Alexandria is hoping for more authority to regulate the use of autonomous vehicles on city streets.
At a meeting last week, the Transportation Commission discussed legislative priorities for the upcoming year. These are topics that the Transportation Commission is hoping the City’s representatives will push for during the legislative session. One of the big transportation topics on the horizon, the Commission said, is regulation of autonomous vehicles.
Drivers headed to Shirlington will have to take a detour through Alexandria next week, offering Arlingtonians a glimpse at life once Alexandria finally annexes Shirlington.
The northbound ramp off I-395 to Shirlington Circle will be closed overnight Monday night (Sept. 16) and Tuesday night (Sept. 17) into the following mornings next week. The closure will force drivers onto Martha Custis Drive in the Parkfairfax neighborhood.
Alexandria’s speed camera program in school zones started one year ago, but so far a significant number of tickets issued since then have gone unpaid.
APD Communications Manager Tracy Walker told ALXnow that since the program started in September of 2023, there have been 47,020 tickets issued.
Last year saw the highest DASH ridership in the bus service’s history. This year, DASH beat its own record.
DASH said on Twitter that the final ridership figure for FY 2024 was 5.3 million, up from 4.5 million last year, which in turn beat the network’s record of 4.3 million in 2015.
Move over Seminary Road, there’s a new “road diet” fight brewing.
S. Pickett Street is a four-lane roadway running between Duke Street and Edsall Road in the West End and — crucially for this story — runs adjacent to the Cameron Station neighborhood.
Alexandria’s Traffic and Parking Board approved changes to major streets, including Eisenhower Avenue, that safety advocates hope can save lives.
On Monday, the Traffic and Parking Board approved changes to Eisenhower Avenue that would reduce the speed limit, implement no turn on red restrictions, and several other changes — particularly near the Van Dorn Metro station.
Alexandria’s DASH bus network is getting a new pilot that could make buses less of a hassle for those who use wheelchairs or scooters.
A small number of DASH buses will have the Q’Straint’s Quantum system installed. The system is designed to help those who use mobility assistance devices easily and quickly secure themselves on the bus. According to the release:
Hot on the heels of changes to streets near William Ramsay Elementary School, the City of Alexandria is looking to make streets safer near a local Catholic school.
Changes (page 15) to West Glebe Road and Russell Road are headed to the Traffic and Parking Board on Monday, July 22 with the goal of making the intersection near Saint Rita Catholic School safer.
Parking is already in high demand near William Ramsay Elementary School. A change (page 12) coming to the nearby Sanger Avenue could make parking even more scarce, but the tradeoff is making it safer to walk to school.
The plan is to extend the curbs near William Ramsay Elementary School and, in the process, remove three parking spaces. The staff report said that “parking is permitted along Sanger Avenue and there is a high-demand for parking throughout the day.”
On paper, the plan to add toll lanes to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge doesn’t preclude the possibility of adding Metro access one day, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson joined the Coalition for Smarter Growth in expressing concerns that the new express lanes would make future rail plans unfeasible.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is currently considering converting a portion of the bridge reserved for future HOV/express bus/rail transit into toll lanes. VDOT said future transit could be implemented by shifting one thru lane to a local lane and reducing to one express lane in each direction. But Wilson said Alexandria has had a history of legal fights over the bridge, the notable one being a lawsuit that resulted in the bridge being 10 lanes instead of 12.
City Council will consider a lease agreement tonight to move a portion of the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services to a 5,600-square-foot office space at AlexRenew Headquarters.
The city’s wastewater authority at 1800 Limerick Street finished construction of its headquarters in 2016, and was designed for expansion on the fifth floor.
