Alexandria’s city council went late into the night Tuesday, hearing from 83 residents for and against a bus lane proposal on Duke Street, a main thoroughfare into Old Town. Residents were in favor by about a 2-1 margin.
Just before 1:30 a.m., the council voted unanimously to move forward with the $87 million project.
The proposed bus lanes run along a 3.5-mile stretch of Duke Street between Van Dorn Street, near I-395, and Callahan Drive, near the King St.-Old Town station. The idea has been in the works since 2008.
The goal is to improve safety, manage traffic congestion. and increase transit reliability along the corridor, which has the highest ridership in the city. The city’s DASH bus routes 28A, 30, and 29KN run along the corridor and have more than 3,100 trips a day. Bus lanes are expected to speed up rush hour travel on the bus anywhere from 8-15 minutes. Meanwhile, the plan is also being driven by increasing development and density along the route, which planners underscore as a need for more transit.
The lanes will mostly run in the center of the road, which allows buses to move more freely in congestion and reduce the chance of conflicts with parked vehicles. Some portions will have no bus lanes and be in mixed traffic. The long-term goal would be too move all bus lanes to the center.
Planners want to build a separate bike and pedestrian path on the north side of the street where possible. Cycle tracks and sidewalks would be planned for other areas.
Planners have done rough designs, about 10% of the way to a final product. A consultant will be brought on to further design the project to about 30% designs before more refinement.
The project could be done as soon as 2027. You can find a full FAQ on the project here, as well as maps and other visuals here.
The bus lane project is one of many in the works in Northern Virginia. The Richmond Highway/Route 1 bus rapid transit project has bus lanes from Fort Belvoir to Huntington and the proposed Route 7 BRT from Tysons to Mark Center will also have separated lanes.
