Project Information & Presentations
July 28, 2025: Preferred Design Approved by the Traffic & Parking Board
On Monday, July 28, City Staff requested and received approval of the preferred design option from the Traffic & Parking Board, allowing for the development of the final design and eventual implementation. A recording of Staff's presentation and shared materials can be found below:
- Recording of Staff Presentation to the Traffic and Parking Board (starts at approx. 1:26 of recording)
- PDF of Traffic and Parking Board Presentation (Docket Item #7)
July 23, 2025: Preferred Design Option Presentation
City staff have identified, "Option 1: Protected Bike Lane + Bus Pull Off," as the preferred design for the project. To learn more about the design and potential benefits, please review the following materials:
- Recording of Preferred Design Presentation
- PDF of Preferred Design Presentation
- Roll plot of the preferred design in the context of the corridor.
July 2025: Overview of Online Feedback Form Responses
Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in the City's online feedback form for this project and share your thoughts. We've compiled results and prepared the following infographics with data.
June 23, 2025: Presentation to the Traffic & Parking Board
- Recording of the Presentation (Starts at minute 38)
- PDF of the Traffic & Parking Board Presentation
June 3, 2025: Open House at Alexandria City High School
Materials from the meeting are available below for those who wish to learn more about the City's recommended safety improvements proposed for the King Street roadway in front of the Alexandria City High School. The proposed improvements will prioritize initiatives that can be implemented within a short period of time while improving day-to-day operations and enhancing safety.
- Recording of the project presentation.
- PDF of the project presentation.
- Project boards with additional detail and information.
- Roll plot with insets of Concept 1 and Concept 2 in the context of the overall corridor.
Project Description & Area
The King Street Access and Safety Improvements Study at Alexandria City High School will investigate mobility, access and safety improvements on King Street near the Alexandria City High School, building upon safety recommendations identified in the 2023 Safe Routes to School Walk Audit for Alexandria City High School.
The goal of the project is to identify improvements that improve the day-to-day operations and safety of all roadway users and can be implemented within a short time period.
About Safe Routes to School
Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a program that promotes walking and bicycling to school through infrastructure improvements, enforcement, safety education and encouraging walking and bicycling to school. In order to create safer routes to schools, City Staff routinely undertake Walk Audits, or plans, to identify concrete opportunities to increase the safety for students walking and biking to school, and to create a safer community for all.
In 2023, City Staff completed a walk audit for the Alexandria City High School. The audit process included community outreach, data analysis and recommendations. A full copy of the audit is below.
Project Phases
PLANNING & DESIGN
Status: Ongoing
Staff and the design team have started developed a preferred design and received approval from the Traffic and Parking Board. The design team will move into developing a final technical design with the goal of implementing in the fall or winter of 2025.
implementation
Status: Not Started.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are we doing this project?
Through the safe routes to school audit in 2023 and frequent conversations with the community, the City knows that King Street, in front of Alexandria City High School, could be operating more safely and efficiently. The daily drop-off and pick-up experience at the high school brings a number of cars, buses, pedestrians and cyclists together in a roadway that could do a better job creating dedicated spaces for the various users. With tactical improvements, the City hopes to identify quick and affordable improvements to the roadway to make the space easier for all users to safely navigate.
What are "tactical" improvements?
For this project, the City defines, "tactical" improvements as those which can be implemented quickly and with a relatively low cost. These potential improvements include:
- Pavement markings: such as new lane lines or bicycle lanes.
- Flex Posts: a flexible sign post that bends on impact to protect vehicles and posts. They can be used to separate traffic for cars, bikes and pedestrians and provide additional direction in the roadway.
Illstrative image of flexposts in a roadway to provide additional direction for vehicles. Image credit to Yvette McGrath.
Zicla: similar to a flex post, a Zicla is a lower profile, modular traffic lane divider that can be used to separate traffic for cars, bikes and pedestrians.
Illustrative rendering of a striped bicycle lane using Ziclas to separate cyclists from vehicles. Image from Zicla.
What about the King/Quaker/Braddock Intersection?
The study area for this project starts just south of the King/Quaker/Braddock intersection and does not propose any changes to the operations or design of the intersection. Potential changes to King Street, within the study area, will be reviewed to ensure they do not negatively impact the King/Quaker/Braddock intersection.
What about students walking to Minnie Howard from Alexandria City High School?
ACPS is continuing to work with students and provide frequent shuttles to ensure students can safely move between the Minnie Howard and Alexandria City High School campuses. This Transportation Department-led design study will focus on improvements to the King Street roadway that will facilitate safer vehicle and pedestrian movement on King Street but will not propose changes to ongoing operational decisions by ACPS.
What is the project timeline?
Community engagement and design will take place over the spring and summer of 2025 with a preferred design option identified by the fall of 2025. Implementation of the preferred design would be installed by the end of 2025 or early 2026.
Contact
For additional information, please contact Sara Brandt-Vorel, Transportation Capital Project Manager, at sara.brandtvorel@alexandriava.gov