Thursday, January 24, 2013
Pilot program will take 10 to 12 public parking spaces away from public use.
Alexandria City Council unanimously approved a pilot program Tuesday for on-street carsharing in the Carlyle and East Eisenhower area. The program will take 10 to 12 parking spaces away from public use so Hertz can set up its carsharing vehicles in the area. The company will pay the city $1,500 per space annually. The program was approved for two years, at which point city staff will return to council with data and other considerations. Mayor Bill Euille called the program “a move in the right direction and long overdue.” Zipcar currently operates 16 carsharing vehicles in off-street spaces in private parking facilities and at Metro stations primarily in the Old Town area. The area for the pilot program was chosen because of its density …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
City secures $30,000 donation for traffic-calming measures in adjacent neighborhoods.
Alexandria City Council approved plans for a 370,000-square-foot office for the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) in Potomac Yard Land Bay G Saturday. The office is the first non-residential complex to be approved for the development. The structure, which is located just south of the Target, is expected to be the focal point of a new town center in Potomac Yard. Keeping IDA in Alexandria was seen as an economic development priority by councilmembers. The agency currently works out of an office near BRAC-133 in the West End. The new structure will be composed of two, eight-story towers built on a connected ground floor. It will have a 580-space parking garage consisting of one level below grade and four levels above grade. The 1.88-acre …
Friday, December 7, 2012
Last-minute move secures $30,000 for traffic-calming money specifically for Del Ray.
The Alexandria Planning Commission approved Tuesday plans for a 370,000-square-foot office for the Institute of Defense Analyses in Potomac Yard Land Bay G, just south of where Target is currently located. The proposal will go before the City Council on Dec. 15. The office, the first non-residential building in the Potomac Yard development to enter the city’s approval process, is expected to be the focal point of a new town center. The proposed office is seen by city staff as an important addition to Potomac Yard, envisioned as a mixed-used center that also supports retail and other services. IDA has outgrown its current office, located next to BRAC-133 in the West End. Its proposed Potomac Yard structure is composed of two, eight-story …
Thursday, October 25, 2012
New sod in the median of Route 1 was removed just as quickly as it was installed to make way for BRT construction.
A few weeks ago, the medians along Route 1 just east of Del Ray were fitted with new sod. Then, just as quickly, a large swath of the sod was removed, leaving a naked strip of dirt and many commuters and nearby residents confused as to what happened. The swift removal of the sod was not a mistake; Route 1 was expanded over the summer to make way for the construction of a bus rapid transitway and sod was temporarily placed in the former northbound lanes to control erosion and sediment. The sod was then removed to make way for construction of the BRT, which was approved by City Council in May. Rich Baier, director of Alexandria’s Department of Transportation and Environmental Services, says it was a decision between covering the median with …
Friday, September 14, 2012
Abi Lerner heads to Virginia Department of Transportation.
Abi Lerner, Alexandria's deputy director of transportation, will be departing from the city's Department of Transportation and Environmental Services. He is leaving to become the Virginia Department of Transportation's new Tysons Corner coordinator, according to a T&ES spokeswoman. Sandra Marks, division chief for transportation planning, will fill in during the interim, until the position is filled.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
With an eight-station network launching in just a few weeks, how will Capital Bikeshare be used in Alexandria?
On Friday, Alexandria announced it would begin installing Capital Bikeshare with plans to get its eight-station network operational by early September. Months ago, when City Council moved to join the program that has thrived in the District and Arlington County, I began to ponder where the stations would go, who in Alexandria would use the system and how. Well, now it's time for the answers. I’m a city resident and a cyclist, but I don’t plan on picking up a membership. I own two bicycles and probably do 85 percent of my travel around town on them. I’m a somewhat recent convert and have seen the advantages in spending less money on gas and getting the blood pumping a little more often. I also find it’s a great way to get to City Hall to …
Friday, August 24, 2012
Eight-station network should be operational in early September.
Alexandria will begin installing eight Capital Bikeshare stations on Monday, more than 10 months after City Council unanimously agreed to join the popular program that’s put more than 1,600 bikes on the road in Washington, D.C. and Arlington County. Station installation will continue into early September. Once all the stations are completed, the network in Alexandria will become operational. The city settled on eight station locations primarily in the Old Town area for its pilot program: The eight station sites vary slightly from the locations presented by the city at an open house in January. The six-station pilot program council approved in October 2011 was expected to cost $400,000. Additional funds for two more stations were …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Alexandria section of the Crystal City-Potomac Yard transitway expected to be running in December 2013.
Construction of the Alexandria portion of the Crystal City-Potomac Yard transitway along Route 1 will begin later this month, bringing plenty of changes to the corridor. The Bus Rapid Transitway in Alexandria will consist of exclusive bus lanes in the median of Route 1 between Potomac Avenue and E. Glebe Road. The transitway will eventually connect the Braddock Road and Pentagon City Metro stations and will be constructed in concert with Arlington County. The BRT will offer fast, reliable and safe bus service, project planners said at a community meeting in April. Council approved the transitway in May and made provisions to monitor traffic and parking on streets near the transitway. With new northbound lanes now in service, the former …
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Councilman Paul Smedberg said he sees a need for Bikeshare stations in areas other than Old Town and nearby.
Members of City Council questioned the location of stations for Alexandria’s Capital Bikeshare pilot program during Tuesday night’s meeting at City Hall. Council moved to reallocate $186,000 in unspent city transportation improvement funds to cover the first-year operation costs of the program after the Federal Highway Administration announced in April that certain federal funds could not be used for operating expenses associated with bike-share programs. The docket item spurred a discussion of the city’s pilot program after Councilman Paul Smedberg said there should be further debate and discussion of where the initial stations should be located. In January, the city unveiled the locations of an eight-station pilot program confined to Old…
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
At a community meeting, West Street residents say their street is ill-designed to handle motorized trolley service connecting Old Town and Del Ray.
Alexandria’s Department of Transportation and Environmental Services is reaching out to citizens for input on six alternative routes for the expansion of motorized trolley service onto Mt. Vernon Avenue. T&ES posted a survey on the city’s website asking for citizen preferences on routes, the name of the line and hours of service. All six route alternatives begin at King Street Metro station and terminate at varying destinations after moving north along Mt. Vernon Avenue. Two of the alternatives go all the way to Arlington Ridge Shopping Center across Four Mile Run. Some suggested routes use West Street to connect Old Town with Del Ray, while others use Commonwealth Avenue. The routes using Commonwealth Avenue do not make stops at Braddock…
amy lu
2:44 pm on Thursday, January 24, 2013
Re: Councilman Wilson's concern - what differentiates Carlyle is the Carlyle Community Council had been begging the City's permission to allow carsharing for months. It culminated at the April 2012 Traffic & Parking Board hearing when a mere two dedicated, carshare spaces were created. (TES needed time to write the rulebook on privatized public spaces so that's a far as they were willing go ATT… more ›