City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: OCTOBER 2, 2024
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: ADRIANA CASTAÑEDA, DIRECTOR, TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
DOCKET TITLE:
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Staff Presentation - Appeal of the Traffic and Parking Board’s July 22, 2024, Decision Recommending Roadway Safety Design Changes on Eisenhower Avenue between South Van Dorn Street and Holmes Run Trail.
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ISSUE: Consideration of a petition to appeal the Traffic & Parking Board recommendation to implement roadway safety design changes on Eisenhower Avenue between South Van Dorn Street and Holmes Run Trail.
RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council:
1. Concur with the recommendations of the Traffic & Parking Board to implement roadway safety design changes on Eisenhower Avenue to improve mobility, access, and safety for all road users; and
2. Deny the appeal of the Traffic & Parking Board decision as it relates to the Eisenhower Avenue Project.
BACKGROUND: Eisenhower Avenue is one of the City’s high-injury corridors, and it was identified by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) as a statewide priority corridor for enhancing safety and access for people walking, biking, and taking transit. In 2023, the City was given VDOT technical assistance to support the Eisenhower Avenue Transportation Study. The recommended changes are consistent with the City’s adopted Vision Zero Action Plan, Alexandria Mobility Plan, Eisenhower West Small Area Plan, and Complete Streets Policy (Attachment 1). The recommendations also align with industry guidance and best practices on safe roadway design, including the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy.
Eisenhower Avenue is an east-west minor arterial roadway that traverses the City, linking South Van Dorn Street on the West End to Holland Lane in Carlyle. Given the length, the varying character of the corridor, and the crash history, the City identified the western section of Eisenhower Avenue (between South Van Dorn Street and Holmes Run Trail) as the priority segment for Eisenhower Avenue Transportation Study. This section is a 35 MPH five-lane undivided roadway with a mix of commercial, industrial, and high-density residential uses, with additional high-density residential development expected over the next decade. It also provides access to the Van Dorn Metro Station and numerous bus routes, including the future West End Transitway.
As part of the study, staff in coordination with the Consultant performed an existing conditions assessment, community outreach, conceptual design, and traffic analysis between July 2023 and June 2024, culminating with the Traffic & Parking Board Public Hearing on July 22.
The Consultant performed a robust traffic analysis to assess the impacts of potential design changes to the roadway. The intersection of Eisenhower Avenue and South Van Dorn Street is currently performing poorly in terms of vehicle delays, specifically for the westbound and southbound approaches. The analysis reported westbound traffic experiences 126 seconds and 85 seconds of delay in the AM and PM peak hour respectively, and southbound traffic experiences 190 seconds of delay in the PM peak hour. By relocating the left turns at this intersection to the underutilized Metro Road, the City can reduce the overall intersection delay to approximately 50 seconds on average. Relocating the left turns (and by extension, removing the dedicated left turn lanes) would also create space for a sidewalk adjacent to the Van Dorn Metro Station and a two-way protected bicycle lane.
Prior to this project, the City performed over a year of community engagement as part of the Eisenhower West Small Area Plan in 2014-2015 and the Alexandria Mobility Plan in 2020-2021, both of which resulted in recommendations to improve multimodal safety and access on Eisenhower Avenue. In Summer 2023, staff received over 300 responses from residents, with major concerns including speeding, cut-through traffic, congestion at either Van Dorn Street or Mill Road, access to Metro stations, and poor or nonexistent infrastructure for people walking and biking. Following the initial community input period, staff developed conceptual design options, which were shared with the community for feedback via an online feedback form and direct communication with stakeholder groups. Of over 430 feedback form respondents, 79% supported or were neutral about the relocation of left turns to Metro Road and the proposed sidewalk, and 74% supported or were neutral about the two-way protected bicycle lane. Staff also met with and incorporated feedback from the Eisenhower Partnership and the Eisenhower West Landmark Van Dorn Implementation Advisory Group throughout the project. A community engagement summary can be found in Attachment 3.
On July 22, 2024, the Traffic & Parking Board (Board) considered and recommended approval of a staff proposal for roadway safety design changes on Eisenhower Avenue between South Van Dorn Street and Holmes Run Trail as part of the Eisenhower Avenue Transportation Study. The changes include removing one travel lane in each direction on Eisenhower Avenue, diverting left-turns at the Eisenhower Avenue/South Van Dorn Street intersection to Metro Road, installing No Turn on Red restrictions and Leading Pedestrian Intervals, installing protected bicycle lanes, installing enhanced pedestrian crossings, installing bus boarding islands, adding on-street parking, and reducing the posted speed limit from 35 MPH to 25 MPH to enhance mobility, access, and safety for all roadway users while minimizing traffic delay.
DISCUSSION: On August 5, 2024, residents filed an appeal of the Board’s July 22 recommendation, requesting that City Council reverse or suspend the decision to implement the design changes (Attachment 4). City Council will consider both the recommendation of the Traffic & Parking Board and the residents’ appeal. While a letter defining the concerns with the Board’s recommendation was not provided with the appeal, staff understands from prior community engagement that any concerns around the project are primarily related to impacts of the project to Metro Road, which provides access to the Summers Grove residential community.
The proposed changes could increase traffic on Metro Road, a minor collector roadway/minor arterial ramp, from 300-350 vehicles in the peak hour to 700-1,000 vehicles in the peak hour. For a four-lane roadway, the anticipated increase in vehicles would result in Metro Road operating at approximately 13% of its capacity. Residents of Summers Grove, which is bordered by South Van Dorn Street to the west, Eisenhower Avenue to the south, and Metro Road to the north and east, have expressed concern about increased general traffic, truck traffic, vehicle speeds, noise, poor sight distance, pedestrian safety, and pavement condition. Metro Road is scheduled to be repaved, and the City has committed to implementing improvements to the roadway to address many of these concerns. Staff had discussed improvements with the community including curb extensions, median islands, and lane narrowing to slow traffic speeds, improve sight distance for drivers exiting the Summers Grove neighborhood, and improve safety of the existing signalized crosswalk to the Metro Station.
While the staff understands that increased traffic on Metro Road is a concern for some residents, those impacts can be mitigated, and moreover, it is a worthwhile tradeoff to achieve substantial mobility, access, and safety benefits to all roadway users on the street network overall and to support the City’s adopted goals, plans, and policies. Staff recommends that City Council concur with the Traffic & Parking Board recommendations and deny the appeal.
FISCAL IMPACT: Depending on the final design, the project cost is estimated to be up to $25 million, anticipated to be funded through a combination of Smart Scale and Safe Streets & Roads for All grant funding programs, for which City Council approved applications earlier this year. A 20% local match is required for Safe Streets & Roads for All, which would total $150,000 and be funded through Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) 30% funds or the GoAlex Fund.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Adopted Plans and Policies (Excerpts)
Attachment 2: July 22 Traffic & Parking Board Docket Memo for Eisenhower Avenue Project and Additional Community Comments Received for the July 22 Traffic & Parking Board Public Hearing
Attachment 3: Community Engagement Summary
Attachment 4: Petition to Appeal the July 22 Traffic & Parking Board Decision
Attachment 5: Presentation
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, P.E., Deputy City Manager
Tarrence Moorer, Assistant Director, Internal Services, T&ES
Hillary Orr, Deputy Director, T&ES
Christopher Ziemann, Division Chief, T&ES
Alexandria Carroll, Complete Streets Program Manager, T&ES