Letter: King Street-Bradlee Safety & Mobility Enhancements

The project needs full length sidewalks and protected bike lanes.

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King Street-Bradlee Comments

October 18, 2023

Sara Brandt-Vorel
Transportation Capital Projects Manager City of Alexandria
Alexandria, VA 22314

Re: King Street-Bradlee Safety & Mobility Enhancements

Dear Ms. Brand-Vorel,

I am writing on behalf of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) and its more than 6,000 members across the City of Alexandria and the Washington metropolitan area to offer comments on the King Street-Bradlee Safety & Mobility Enhancements project.

For fifty years, WABA has worked to transform the capital region by improving the conditions for people who bike. Our work to advocate for dedicated bike infrastructure, pass laws that promote safe roadway behavior, and provide education programming for all road-users has resulted in a drastically different cultural and political approach to biking for transportation. Biking can and should be an equitable, safe, low-cost, time-saving, and sustainable way to navigate our cities for all residents.

We are overall strongly supportive of the City’s emphasis on improving safety and accessibility for all users along this corridor. With those goals in mind, we encourage the incorporation of the following elements in the project’s final design:

A sidewalk on the north east side of King Street, for the entire length;
Improved and protected crossing treatments;
Protected bike lanes the entire length, with a connection via Menokin to the Van Dorn bike lanes;
Improved pedestrian access to bus stops;
Removal of slip lanes; and
Reduced signed speed limit. We note that this is a place where many people currently walk and bike, and where many more would walk or bike if it were safer and more comfortable to do so.

Unfortunately, the current character of King Street featuring multiple vehicle travel lanes, high speeds, and numerous turning motions makes transiting and crossing along this corridor intimidating and unsafe. The lack of any pedestrian facility on the north east side limits pedestrian movements as well. The Bradlee Shopping Center is an important community resource and can be a walkable and bikeable destination for many residents of both Alexandria and Arlington, if we can remove poor bike and pedestrian facilities as a barrier.

We would also note the close proximity of Alexandria City High School and the newly expanded Minnie Howard Campus which bring an influx of students to the area on a daily basis. Encouraging and ensuring our students have safe access to school via walking, biking, and transit should be among the highest priorities for this and other City-led projects.

Lastly, in addition to this corridor hosting the aforementioned shopping and educational destinations, it is also an important connecting bike route for many people in adjoining parts of both Alexandria and Arlington for both recreation and transportation. Adding dedicated and connected bike facilities suitable for all ages and ability here fills a gap in the network, magnifying the utility and value of existing buffered bike lanes on King Street near the high school, on Van Dorn, and on Kenwood.

We appreciate the opportunity to provide input on this important project and look forward to continuing to work with the City of Alexandria to support its people-centered transportation goals.

Respectfully,
Kevin O’Brien
Virginia Organizer | Washington Area Bicyclist Association

More about Complete Streets

Complete Streets are streets designed to accommodate all users, and that prioritize historically underinvested modes of transportation like transit, walking, and biking. An incomplete street might lack adequate sidewalks, low-stress bike infrastructure, or safe and comfortable access to transit.

Effective Complete Streets policies change the way a jurisdiction plans and builds transportation infrastructure—sidewalks, low stress bike infrastructure, and transit should be included in any new or rebuilt street by default, rather than as an add-on when there's space or demand.

While most regional jurisdictions have a Complete Streets policy of some sort, they lack teeth and permit transportation departments to continue to build streets that put cars first and squeeze other modes into the margins.

More about Advocacy

WABA fights for a region where biking, walking and transit are the best ways to get around.

We educate policymakers and organize grassroots advocates for to speak up for safer places to bike and walk; and for laws and policies that protect people who are walking and biking, reduce dangerous driving, and facilitate changes to the built environment.