Alexandria is seeking community feedback on a series of changes to South Pickett Street in the West End, including new pedestrian safety measures and protected bike lanes.
The project would cover S. Pickett Street from Duke Street down to Edsall Road. That route along the West End Village shopping center, Hillwood Condominiums, and ends near Samuel Tucker Elementary School.
“Today, South Pickett Street serves fast-moving vehicular traffic, has very few pedestrian crossings despite a robust crossing demand, and has no bicycle facilities,” a city report said. “This corridor has gradually been redeveloping into a higher-density neighborhood conducive to non-automobile travel, but the existing street design is challenging and hostile for people walking, biking, and taking transit.”
The road, currently four lanes, could be cut to two lanes for car traffic, one center-running turn lane, and a protected bike lane on each side of the street.
The report said “no significant differences in traffic operations” was expected based on a traffic analysis.
Other proposed changes include:
- Dedicated center turning lane
- Posted speed limit reduction to 25 mph
- New pedestrian crossings at key locations
- Traffic calming measures
- Upgrades to pedestrian ramps
- Lead Pedestrian Intervals and no turn on red restrictions at signalized intersections
Feedback can be submitted online until May 5. A virtual community meeting on the project is scheduled for Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m. The meeting ID is 968 5930 1979 and the passcode is 968 5930 1979.
Following community feedback, the city said recommendations will be sent to the Traffic and Parking Board later this spring or this summer.
Image via Google Maps
It was another busy week in Alexandria.
This week’s top stories focused on development projects all over the city, from Old Town North to Carlyle and in the West End. News of the mixed-use projects comes as affordable housing advocates are protesting against being priced out and are asking for greater assistance from the city.
Politics-wise, City Council Member Alyia Gaskins celebrated two recent victories in her Democratic primary race for mayor. Gaskins is leading with fundraising, having raised $149,107 with $69,425 on-hand, according to quarterly campaign finance reports released Monday. Her opponent Vice Mayor Amy Jackson has raised $59,984 and has $22,682 on-hand, while former real estate developer Steven Peterson has raised $44,700 with $14,019 on-hand.
Gaskins also handily won the recent Alexandria Democratic Committee’s Straw Poll by 81%, followed by 16% for Jackson and 3% for Peterson. The primary is on June 18.
On Tuesday, we reported on a new movement to return Alexandria’s City Council to ward/district representation. While the nine-member Alexandria School Board is divided into three districts, the seven members of City Council are at-large, representing the entire city. The Communities for Accountable City Council is a self-described non-partisan group of city residents “exasperated with the intransigent Alexandria City Council that is unaccountable to communities and neighborhoods because of Alexandria’s At-Large election system.”
In our poll this week we asked whether City Council should return to a ward system. Out of the more than 500 votes, 57% voted yes and 43% voted no.
The most-read stories this week were:
- Notes: Old Town North building sold for $15.4 million to be turned into mixed-use apartment building (8413 views)
- Alexandria considering big plans for properties next to Eisenhower Avenue Metro station (4987 views)
- Alexandria City Council approves new ‘neighborhood’ at former Vulcan Materials site (4603 views)
- CVS set to close in Taylor Run neighborhood on Duke Street (3611 views)
- Affordable housing advocates rally outside Alexandria City Hall (3559 views)
- No arrest after fistfight leads to gunfire in Lincolnia (3351 views)
- Notes: Fundraiser for motorcyclist killed on Duke Street raises thousands (2390 views)
- Local organization forms to push Alexandria back to district/ward elections (2303 views)
- Mystic BBQ & Grill opens on Lee Street in Old Town (2235 views)
Have a safe weekend!
After years of planning, a new neighborhood was just approved to replace the former Vulcan Materials site in Alexandria’s West End.
City Council approved the proposal 5-1 at their Saturday public hearing, with City Council Member Canek Aguirre voting in opposition.
Lennar Corporation and Potomac Land Group II LLC can now build a dual-branded 11-story hotel with 256 rooms facing S. Van Dorn Street on at 701 S. Van Dorn Street and 698 Burnside Place, as well as condominiums, townhouses and a new public park. Renderings of the hotel revealed a Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites.
The group also plans to contribute $3.5 million into the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund instead of including affordable housing on the 18-acre site. Additionally, $2.6 million would go toward construction of the 4.4-acre Backlick Run Park in the northwest corner of the property, and the developers would also build a pedestrian bridge from the property to the park.
Aguirre said that the project is an island without affordable housing, and said that the plan does not create a new voting precinct, or a school, and is difficult for the community to otherwise access.
“This is acres and acres of land,” Aguirre said. “We don’t get an opportunity to deal with this much land like this, and to say that we’re gonna have this large of a site and not have anything affordable, I don’t know how we do that.”
The site is the former home to a gravel and granite processing site, and is approximately a half-mile from the Van Dorn Metro station. About one-third of the property can’t be developed due to its previous industrial use.
Mayor Justin Wilson said that the city can’t always get what it wants, especially with such an industrial parcel of land.
“We want to do it all,” Wilson said. “We want public art, we want open space, we want affordable housing. We want it all and the reality is that it all does not pencil out.”
Ken Wire represents the developers and told Council that it will take a year to do environmental cleanup on the property and three years before housing units can be sold.
The plan also calls for construction of 204 condominiums, 88 back-to-back multifamily units, and 31 townhomes connected on an internal street network. Wire said that the condos would range in price from $400,000 to $600,000.
A 41-year-old Maryland man is being held without bond after allegedly executing the family dog in a fit of rage, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The incident occurred on Feb. 25 in an apartment in the 4300 block of Raleigh Avenue, which is near the Shoppes of Foxchase on Duke Street.
The victim told police that the father of her child took her car and her Glock 19 9mm pistol when he left for work that morning. She told police that she then became fearful and left the apartment with her child.
At around 10 p.m., the victim and the suspect were texting, with the suspect “highly agitated that she would not tell him the whereabouts of their daughter,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
A phone call followed the series of texts, and during the call the victim heard two “loud booms and the call disconnected,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
Police later found the dog named Max dead on the bed in the master bedroom, shot twice in the head.
The suspect then allegedly texted the victim that she should not go upstairs with their child, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The suspect was arrested on March 12 and was charged with torture of a dog, larceny of a firearm, unlawful discharge of a firearm in an occupied building, and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He goes to court on April 26.
The Alexandria Sexual Assault Center and Domestic Violence Program is available 24/7 to listen and help at 703-746-4911.
“If you are a neighbor and know that an abusive incident is occurring, call the police immediately,” the city said. “Calling the police is simply the most effective way to protect the victim and children from immediate harm.”
No arrests were made after a fight resulted in a single shot being fired from a gun in the Lincolnia area of Alexandria on Saturday afternoon, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
APD was notified of the gunshot at around 3:30 p.m. in a parking lot of an apartment complex in the 6100 block of Lincolnia Road. Police were told that multiple males were fighting, and that the fight was broken up when the suspect fired the gun in the air.
A shell casing was found at the scene, according to an APD dispatch.
Minutes later, police pulled apart two men fighting a few blocks away in the area of Little River Turnpike and N. Beauregard Street. The men were briefly detained and then released.
Anyone with information on this incident can contact the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Officers are investigating the report of shots fired in the 6100 block of Lincolnia. No reported injuries and no suspects. pic.twitter.com/9t9m4k0Vuz
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 13, 2024
(Updated at 8 p.m.) More than 2,200 West End residents are without power after a transformer fire in the area of Seminary Road and N. Beauregard Street, according to Dominion Energy.
The Alexandria Police and Fire Departments responded to the transformer fire at around 4 p.m., and to direct traffic since the lights are down in the area, according to dispatches.
Dominion Energy says in their outage map that a crew has been dispatched to the area, and that crews are working to restore power by 10 p.m.
There are a little over 2K @DominionEnergy customers in the West End of the City currently experiencing an outage.
If you are out, please call 866.366.4357 or report online at:https://t.co/P7thQdZmld pic.twitter.com/5gAaonywkU
— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) April 12, 2024
A motorcyclist is dead after crashing into a DASH Bus early this evening on Duke Street in Alexandria’s Landmark area.
A DASH bus driver announced via dispatch that the crash occurred at 5:07 p.m. He reported that the motorcyclist was speeding past the bus as it was turning onto N. Ripley Street.
The bus driver reported via dispatch that the motorcyclist was not moving. Minutes later, the motorcyclist was declared dead at the scene.
Duke Street from Paxton to South Walker Streets has been closed for several hours as the Alexandria Police Department’s crash reconstruction unit is investigating the incident.
The identity of the motorcyclist has not been released.
Traffic alert: Both directions of Duke at Paxton & Duke at Walker are shut down due to a fatal crash involving a motorcyclist and a bus. No injuries reported related to the bus. Investigators will be on-scene for several hours.
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 9, 2024
⚠️Service Alert: Due to police activity, both directions of Duke St from Paxton to S. Walker are currently shut down. Bus Lines 30 & 32 are on detour and Line 35 is experiencing delays. For more information, visit https://t.co/9QRbAJaPLE⚠️
— DASH Bus (@DASHBus) April 10, 2024
An adult male was shot in the leg after an altercation in the Landmark area early Sunday morning, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
No arrests have been made, and police are still investigating the incident. APD received more than 10 calls for service at around 12:45 p.m., with witnesses telling police that they observed a shootout between two parties in the 200 block of S. Reynolds Street. Police were told that the suspects fled in two vehicles traveling in separate directions, according to the police scanner.
Multiple bullet casings were found in the street, according to the police scanner.
After the incident, the man who was shot was driven or drove himself to MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
According to APD:
On Sunday, April 7, at approximately 12:44 a.m. Alexandria Police officers responded to the report of shots fired, a weapons violation, in the 200 block of South Reynolds Street. Once on scene, officers located evidence of shots having been fired but did not locate any injured parties. It was reported by witnesses that an altercation among a large group of people led to shots being exchanged.
During the investigation, it was determined that an adult male with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound was injured in the incident and received medical treatment in an area hospital. No arrests have been made at this time. This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information should call Alexandria Police Detective Brattelli at 703-746- 6699.
Officers have concluded their on-site investigation in the 200 block of S. Reynolds St. after a weapons violation. One victim went to the hospital on their own and has non life threatening injuries.
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 7, 2024
Planet Fitness in Alexandria’s West End was evacuated early Saturday evening (April 6), adding to a growing number of similar threats made at locations around the country.
The Alexandria Police Department was alerted at around 6 p.m. of a bomb threat made via email, according to the APD scanner. Police said in one dispatch that an employee reported that the alleged threat was sent in an email at 4:06 p.m.
The building was evacuated for more than an hour, and reopened at around 8 p.m. Doyle’s Outpost, which is an arcade located next door to the gym, was also evacuated and didn’t reopen. Doyle’s Outpost had a staff of more than 15 people who ended up getting sent home early on Saturday night.
“We had multiple birthday parties going on,” Doyle’s Outpost manager Natise Ragland said. “I didn’t want to raise a panic, so I calmly told the adults that there was some sort of situation and that the police were asking us all to evacuate. Everyone paid their tabs and then we put their food in to-go containers and evacuated.”
There have been more than a dozen bomb threats made at Planet Fitness locations around the country after an Alaska woman’s membership was revoked at a location in Fairbanks last month. The member took photos and video of a transgender woman shaving in the women’s locker room, and then posted the images and videos online. The woman’s membership was revoked for violating Planet Fitness’s policy of taking pictures and video in locker rooms, and the gym defended its gender identity non-discrimination policy.
The issue has since gone viral, prompting online activists to protest the cancellation of the woman’s membership.
There’s a moderate police presence in the 4000 block of Kenmore Ave. as officers investigate a bomb threat. Officers have cleared the area as necessary during the search of the area. An update will be issued as necessary. pic.twitter.com/LOAPOlxjLJ
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) April 6, 2024
What a busy week in Alexandria.
This week’s top story was all about money, with a $1 million Powerball ticket getting sold in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County.
On Monday we reported that an Alexandria resident was charged after a loaded gun was allegedly found in his carry-on bag at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The incident marked the third time last month that a firearm was confiscated from luggage at the airport.
Also Monday, Mayor Justin Wilson said in his monthly newsletter that the March 27 death of the Potomac Yard arena deal would likely mean a period of stagnation for that area of the city. Landowner JBG Smith, however, softened its stance after initially releasing a scathing opinion on the situation, and told the Washington Business Journal on Wednesday that it now envisions Potomac Yard as a tech corridor anchored by the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus.
In a Thursday poll, ALXnow asked whether Alexandria is better off without the Potomac Yard arena. The poll got more than 1,300 responses, with 65% voting “Yes,” 26% voting “No” and nearly 10% voting “I don’t know.”
Got a good spot to see the eclipse on Monday? Our second-most-read story this week showcases an eclipse viewing party being hosted by the city in Old Town.
The most-read stories this week were:
- Powerball ticket worth $1 million sold in Mount Vernon (7387 views)
- City of Alexandria hosting eclipse viewing party in Old Town (7375 views)
- Notes: Pizza and cocktail bar opening this week in Old Town (5997 views)
- Sign ordinance update tackling longstanding sign complaints from Alexandria businesses (5400 views)
- In wake of Potomac Yard arena implosion, Alexandria mayor says area will stay the same for ‘quite some time’ (5398 views)
- Alexandria gets federal grant for Duke Street transitway (4171 views)
- No arrest after woman stabbed in neck in Alexandria’s West End (3522 views)
- CIM Group sells apartment complex next to old Landmark Mall property for $225 million (3149 views)
Have a safe weekend!
