Pedestrian-Only Blocks On Lower King Street Get Improvements

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Measures to improve the permanent pedestrian zones on lower King Street have been added, according to an update presented to the Alexandria Traffic and Parking Board Monday.

The 100 and unit blocks of King Street and the northern Strand have been turned into pedestrian zones not open to vehicular traffic. The 100 block became a pedestrian zone in May 2020, and the change was made permanent in October 2021. The unit block and the Strand were added as a pedestrian zone over Memorial Day weekend 2022, and the permanent pedestrian zone was approved in November 2022.

Now that the street changes are permanent, Alexandria's Transportation and Environmental Services has been working with an informal Lower King Street working group on short-term improvements. After short-term improvements were made, the group will work on design for long-term improvements to the pedestrian zones.

The short-term changes to the pedestrian zones include bollards, crosswalk designs, platforms, lighting and a dockless mobility slow zone.

The bollards are permanent barricades that prevent vehicular traffic from entering the pedestrian zones. However, they can be removed for emergencies. Bollards are present at the King and Lee Street intersection and King and Union Street intersection.

New crosswalk designs were also introduced at the King Street intersections with Union Street and Lee Street. The new design allows pedestrians to cross diagonally in the intersection.

The platforms were added in the 100 block of King Street to connect sidewalks with the street for outdoor dining. Businesses who have received an outdoor dinning encroachment permit are using the platforms through the city's parklet program.

The city has added lighting in the unit and 100 blocks of King Street as well. Lighting on trees has already been a feature on much of Old Town's King Street corridor.

Lastly, the city introduced a slow zone for rental e-scooters and e-bikes in the unit and 100 blocks of King Street. The slow zone automatically restricts speeds of the devices to 8 mph, which the city hopes will reduce e-scooter and e-bike riding in the pedestrian zone.

A longer-term plan for the pedestrian zones is part of the Waterfront Implementation Project, a larger effort to beautify the streetscape and address flooding on the waterfront.