City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: NOVEMBER 6, 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:
TITLE
Consideration of a Resolution Approving the Updated Conceptual Plans for Phase I of the Duke Street Transitway [ROLL-CALL VOTE].
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of a Resolution that proposes design changes to the Duke Street service road in conjunction with the creation of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor on Duke Street.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council pass a Resolution for approval of the updated conceptual plans for Phase I of the Duke Street Transitway, including (1) conversion of the access road from two-way operation to one-way westbound between West Taylor Run Parkway and Cambridge Road, (2) a queue jump lane for buses running in the eastbound direction at North Quaker Lane, and (3) removal of an eastbound dedicated bus lane between Roth Street and Wheeler Avenue.
BACKGROUND: The Duke Street Transitway project is a critical initiative aimed at enhancing transportation efficiency, safety, and accessibility along one of Alexandria’s key corridors. This corridor was originally identified in 2008 in the Transportation Master Plan and has been reaffirmed as a priority transportation corridor through numerous City Council actions including the 2020 Alexandria Transit Vision Plan and 2021 Alexandria Mobility Plan. For more information on the project history, refer to Attachment 2. At the conclusion of the June 2023 City Council meeting, which largely pertained to the Duke Street Transitway project, staff were directed to continue working with the community regarding three components of the project:
A. Duke Street service road between Moncure Drive and West Taylor Run Parkway
B. Duke Street service road between West Taylor Run Parkway and Cambridge Road/Roth Street
C. Segment 2B: Duke Street from Roth Street to Wheeler Avenue
Since that time, the project has advanced through further outreach and planning.
In May and June 2024, the Traffic and Parking Board (“Board”) held public hearings to discuss proposals for the Duke Street service road design, which included the adjacent intersections at Cambridge Road/Roth Street and West Taylor Run Parkway. The Board recommended that the City Council approve the conversion of the entire service road, between Moncure Drive and Cambridge Road, from two-way to one-way westbound. Pursuant to Code § 5-8-3(g)(3), Council makes final decisions regarding converting two-way streets to one-way traffic, or vice versa.
While the project may present modifications that affect how some residents move around the area, the broader framework of the Duke Street Transitway is grounded in the goals identified through comprehensive community outreach conducted in 2021. During this outreach phase, residents across Alexandria voiced clear priorities, including keeping traffic moving efficiently on Duke Street, reducing cut-through traffic in adjacent neighborhoods, and designing safer intersections for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.
The service road concerns represent an important aspect of the community’s feedback, and staff have worked diligently to balance those concerns with the overarching objectives of the Duke Street Transitway project. However, the long-term benefits of this project extend to the entire city, focusing on reducing congestion, improving safety, and providing more reliable transit options for all residents.
DISCUSSION: As a follow-up to the June 2023 City Council request for staff, there are three components of the Duke Street Transitway plan that are included in this docket. However, because the staff recommendation does not include changes to the directionality of the service road between Moncure Drive and West Taylor Run Parkway, component A, staff is only recommending Council Action on components B and C.
A. Duke Street service road between Moncure Drive and West Taylor Run Parkway
The first component involves the design of the Duke Street service road between Moncure Drive and West Taylor Run Parkway. The service road is currently two-way, and there is a right turn lane at the intersection. The key priorities for this location, which resulted from the Central Alexandria Traffic Study, the City’s Vision Zero high crash corridors and locations analysis, and feedback from the Duke Street in Motion visioning and concept planning phases, are to improve safety for all roadway users at this intersection, reduce cut-through traffic in neighborhoods, and improve the flow of traffic along Duke Street. The key element in the design changes involve relocating the BRT stations to the intersection with West Taylor Run Parkway. The bus stops are currently located before and after the intersection, which causes people to cross six lanes of traffic to access the bus stops. Providing the stops at the intersection is a best practice and will improve safety at this location. To capture the space needed for these new bus stations, the roadway space must be reallocated. The design team was able to accomplish this by relocating the right turn from the intersection and providing a right turn lane onto the service road. This new right turn lane will be designed to slow traffic making this movement and ensure that a high-speed slip lane is not created. Removing this movement from the intersection also enables new signal phasing that improves the level of service for the whole intersection. These changes fall under the scope of the original conceptual plans for Phase I of the Duke Street Transitway project, so no further Council authorization for these improvements is needed.
A design element at this location that staff are not recommending and is therefore not included in the accompanying resolution is the conversion of the service road from two-way to one-way. Such a conversion would be an update from the original conceptual plans for Phase I of the Duke Street Transitway project. Over the past year, staff have worked with the community to provide a variety of design options for the service road. Many residents supported a one-way service road that included dedicated and separated space for people walking, biking, e-biking, and scooting. However, the most adjacent residents to this intersection requested that the service road remain two-way. While considering engineering design best practices and adopted policies, staff placed particular emphasis on community input, which reflected the priorities and concerns expressed by adjacent residents and made a recommendation to the Board that the street remain two-way.
During the public hearing in June 2024, many residents testified to the need for a one-way roadway that reallocated space for non-drivers, and the Board made a recommendation to City Council to convert the street to one-way westbound. However, the staff recommendation to City Council for this section remains consistent with the original proposal to the Traffic and Parking Board, and the Board’s recommendation to convert the road from two-way to one-way has not been included in the resolution (Attachment 1).
B. Duke Street service road between West Taylor Run Parkway and Cambridge Road/Roth Street
The second component of the Duke Street Transitway plan under consideration is a redesign of the intersection of Cambridge Road/Roth Street that would require the conversion of the Duke Street service road between West Taylor Run Parkway and Cambridge Road from two-way to one-way westbound. The intersection redesign meets the goals of reducing conflict points to improve safety at this location. Additionally, it dramatically improves the level of service for traffic on Duke Street by decreasing delays by nearly three minutes in the peak hour. Improving travel times on Duke Street also reduces cut-through traffic in the neighborhoods, which has been a long-standing concern of the residents in this neighborhood, particularly those on Cambridge Road that have experienced higher percentages of cut-through traffic as mitigation measures have been implemented on neighboring streets such as East and West Taylor Run and Yale Drive, all of which effectively reduced cut-through traffic on those streets.
The two-way to one-way conversion accomplishes multiple goals of the Duke Street Transitway project, but the key priority is efficiently moving people on Duke Street, including those on buses. The one-way conversion not only makes this feasible, it also enables separated space to be provided for people walking, biking, e-biking, and scooting, which aligns with the recommendation of the Duke Street Transitway Advisory Group to provide continuous and safe facilities on the north side of the street.
C. Segment 2B: Duke Street between Roth Street and Wheeler Avenue
The third component focuses on Segment 2B and the street design at the Duke Street and Quaker Lane intersection. In June 2023, the City Council advised staff that if project cost estimates were high, the first area to consider scaling back should be segment 2B, from Wheeler Avenue to Roth Street. Given the potential for future redevelopment in this area, staff proposed postponing the construction of dedicated transit lanes along Duke Street between Quaker Lane and Roth Street. To improve transit flow in the meantime, the updated concept plans include a queue jump lane in the eastbound direction at the intersection of North Quaker Lane, that will allow buses to move ahead of traffic at that location.
The Duke Street Transitway project represents a critical step in advancing Alexandria’s goals of improving transportation efficiency, safety, and accessibility. The need to move people safely along Duke Street is paramount, especially given its role as a major corridor for the city. Through this project, traffic will flow more smoothly, transit will become more reliable, and safety enhancements will benefit all road users.
While there has been some vocal opposition from residents directly adjacent to the proposed changes, particularly regarding the service road conversion in front of their homes, the broader community has overwhelmingly emphasized the need to address traffic management and safety along the corridor. During extensive outreach efforts, residents citywide consistently prioritized reducing congestion, improving intersection safety, and minimizing cut-through traffic. The proposed design reflects these priorities while carefully balancing the concerns of those most impacted. Letters from community organizations can be found in Attachment 4.
FISCAL IMPACT: The Duke Street Transitway project is funded through $87 million in Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) 70% funds. Funds for design were previously appropriated in prior years. Construction funds are available beginning in FY 2025.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution
2. June 2024 Traffic and Parking Board Docket Materials
3. 2021 Duke Street in Motion Engagement Summary
4. Community Organization Letters
5. Presentation
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, P.E., Deputy City Manager
Hillary Orr, Deputy Director, Transportation Planning & Mobility, T&ES
Alicia Wright, Acting Assistant Director, Administrative Services, T&ES
Ryan Knight, Division Chief of Traffic Engineering, T&ES
Christopher Ziemann, Division Chief of Transportation Planning, T&ES