Holland Lane Corridor Improvements
Project Update (July 2024): At its July 22 public hearing, the City's Traffic & Parking Board voted unanimously to endorse the project team's recommendations for Holland Lane.
Project Description
The purpose of this project is make it easier, safer, and more comfortable for people of all travel modes, ages, and abilities to travel on Holland Lane.
Background
Holland Lane is a four-lane roadway that provides access between Duke Street and Eisenhower Avenue. It is adjacent to the Carlyle neighborhood and African American Heritage Memorial Park.
Both the adopted Eisenhower East Small Area Plan and the Proposed Bicycle Network in the adopted Alexandria Mobility Plan call for a dedicated bicycle facility on Holland Lane. A bike lane would not only improve safety for people biking, but could create opportunities for enhanced pedestrian crossings and traffic calming as well.
Project Development
Overall Project Status: In Progress
Community Engagement
Status: In Progress
July 22: Traffic & Parking Board Public Hearing
The Traffic and Parking Board voted unanimously to endorse the project team's recommendations for Holland Lane at its July 22 Public Hearing. The meeting materials are provided below:
Docket Report
Presentation
Meeting Recording
Spring 2024: Community Feedback on Concept Options
From April 1-21, the City gathered community feedback on concept design options for Holland Lane. There were two ways to participate:
Online Feedback Form (April 1-21)
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Review the project presentation.
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Review the design concepts.
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Complete the online feedback form.
Virtual Community Meeting
Thursday, April 11, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Following the community comment period, the project team will select a preferred alternative, which will be recommended at a Traffic & Parking Board Public Hearing later this spring.
Thank you for your feedback!
Summer 2023: Initial Community Input Period
The City solicited input from residents via an online feedback form between August 28 and September 17, 2023, to hear about transportation issues and needs on Holland Lane. Over 200 responses were received during this time. Thank you for your feedback!
Planning & Design
Status: In Progress
July 2024: Staff Recommendation
After nearly a year of planning, analysis, conceptual design, and community engagement, staff recommended the following conceptual changes to Holland Lane:
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Corridor Option 3: Redesign the street to maintain similar travel times as today while including one travel lane in each direction, safer crossings with median islands, a protected southbound bicycle lane on the west side of the street, and a protected two-way bicycle lane on the east side of the street next to African American Heritage Park.
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Holland Lane/Duke Street Option A: At the intersection of Holland Lane and Duke Street, preserve a northbound left turn lane and right turn lane.
These recommendations were informed by industry guidance on safety best practices, community input, City plans and policies, and analysis of existing and future conditions. The Traffic & Parking Board will considered these recommendations and voted unanimously to endorse them at its July 22 public hearing.
April 2024: Concept Designs & Analysis
Construction
Status: Not Started; Planned for Fiscal Year 2025
Additional Resources & Related Projects
View the resources below to learn more:
Project Updates
To sign up to receive periodic project updates, contact Alexandria.Carroll@alexandriava.gov. Major updates will also be posted to this webpage.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why is the City doing this project?
The goal of this project is to create a safer, accessible, and more comfortable experience for people using Holland Lane, regardless of their age, ability, or mode of transportation.
Holland Lane was identified in both the Council-adopted Alexandria Mobility Plan and the Eisenhower East Small Area Plan as a corridor recommended for multimodal enhancements. There have been multiple injury crashes involving people walking, and residents have expressed concerns about safety.
Holland Lane is planned to be repaved in FY 2025, and the City’s Council-adopted Complete Streets Policy dictates that safety improvements be implemented with street maintenance projects whenever possible.
Why are bike lanes being considered?
Bike lanes are being considered because Holland Lane was identified as an enhanced bicycle corridor in the Council-adopted Alexandria Mobility Plan and the Eisenhower East Small Area Plan as a component of a larger citywide connected bicycle network. People who bike or scoot on Holland Lane today either have to ride in the roadway with fast-moving traffic or ride on the sidewalk, conflicting with people walking. Bike lanes would give everyone a dedicated space to travel.
Beyond that, bike lanes benefit all roadway users by:
- Encouraging safer travel speeds
- Reducing crossing distance for pedestrians
- Reducing complexity of pedestrian crossings
How would bike lanes on Holland Lane connect to other facilities?
The proposed project connects on both ends to existing bicycle facilities on Eisenhower Avenue and Jamieson Avenue, which provide access to other on-road facilities such as the bicycle route on West Street, bike lanes on Prince Street, and the Wilkes Street bikeway. Some people also bike on Holland Lane to Reinekers Lane to access the King Street Metro area, and this project would solidify those connections with signage and on-street markings. Slide 6 of the project presentation shows the bicycle connectivity.
Additional planned connections include higher-quality bicycle facilities on Eisenhower Avenue, the Old Cameron Run Trail (currently in design), and a multi-use trail on the east side of Holland Lane, just south of Eisenhower Avenue. This project is one piece in a much larger puzzle of the citywide connected bicycle network that was envisioned in the Alexandria Mobility Plan.
Aside from connectivity, people bike and scoot on Holland Lane today without dedicated bicycle facilities, and they deserve to feel safe when riding.
How will this project benefit people walking?
This project provides significant benefits to people walking, including:
- Encouraging safer vehicle speeds
- Reducing crossing distances by about half
- Allowing people to cross only one lane at a time
- Allowing people to cross Duke Street while vehicle traffic is stopped
- Restricting right turns on red to minimize conflicts between drivers turning right on red and people legally in the crosswalk
What does this project mean for drivers?
Based on a detailed traffic analysis, drivers can expect minimal changes to delay.
The City produced three corridor alternatives, along with three sub-alternatives specifically for the intersection of Holland Lane and Duke Street, where the roadway is most congested. Some additional queuing could be expected depending on which alternative is selected, but vehicle delay would remain largely unchanged from today. The most significant difference for people driving on Holland Lane would be less than 15 seconds in additional delay in the PM peak hour.
It's important to note that any congestion on the corridor today is primarily a result of spillover traffic on Duke Street due to signal coordination that can be, and is planned to be, improved. Staff expect to follow up with signal timing optimization on Duke Street that would further reduce delay in the peak hours.
How has the City engaged the community on this project?
Through this project, the City has had a robust community engagement process. A summary of the outreach to date is provided below
Pre-Project Communications
- Staff received numerous complaints about traffic safety on Holland Lane via 311 over multiple years, particularly pedestrian safety issues at various locations along the corridor. Staff responded to these requests indicating that safety improvements will be considered in the future.
Phase I - Initial Community Comment Period (August 28-September 17)
- The City hosted an online feedback form to understand issues and concerns with the corridor. The feedback form was advertised through the Carlyle Council, signs placed along the project corridor, social media, local news, direct emails to residents who previously submitted 311 complaints, and updates to the Traffic & Parking Board and Transportation Commission.
- The City received over 200 responses to the feedback form, most of which indicated concerns about vehicle speeds, pedestrian safety, and lack of bicycle facilities. 5% of respondents indicated concerns about traffic congestion.
Phase II - Community Feedback on Concept Design Options (April 1-21):
- Based on feedback from Phase I, the project team developed three conceptual design options for the corridor (plus three sub-options for the Duke/Holland intersection) and held a second community comment period to gather feedback.
- The City hosted an online feedback form to better understand what people liked or did not like about the various concepts. The comment period was advertised through the Carlyle Council, eNews, social media, project webpage, local news, direct emails to previous feedback form respondents, and updates to the Traffic & Parking Board and Transportation Commission. The City also held a community meeting on April 11.
Do bike lanes negatively impact people walking, since they have to navigate bicycle traffic in addition to vehicle traffic?
While people walking do have to cross the bike lane, this presents a substantially lower risk than crossing a motor vehicle lane. The weight and speed of motor vehicles presents a much higher risk of severe injury or death in the event of a crash compared to a bicycle.
Notably, dramatic pedestrian safety benefits can be realized by reducing the number of vehicle travel lanes on an urban street frequented by people walking and biking. Reducing travel lanes benefit people walking by:
- Creating shorter crossing distances
- Allowing people to cross fewer motor vehicle lanes
- Providing space for a pedestrian refuge
- Encouraging safer vehicle speeds
Why can’t the City just install pedestrian flashing beacons to improve pedestrian safety?
Flashing pedestrian beacons are certainly a tool in the toolbox to improve pedestrian safety, but they are not appropriate at all locations, and selecting locations requires professional judgment. Driver yielding rates with flashing pedestrian beacons vary widely depending on site context, ranging from less than 20% to over 90%. Driver yield rates are lower when crossing distances and speeds are higher. Flashing beacons do not mitigate these underlying issues, and the risk of a severe crash remains due to the multilane configuration of the roadway. Reducing travel lanes and providing pedestrian median islands are among the most effective ways to improve pedestrian safety in an urban context, and it can be done with minimal impacts to traffic operations.
Why can’t the City just do more enforcement to improve safety?
Enforcement alone is not an effective tool to improve traffic safety. Due to extensive citywide needs, Alexandria police officers cannot be stationed on the corridor all the time. A more effective way to enhance safety is to design the street to encourage slower vehicle speeds.