Access road next to Bradlee Shopping Center gets chopped up in new proposal | ALXnow

Alexandria’s Traffic and Parking Board will consider converting the two-way access road next to the Bradlee Shopping Center on upper King Street to a one-way roadway and adding bike lanes.

City staff has outlined three alternatives for the access road between S. Taylor Street and Menokin Drive. The effort began last fall with city staff looking at ways to improve mobility and safety, as well as reduce standing water with stormwater treatment improvements.

The first alternative would continue two-way traffic with bus transit, but reduce the width of the access road from 30 feet to 22 feet. The access road would also be moved northward to allow construction of an eight-foot sidewalk and 12-foot-wide two-way bicycle track.

The city prefers the second alternative, which calls for:

• Reducing the width of the access road from 30 feet to 22 feet
• Shifting the access road north into the current median area between the Access Road and King Street to facilitate the construction of an adjacent eight-foot sidewalk and 12-foot-wide two-way cycle track with a buffered landscape strip
• Starting at Taylor Street and moving west, the Access Road would be converted to one-way traffic, moving westward with a dedicated bus lane adjacent to the median and a vehicle lane adjacent to the south
• Eastbound bus traffic would be moved to King Street and use laybys cut into the center median to reach shared east-and-west bound bus stops
• A new right turn lane from King Street into the Bradlee Shopping Center is proposed

A third option that would have converted the access road to one-way was removed from consideration “after hearing from the community,” according to a city staff report.

The Fairlington Towne Condominium Association says that the city is considering bike-related amenities for an area where there aren’t a lot of cyclists. The association said in a letter to the city that the area would be better served with stormwater infrastructure improvements.

“Currently there is very low bicycle ridership along this corridor,” the association’s leadership wrote to the city. “The city is taking the approach that if they build bike lanes, bikers will come. We disagree. This is a commercial area highly trafficked by vehicles that are moving into and out of multiple intersections to access the Bradlee and Safeway shopping areas.”

The letter continued, “There are those of us who are bike riders ourselves and will tell you that cyclists will find ways to avoid this area.”

The city will have to find a way to pay for the project, and staff said they are “actively working” to find grant opportunities.

“If approved, the proposed project will need to seek construction funding,” city staff said in a report. “If awarded construction funding, the project will proceed with a detailed design phase but does not expect construction to begin for several years.”

The Alexandria Transit Company supports the second option.

“Design Alternative #2 would offer the greatest benefits for buses with its one-way traffic configuration and dedicated bus lane,” ATC Board of Directors Chair David Kaplan wrote to the City. “This design alternative represents a balanced approach that prioritizes the safety and efficiency of all users — bus riders, pedestrians and drivers.”

The Fairlington Citizens Association said it was concerned about the one-way access road alternatives, and that it would make it more difficult to get to the shopping center from North Fairlington.

“Some of our residents are disappointed that the city has not explored the possibility of remaking all of King Street and removing the access road entirely, which would address several of these concerns,” FCA President Guy Land wrote to the city. “We are concerned about access to the Safeway and surrounding businesses, which is not currently included int he alternative concept illustrations.”

The city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee said that the project will add to safety.

“We strongly support the widened sidewalk and the protected bike lanes in the plan,” Alexandria BPAC Chair Ken Notis wrote to the city.

City staff is also looking at short-term safety improvements in the corridor, including:

• Signal timing adjustments
• Curb radii tightening (with paint and flex posts)
• Tree plantings
• Bicycle wayfinding signs
• Shared lane markings
• Speed feedback signs
• Pedestrian refuge island improvements (with flex posts)
• Intersection lane markings