Authority To Lower Speed Limit, 5 Other Notable Approvals Given By Alexandria Council

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Saturday's Alexandria City Council meeting resulted in several notable decisions, including giving the city manager authority to consider setting speed limits below 25 mph.

The city has authority to lower speed limits, but Virginia code previously did not allow speed limits below 25 mph. State legislation in 2021 amended the Virginia code, allowing localities to reduce speed limits below 25 mph in a business or residential district. The reduced speed limit can be no lower than 15 mph.

Saturday's approval would allow the city manager to implement speed limits no lower than 15 mph. There would be immediate impact on existing speed limits, but the city will plan a pilot program on slow zones, a combination of lower speed limits and traffic calming measures. The Vision Zero plan adopted by City Council in 2017, which seeks to eliminate deaths and serious injuries from crashes by 2028, includes a slow zone recommendation.

Two people testified in support of allowing speed limits below 25 mph. Mike Doyle, a founding member of Alexandra Families for Safe Streets, said reducing speed limits is one way to improve safety.

"Drivers will slow down. They'll save themselves from being in a crash. More importantly, they can save lives," Doyle said.

Nicole Radshaw, a resident of the Brookville-Seminary Valley area, supported measures to make it easier to lower speed limits. Radshaw said she was struck by a car likely going 25 mph, which she believes was a better scenario than a car going 35 mph.

"Drivers have a wider range of vision when driving at lower speed limits," said Radshaw. "So not only will the impact be decreased, but the slower you drive, the more pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users drivers will see and avoid."

Radshaw said the city should start with 15 mph speed limits in school zones. She also called for road design measures to change behaviors of speeding drivers.

Councilmember Sarah Bagley said giving the city manager the authority to lower speed limits below 25 should be "the beginning of a process rather than the only step in a process." Bagley called for making street design inclusive for all road users to be another step.

Councilmember John Taylor Chapman said he posted about the speed limit proposal on his social media and received hundreds of comments for and against.

"It was good to see people share, good to hear some of these stories that we need to understand as a community, the value of our pedestrians, the value of our bicyclists, the value of having folks that are driving that are paying attention to the rules of the road," said Chapman. "Those are all things that we, I think, with this policy change want to make sure that we as Alexandrians do."

Chapman said a common thread in the discussion centered around enforcement of speeding.

"However we can work to make sure that we're enforcing slow zones as we put them in, I think will make sure that our community understands their value but also pays attention to them a little bit better," said Chapman.

The city's process of evaluating speed limit changes remains the same: an engineering study, followed by Traffic and Parking Board review, city manager approval, and installation of new speed limit signs. According to the city staff report, "staff will not immediately consider individual requests outside of slow zone areas for speed limit reductions on neighborhood streets to less than 25 mph."

Other City Council approvals

City Council gave other notable approvals on Saturday. Final approval was given to ordinances allowing Ting, Inc., and Lumos Telephone, Inc. to construct broadband services, which will give city residents choice in broadband internet service providers.

The Alexandria School Board district maps were tweaked, as the AlexRenew precinct was moved from Election District A to Election District B. By law, the city had to review and consider redrawing the School Board districts based on 2020 Census results. The 2020 Census data showed School Board District A has 56,160 voters, while School Board District B has 49,507 voters. City Council also established Ferdinand T. Day School as the polling place to replace Hermitage Senior Living Facility and rename the precinct from Hermitage to F.T. Day School precinct.

City Council gave final approval to rezoning the ParcView II property at 5380 Holmes Run Parkway from high density apartment to residential multifamily. The item is associated with a Feb. 12 City Council approval to affordable housing developer Wesley Housing. The developer plans to construct two nine-story affordable apartment buildings a daycare, commercial or community use, and underground garage and preserve an existing 14-story affordable apartment building. The community would have 373 total affordable units.

Temporary business relief programs related to COVID-19 will continue through Sept. 30, 2022 after City Council approval. That includes the temporary parklet program for business use of street parking spaces for retail or dining. Starting Oct. 1, 2022, permit fees will be charged for use of parklets.

The other notable approval involved higher fines for heavy vehicles in business areas with citations. In March 2021, City Council amended the city code to give citations to vehicles above 12,000 pounds or lengths of 30 feet parked more than two hours on public streets near commercial business areas, unless they are actively loading or unloading. Although Alexandria police issued 626 citations since the code change, residents reported continuing violations. The new citation fines include $100 for the first violation, $250 for the second, $350 for the third, with removal and immobilization of the vehicle on fourth and future violations.