Thank you for taking an interest in Duke Street In Motion, a project to ensure that transit improvements on the Duke Street corridor align with all of the community’s needs, provide adequate transportation choices, and keep the region moving. Your voice matters – let’s set Duke Street In Motion together! Did you miss the webinar on June 23? To learn more about the project and listen to questions posed from the community, please view our informative Duke Street In Motion webinar recording HERE or view the slides HERE. Thank you again to all who attended and participated – we are listening!

What’s New

The City is excited to kick off Duke Street In Motion, a project focused on ensuring that transit improvements in the Duke Street corridor, from the Landmark Mall area to the King Street Metro Station, provide efficient transportation options that align with all users’ needs, wants, and expectations.

Prior to any discussion about what transit improvements might look like along the Duke Street corridor, the City will host events and activities to hear from all those who live, work, and travel along it.

Your voice matters! The community will create a vision for this corridor to steer the eventual outcome of improvements related to public transit, such as bus, as well as other related improvements for walking, riding a bicycle, driving, and using micromobility (for example, shared electric bikes and scooters). Please join us this summer for the first public participation phase to create the community-developed vision for Duke Street In Motion.

Please register HERE for updates from Transportation & Environmental Services (TE&S), to include Duke Street In Motion project updates, such as opportunities to provide input – we are listening!

Project Background

In the 2008 Transportation Master Plan, the City identified three high capacity transit corridors that were then reaffirmed in the 2012 Transit Corridors Feasibility Study. The Duke Street Corridor was one of three identified in that study (along with the Metroway on Route 1 and the West End Transitway). On July 9, 2020, the City of Alexandria was awarded $75 million in regional revenues from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) in the 2020-2025 Six Year Program. This funding will be used to help construct the first phase of improvements identified in the planning and public input phases of the project. Prior to July 2020, through NVTA’s inaugural 2018-2023 Six Year Program, the City received $12 million in regional revenues, utilized towards the design and engineering phases of the project.

Since the adoption of the 2012 Study, transportation priorities, land use plans, and (more recently) a major change in home-to-work travel patterns have created the need to re-evaluate the transit plans for the Duke Street Corridor. Staff will lead an extensive public outreach effort building on the concepts of the original study. While transit improvements are the primary focus of this effort, other community priorities such as safety, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and vehicle travel are also important considerations for this project. The alternatives identified in the 2012 Study will be reviewed, along with other alternatives identified by the public, during the public engagement phase.

Staff briefed City Council on the project at their November 24, 2020 legislative meeting, that presentation can be viewed HERE. You can also view a presentation from the Duke Street In Motion June 2021 community webinar HERE.

Get Involved

In summer 2021, the City launched an extensive process to identify the community’s desired transit, street design, and safety improvements for the Duke Street Corridor, all while keeping congestion relief and quicker commutes top of mind.

Duke Street In Motion begins with a community visioning process to understand the needs, wants, and expectations of all users of the Duke Street corridor.

The goal is to plan for the future of the corridor based on the values, goals, and input of the entire community and all of its users – including all residents, workers, businesses, and visitors. The community-developed vision will identify the needs, values, and concerns of the diverse corridor users and neighbors to guide a revised design plan for Duke Street. The Duke Street In Motion vision process is a vital first step in this overall project and will ensure that all future project outcomes align with this community-developed vision for the corridor that will impact the region as a whole.

Your voice matters! The community will create a vision for this corridor to steer the eventual outcome of improvements related to transit as well as other potential improvements related to walking, riding a bicycle, driving, micromobility (for example, shared electric bikes and scooters), and other ways to get around the corridor.

Thank you to all who participated in the first public participation phase to help create the community-developed vision for Duke Street In Motion. Please stay tuned to hear what we learned from the community feedback and to learn more about upcoming opportunities to get involved this winter!

Event Schedule – Join Us!

Webinar
Did you miss the webinar on June 23? To learn more about the project and listen to questions posed from the community, please view a recording of our informative Duke Street In Motion webinar HERE or view the slides HERE. A Spanish recording of the webinar is available HERE and the slides in Spanish are available HERE. Thank you again to all who attended and participated – we are listening!

Pop-up Events
Duke Street In Motion’s friendly bilingual street teams were at 23 events up and down the corridor for Duke Street In Motion Week (June 21 – June 28) and through the end of the feedback form term on July 31. Thank you to all who visited! 

Related Projects

The Duke Street Transitway project will be closely coordinated with a number of other initiatives that are intended to more efficiently move people along Duke Street, improve mobility, and alleviate congestion.

• Duke Street is an important part of the Alexandria Transit Vision Plan 2030 network, providing connections to various parts of the city with frequent, all-day service.
• As part of the Smart Mobility Program, the City is currently installing additional Transit and Emergency Vehicle Signal Priority along Duke Street. If you’re interested, you can learn more about Transit Signal Priority here and watch a video about Intelligent Transportation Systems in general here.
• Duke Street was prioritized as one of the first two corridors in the City to receive signal upgrades through the Adaptive Traffic Signal Control project, which will allow the network of signals to better detect vehicles and automatically adjust their timing to improve traffic flow.
• The City was awarded funding to improve safety and traffic congestion at the high crash intersection of Duke Street and West Taylor Run Parkway.
• Because Duke Street was identified as a high crash corridor through the Vision Zero Action Plan, staff is also working to provide safety upgrades along the corridor.

FAQ

How is this project different than the Duke Street Transitway effort in 2012?
A lot has changed since 2012. With the first phase of this project, we will be defining a Community Vision and specific Goals for the corridor, to make sure that we have an up-to-date understanding of how the community wants this corridor to function, feel, and look. Based on the Vision and Goals, we will re-evaluate previous transit plans for the Duke Street Corridor and develop alternative concepts to review with the community. After getting feedback, we will refine and finalize one concept and move forward with environmental analysis, design, and construction.

What are the potential outcomes of this project?
There are a few “givens” to this effort:

• The project area is defined as the Landmark Mall site to King Street Metrorail Station via Duke Street.
• Bus transit will be the primary component of the final concept.
• Bicycle, pedestrian, and vehicular improvements will be included, where possible, and will follow other City priorities like Vision Zero and the Complete Streets Design Guidelines.
• The project will involve coordination with other ongoing initiatives and projects.

There are several pieces that are yet to be determined, including:

• The potential use of dedicated transit lanes
• Removal/retention of service roads
• Station locations and amenities
• The system operator (WMATA or DASH) for any new bus service
• The potential inclusion of bike facilities, trails, sidewalks, landscaping, stormwater, drainage, etc.
• And more!

How will the community be involved?
Our goal is to include as many people from the Duke Street community as possible, throughout the project. In the first phase, we are building a community vision – so we need your input!

How will these improvements be funded?
On July 9, 2020, the City of Alexandria was awarded $75 million in regional revenues from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) in the 2020-2025 Six Year Program. This funding will be used to help construct the first phase of improvements identified in the planning and public input phases of the project. Prior to July 2020, through NVTA’s inaugural 2018-2023 Six Year Program, the City received $12 million in regional revenues, utilized towards the design and engineering phases of the project.

Documents

• Transitway Corridor Feasibility Study
• Duke Street NVTA Application (2018)
• Duke Street NVTA Application (2020)
• November 24, 2020 City Council Presentation

Contact: Mark Schnaufer is the City's Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Program Manager and can be reached at mark.schnaufer@alexandriava.gov.