service’s new plans to add weekend service represent an effort to broaden the ridership beyond commuter traffic.
“[This] represents a real shift and expansion and transformation of VRE from commuter-focused during the weekday to something on Saturdays, aiming to carry children, families and seniors,” Bagley said.
Increased telework has dramatically cut ridership on transit services built around providing access to downtown D.C. for office workers.
“There’s a lot of talk about: how does that impact infrastructure?” Bagley said. “VRE has its own version of the WMATA funding model. Its current funding model needs revision.”
VRE has a $190.7 million annual budget for both operating and capital expenses in fiscal year 2024, with funding coming from both state and local jurisdictions. Bagley said VRE’s taken some steps to try to shift how VRE is classified and funded.
“There’s been some good changes to get their funding detached from bus funding,” Bagley said. “In the past, they’ve been treated like a bus service when it comes to state funding. Now, they’ve carved themselves out and are being examined differently.”
Still, Bagley said there are larger conversations at play about how to keep VRE on track with commuter traffic dramatically reduced.
“The bottom line is, all the jurisdictions and the state are going to have to think more creatively and differently about a sustainable model indefinitely for VRE,” Bagley said, “one that will hopefully continue to expand and transform and provide more service.”
A particularly bleak budget prediction is forcing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to consider plans involving longer train waits, Metro station closures, and eliminating many bus routes, the Washington Post reported.
WMATA’s worst-case scenario plans, built on an assumption of no increase in funding from D.C., Maryland and Virginia, include layoffs of nearly 5,000 employees, closing 20-25 rail stations either permanently or on weekends, and closing stations at 9 p.m. WMATA said all but 37 Metrobus routes are also on the cutting board.
Additionally, Metro would cut back on plans to purchase new electric buses and rail cars to replace some of its outdated fleet.
The proposed cuts are coming just as Alexandria finally got its Potomac Yard Metro station open.
The dire budget would save $300 million but still doesn’t fully cover the $750 million budget shortfall.
The Washington Post noted that similar cuts were proposed in 2020, but a federal aid package helped keep the transit system afloat through the pandemic. Still, that $2.4 billion in federal aid runs out this year.
While Metro is still the most popular form of public transit in the region, ridership is still only half what it was pre-pandemic. Increased telework, in particular, has been a blow to Metro ridership.
Share the news! Yesterday, Metrorail Ⓜ️ ridership was about 318,000 trips, beating the previous pandemic-era high ridership day of 312,500 on October 12, 2022. #wmata pic.twitter.com/7WTlc52qsU
— Metro Forward (@wmata) March 2, 2023
While the City of Alexandria is eyeing major changes to Duke Street west of Old Town, one change could be coming to the street right as it passes the Carlyle neighborhood.
The city could be swapping out one of the left turn lanes at the intersection with Dulany Street with a pedestrian refuge.
“Currently, there are two left-turn lanes that serve drivers traveling westbound on Duke Street and turning left onto Dulany Street into the Carlyle neighborhood,” staff said in a report (page 35) to the Traffic and Parking Board. “Staff has received past comments from residents and observed that the two left-turn lanes appear to be significantly
underutilized.”
The report notes that dual left-turn lanes are relatively uncommon and typically reserved for intersections with extremely high left-turn volumes, as they create challenges such as:
- Limited visibility of pedestrians in the crosswalk.
- Greater number of conflict points, which carries an increased risk of crashes.
- Limited ability to allow for concurrent left-turn movements for both directions, which can impact intersection operations.
- Contribution to an overall auto-dominated street environment that can be intimidating for people walking and biking.
- Reduced space for other intersection design features.
The city created dual left-turn lanes at Eisenhower Avenue and Mill Road recently. The project was criticized by city leaders as being outdated and out of keeping with new Vision Zero standards, but by the point it came back for city review, it was too expensive to cancel.
At Duke Street, staff said the dual left-turn lanes are underutilized.
“Staff found that the volume of left turns is regularly less than 50 vehicles per hour during the peak period,” the report said. “Based on this analysis, dual left-turn lanes are not warranted, and one left-turn lane is sufficient to accommodate left-turning vehicles from westbound Duke Street to southbound Dulany Street.”
Instead, the report said the recommendation is to install a new pedestrian refuge area for the existing crosswalk, “a treatment that is shown to reduce pedestrian crashes at intersections by up to 46%,” the report said.
A pedestrian tunnel also runs beneath Duke Street, connecting the King Street Metro station to the Carlyle neighborhood.
The proposal is scheduled to go to the Traffic and Parking Board today (Monday) at 7 p.m. for review.
Image via Google Maps
With the reopening of the Dash Transit Center at the future WestEnd development years away, Alexandria is looking to ask Richmond to help pay for $800,000 in temporary bus bays, benches and real-time signage.
On Tuesday, City Council will consider authorizing a $544,000 grant application for a new project through the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP). If approved, the city would have to foot the remaining $256,000 to pay for 12 shelters at six bus bays, benches and six electronic real-time signs until construction of the permanent transit center is finished. City staff said Council could also tap into the GoAlex Fund, which is funded by developers.
Alexandria was awarded $13 million in SMART SCALE funding for the transit hub, but the money isn’t available until 2026 and construction is estimated to wrap in 2028.
“Currently, this is a high ridership location and key transfer point with more than 500 boardings per day,” City staff said in a memo. “This funding would allow for proper amenities at a major transfer facility serving multiple local bus routes and two future bus rapid transit corridors until a permanent structure is constructed.”
Melissa McMahon, chair of the city’s Transportation Commission, wrote a letter stating that the commission endorsed the application.
“At its October 18 meeting, the Transportation Commission voted to endorse a grant application for funding of up $800,000 through the DRPT FY 2024 Mid-Cycle TRIP New Passenger Amenities category,” McMahon wrote. “The Transportation Commission supports staff’s proposal to request funding to provide passenger amenities at Landmark until the facility funded through SMART SCALE can be constructed, at which point the amenities can be relocated to other high need areas in the City.”
McMahon continued, “This project supports the Alexandria Mobility Plan strategy to improve the rider experience and will ensure that appropriate amenities are available for this major transfer facility at the opening of Duke Street and West End Transitways. It also provides the opportunity to potentially leverage the new developer funded Transportation Management Plan GoAlex Fund for these amenities.”
Alexandria was previously awarded a TRIP grant from its Zero and Reduced Fare category. The TRIP program launched in 2021 to improve “regional connectivity in urban areas with a population above 100,000 and reducing barriers to transit use by supporting low-income and zero-fare programming.”
It’s getting easier to bike to and from Alexandria’s new Potomac Yard Metro station.
Alexandria Transportation and Environmental Services said a new Capital Bikeshare station is now open just north of the station.
A report (page 11) to the Traffic and Parking Board for its meeting on Monday, Oct. 23, said the station has 15 docks.
“In October 2023, a new 15 dock Capital Bikeshare station was installed just north of the Potomac Yard Metro South Pavilion, along the Potomac Yard trail,” the report said. “This gives Metro riders a new, convenient transportation option to access the Potomac Yard Metro station.”
The report also said the city worked with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to get ten new bike racks installed at the station, split between the north and south pavilions.
“Staff is evaluating the feasibility of installing more racks on the south side of the station closer to Potomac Greens Drive,” the report said.
https://twitter.com/AlexandriaVATES/status/1714702981105418407
Photo via Capital Bikeshare/Twitter
