Road Diet, Lower Speed Limit, Bike Lanes Proposed For Road In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A proposed design calls for a road diet with a bikes lanes addition and speed limit reduction on a street in Alexandria's West End.

The City of Alexandria’s Department of Transportation & Environmental Services proposed changes to the existing four-lane S. Pickett Street from Duke Street to Edsall Road. The initial design calls for removing one travel lane in each direction to repurpose as bike lanes on each side of the road and providing a dedicated turn lane. That bike lane proposal supports the adopted Alexandria Mobility Plan calling for a bicycle facility on S. Pickett Street.

The city is also proposing reducing the speed limit to 25 mph. The current speed limit on this portion of the road is 35 mph.

Other proposed improvements are new pedestrian crossings at key locations, traffic-calming measures, pedestrian ramp upgrades, and lead pedestrian intervals and no-turn-on-red restrictions at signalized intersections.

West of Edsall Road, S. Pickett Street already has two lanes with bike lanes and on-street parking. The area around S. Pickett Street has uses such as high-density residential and commercial properties.

The city said the design is based on an initial survey last fall that found concerns like speeding, lack of bike lanes and insufficient pedestrian crossings.

"Today, South Pickett Street serves fast-moving vehicular traffic, has very few pedestrian crossings despite a robust crossing demand, and has no bicycle facilities," the city says on its S. Pickett Street project page. "This corridor has gradually been redeveloping into a higher-density neighborhood conducive to non-automobile travel, but the existing street design is challenging and hostile for people walking, biking, and taking transit."

The city is seeking community feedback on the design through May 5. A virtual public meeting will be held on Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m. through Zoom (or by phone at +1-301-715-8592). The meeting ID is 968 5930 1979, and the passcode is 559923.

After community feedback, city staff will make a recommendation to the Alexandria Traffic & Parking Board for its June 24 public hearing.

A similar road diet implemented on Seminary Road in 2019 drew criticism from some residents concerned about the impact on traffic. Others were supportive of multimodal improvements to roads.