Rendering of closed block from the Waterfront Commission.
Alexandria's Waterfront Commission is proposing a new pilot program to close the very last block of King Street before the waterfront.
The 100 block of King Street, between Lee Street and Union Street, is already a permanent pedestrian zone. This new pilot program would extend the pedestrian zone east of Union Street to The Strand. A portion of The Strand south of King Street would also be closed (see map below).
The intersection of King and Union streets would go from a three-way intersection to allowing traffic only to pass through on Union Street.
Very limited traffic would be allowed through the closed portions of King Street and The Strand — specifically, "emergency vehicles, , deliveries (limited hours), motorcoaches, and the King Street Trolley. The Strand would also be open to vehicles accessing the parking garages and lots that have entrances on this block of The Strand," according to the Waterfront Commission's proposal.
The pilot program would start Memorial Day weekend in late May and continue through Labor Day in September.
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There is already no parking on that last block of King Street except for tour buses and delivery vehicles. The King Street trolly used that section of road as a turnaround point in the past, but the route has changed to avoid the area.
Reviews of the closure of the 100 block of King Street, from Union Street west to Lee Street, has been positive among residents and restaurants. Some retail businesses along that block have complained that the closure has actually harmed them, as fewer pedestrians use the sidewalks on lower King Street, opting instead to walk along the middle of the closed street, further away from those businesses' front doors.
