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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.