Duke Street Bus Lanes Concept Headed To Alexandria City Council For Review

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A concept for bus lanes in the Duke Street corridor will head to the Alexandria City Council for approval in late June.

The Duke Street Transitway is being planned to provide enhanced bus transit in the Duke Street corridor of Alexandria. In late May, a Duke Street Transitway Advisory Group chose its preferred design concept for the transitway on different segments of Duke Street.

The design concept being presented to City Council calls for a mix of dedicated bus lanes and mixed traffic. 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 would involve widening the road to provide an eastbound center bus lane and westbound mixed traffic. Given budget limitations, the group said mixed traffic could be a cost-saving option 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.

The group called for transitway stations every quarter mile to half mile based on ridership demand, accessibility, topography and right-of-way considerations. Stations are recommended to have bus shelters, seating and features promoting safe access to the bus.

For the long term, the advisory group recommends center-running bus lanes for all of Duke Street and separate spaces for bicyclists and pedestrians.

"This long-term plan would be partially dependent on redevelopment and available funding and should be assessed further during the Duke Street Small Area Plan process," the advisory group's recommendation report stated. "In the near-term, the City should work toward this long-term plan as much as possible, when finalizing a design that can be constructed with available funding."

Along with the bus lane concept, the advisory group shared a curb concept recommendation with a mix of shared-use paths, cycle tracks and sidewalks and shared slow street on a service road for different segments of the Duke Street corridor.

The advisory group made its recommendation after a new round of public feedback on possible design concepts. The Alexandria Planning Commission will discuss the recommended design concept at its Thursday meeting. The proposal will be up for City Council approval with a public hearing on June 27.