Bus Rapid Transit Concept For Duke Street Endorsed By City Council

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Hours of public testimony for and against a Duke Street Bus Rapid Transit recommendation preceded Alexandria City Council's unanimous approval of the transitway concept.

The approval moves the transitway project between the Landmark Mall redevelopment and King Street to the design phase. City Council endorsed the Duke Street Transitway Advisory Group's preferred design concept for the transitway with a mix of dedicated bus lanes and mixed traffic and associated paths for pedestrians and bicyclists. It will ultimately connect to the in-progress West End development replacing Landmark Mall with a relocated Inova Alexandria Hospital.

According to a city staff presentation, the next step is the design phase, setting up City Council action on final design for 2024. More decisions and public input on design will be required, such as how service roads will be used, right-of-way impacts and more. Certain roadway changes, including service roads, must be reviewed by the city's Traffic and Parking Board or City Council. Construction could begin in 2026, according to the city staff presentation.

The project is already funded through $87 million awarded by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority for planning, design, and construction of the transitway along the Duke Street corridor.

Opponents of the proposal cited impacts like access to residences and businesses and delays for drivers. Supporters advocated for improving transit access and travel times for people who ride buses.

Hillary Orr, the deputy director for the city's Transportation and Environmental Services, said safety and multimodal transportation use would be measures of successes for the project.

"We hope that we see crashes go down on that street," Orr told City Council. "We hope we see more people taking transit, we hope we see more people walking and biking along the corridor."

The Recommendation for Duke Street Transitway

The project seeks to boost transit access along the Duke Street corridor through Bus Rapid Transit as well as improve connections for pedestrians and bicyclists. According to the city, the Duke Street corridor has seen bus ridership surpass pre-pandemic levels but be plagued by problems like traffic delays, bus stop accessibility and crashes.

The advisory group's preferred design concept endorsed by City Council calls for either dedicated bus lanes and mixed traffic in different areas of the Duke Street corridor. The group recommended bus stations every quarter to half mile.

On the first segment from West End Alexandria to Jordan Street, mainly center-running bus lanes are recommended in both directions, except for a short segment with curb-running lanes.

The second segment from Jordan Street to Wheeler Avenue would involve bus service in mixed traffic and not use residential service roads for the transitway.

The next segment from Wheeler Avenue to Roth Street — one that has gotten the most public scrutiny — would involve widening the road to provide an eastbound center bus lane and westbound mixed traffic. Given budget limitations, the group said implementing mixed traffic could be a cost-saving alternative in the short term.

On the last segment from Roth Street to the King Street Metro station, eastbound bus service would be in mixed traffic through Telegraph Road, and the westbound direction would have a center bus lane.

For bicyclists and pedestrians, the advisory group recommended shared-use paths, cycle tracks and sidewalks and shared slow street on a service road on different segments of the Duke Street corridor.

The advisory group's long-term recommendation for the Duke Street corridor is center-running bus lanes for all of Duke Street and separate spaces for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Support From Officials

Councilmember Canek Aguirre, who introduced the motion to endorse the Duke Street transitway recommendation, shared a story exemplifying why transit investments are crucial. He said while eating at a restaurant at Chantilly, the owner shared he was trouble hiring staff because it took too long by bus or people would have to take multiple buses.

"We're fortunate in Alexandria that we don't have issues like that that's because we're making investments like this in [Bus Rapid Transit]," said Aguirre at the City Council meeting.

Bus Rapid Transit lanes would also be utilized by the emergency vehicles to get through the corridor. Fire and EMS Chief Corey Smedley shared that Bus Rapid Transit lanes would be beneficial to emergency vehicles because of adequate roadway width, not having vehicles in regular lanes move out of the way for emergency vehicles, and ability to make turns with large emergency vehicles.

"All those things that inherently we try to work with our transportation partners to build in that environment on a regular roadway already exists in the [Bus Rapid Transit]," said Smedley at City Council's meeting. "So those things are very helpful for us as we navigate in the emergency vehicle space."

Mayor Justin Wilson noted those who supported or opposed the project shared common ground on a desire to improve Duke Street.

"Even when they opposed it, they were saying I want to see these safety features, I want to see more frequent buses, I want to see better bus stops for folks, I want to plan more of this, I want to figure out more of the cost, which is what we're doing here, I want to refine these intersections, I want to improve the public safety response," said Wilson at the City Council meeting. "I think that's why this effort is important, because we're getting there."

Aguirre also highlighted testimony from former City Councilmember Rob Krupicka about a family who crossed six lanes of traffic to access a bus stop a few days ago on Duke Street. Krupicka described how he had to break suddenly for the family, who had no crosswalk or sidewalk and appeared in a hurry to catch the bus.

"I stopped, and I was scared for them, and I was also empathetic for them, recognizing they had so few choices in this place that they lived to get to where they were going in a safe and efficient way," Krupicka told City Council. "Alexandria needs to be a place where every resident can make the choices they want to make about how they get around in a safe, convenient and efficient way, and that's what this is about. Duke Street has had this need for a very long time, and the need has only gotten worse over the last decade."

On Krupicka's testimony, Aguirre commented, "I see that all the time. I hate it...So being able to cross just two lanes to be able to get to a bus stop, I'm all for it. I can't wait to see it."