The City of Alexandria has applied for a grant to fund significant changes along Upper King Street, including new bike lanes, narrowed car lanes, dedicated bus lanes and fewer left turns into the popular shopping center.
The grant is under consideration through SMART SCALE, a Virginia agency that scores transportation projects. VDOT has already given a preliminary recommendation for the Commonwealth Transportation Board to fund the $36.7 million project.
The project runs from the six-way King Street-Braddock-Road-Quaker Lane intersection west past the Bradlee Shopping Center to Menonkin Drive, which is just before the I-395 interchange on King Street — about a 0.5 mile stretch of heavily-used roadway. (See map below.)
The City Council granted permission for city staff to apply for the grant in March 2020, along with approval to apply for grants for the Duke Street Transitway and Landmark Transit Center. The King Street project would be funded in the 2026-27 fiscal year.
While some residents in the project area knew about the plans, most community outreach and engagement with grant application details may not start until after the project is approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board later this year.
Some residents are concerned that starting broad engagement after the project is already funded will be too little too late, as the application includes plans and written intentions that will be difficult or impossible to change after grant funds are awarded.
Bike and Bus Lanes Included in Application
The grant application reveals that the project design includes a bi-directional bike path protected from vehicles on the eastbound side of King Street with planted buffers and medians.
The grant application indicates that the total paved area on this section of King Street would remain the same including the service road, but vehicles lanes will be narrowed to slow traffic. According to the application, “…some of the existing lane space and right of way from the service road and narrowing of travel lanes will be repurposed for two dedicated bus lanes, one in each direction.”
The grant application notes that the project is needed because: “This section of King Street is lacking adequate pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and there are major land uses such as the Bradlee Shopping center, higher density residential uses, as well as several transit routes. Sidewalk, bike facilities, transit facilities and improved operations are identified in Alexandria's Transportation Master Plan, and this project will significantly improve non-motorized access and safety to these uses.”
State officials expect to approve recommended grant applications this summer.
For more information on the SMART SCALE process, go to smartscale.org.
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