Images, slides courtesy of the City of Alexandria.
Members of Alexandria's City Council Wednesday night OK'd a proposal by City staff to begin laying the groundwork for a pilot program that will see a part of lower King Street closed to cars on weekends, beginning in April.
The pilot project would close the 100 block of King Street to traffic on weekends through October.
Council members listened Wednesday night as staff discussed the proposal for the pilot program to convert the 100 block of King Street (between Lee and Union streets) into a pedestrian-only space on the weekends in 2020. If approved in the winter, the program will run from April to October.
Councilman John Chapman expressed concern that shutting the block off to cars might hurt retailers in the area.
Councilwoman Del Pepper said she would like to see the pilot expanded to the 200 block of King Street to open a larger area up to pedestrians, even if the street presents challenges because it is steeper. She also expressed concern about nearby residents who might have a redirected trolley "going down their cobblestone roads."
Councilman Mo Seifelden asked why the pilot couldn't be pedestrian-friendly all week long. He noted that he would like to see two weeklong pilots during the entire pilot phase. "This is really exciting," he said.
Councilwoman Amy Jackson asked about the results from a previous pilot held several years ago; Mayor Justin Wilson said he would share results from that pilot with current council members.
City staff said the general feedback from restaurants on the proposal is that it will be helpful; they also noted that some retailers are somewhat concerned about the closure and its possible impact on their business. Other concerns that were raised mainly centered on rerouting the free trolley and how the closure will impact parking.
The groundwork for the pedestrian improvements started as part of the Union Street Corridor Study in 2012. The circulation for a pedestrian-only space was evaluated as part of the 2015 Lower King Street Multimodal Feasibility Study.
The pilot project will include stakeholder discussions with business and community representatives from now until December, to get input on the project framework.
The pilot will also involve interdepartmental coordination. As a result of the input, the approach for the pilot, including programming and budget, will be presented to City Council for consideration this winter. At the end of the pilot, a report will be provided to City Council with recommendations for a path forward.
This isn't the first time the proposal has come up -- back in 2006, a few blocks of lower King Street were blocked off to traffic on the weekends during the summer as a trial.
During that trial, vehicular traffic was banned from lower King Street on the weekends. Low-key entertainment, benches and more filled the streets. King Street closed at 3 p.m. on Fridays for four weekends and reopened at 6 a.m. Mondays.
"While pedestrian users of the plaza (83%) supported it, the view from merchants was mixed. In particular, some of the merchants in the 200 block of King Street reported a drop in sales, and no merchant in either the 100 block or the 200 block reported a significant increase in retail sales," according to city documents. In fact, several merchants in the 200 block of King Street reported a decrease.
