Letter: Supporting Holland Lane Corridor Improvements

On July 22nd, WABA sent this letter in support of adding bike lanes to Holland Ln in Alexandria.

You can view this document in PDF form here.

July 22, 2024

Traffic and Parking Board

City of Alexandria

301 King Street

Alexandria, VA 22314

Re: Holland Lane Corridor Improvements (Docket Item #9)

Dear Chairperson Lewis,

I am writing on behalf of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) and our more than 5,000 members across the City of Alexandria and the Washington metropolitan area to express our support for the recommended Holland Lane Corridor Improvements, specifically Option 3, echoing the sentiments of our partners at the Alexandria Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) and Alexandria Families for Safe Streets (Alexandria FfSS).

Option 3 is by far the best build option to achieve the project’s objectives for safe, easy, and comfortable travel on Holland Lane for people who walk, use wheelchairs, carts, or strollers, bike or scoot, drive, are young or old, or have a disability. Option 3 gives the best support to bicyclists traveling Holland Lane, and best safety improvements to pedestrians. Option 3 also provides the best support for a planned future trail on Holland Lane to Old Cameron Run Trail. The Holland Lane Corridor Improvements will 1) save lives, 2) connect a significant bike lane gap, and 3) help address climate change.

Safety: Simply put, the proposed Holland Lane improvements will make the street safer for all road users. At present, the street is overly wide which encourages excessive vehicle speeds and lacks safe facilities for both bicyclists and pedestrians. Narrowing the roadway and reducing the number of travel lanes will help to limit dangerous speeds while the addition of new and safer crossings and dedicated bike facilities will make this corridor easier and safer to navigate for non-car travelers. Given the large number of existing non-car travelers who use this corridor despite its lack of facilities, the improvements being contemplated are urgently needed.
Connectivity: Holland Lane is an important link from King Street Station to Old Cameron Run Trail, with no existing bike infrastructure. Holland Lane provides the only access for bicyclists to the Whole Foods and the CVS on the north side of this location. It is also an important access point for bicyclists and scooters traveling to Carlyle and Eisenhower East to support the local businesses and restaurants, or visit local residents. In particular, bicyclists and scooters coming from King Street and Braddock Metro Stations are likely to access Carlyle and Eisenhower East through Holland Lane. Future connections are also planned that will link this infrastructure to Old Cameron Run Trail and the Mount Vernon Trail.
Sustainability: Transportation is one of the leading causes of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. Investing in protected bike lanes significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions, lowers transportation costs, and prevents roadway deaths and serious injuries. Unfortunately, Alexandria has significant gaps in its infrastructure that discourage bicycles. Holland Lane is one such place, acutely affecting local residents in Old Town, Carlyle, and Eisenhower East.

In conclusion, WABA urges the City to choose Option 3 for the Holland Lane Corridor Improvements as most consistent with the goals of this project and the safety of all roadway users. Further, we emphatically urge the City to reject the “no build” option as unsafe and inconsistent with this project’s goals. The “no build” option will leave Holland Lane with wide and unsafe lanes, with few crosswalks, and no bicycle facilities. To achieve the Alexandria Mobility Plan, we must make sometimes-hard choices to change this and other roads to better support all roadway users.

Sincerely,

Kevin O’Brien, Virginia Organizer

More about Alexandria Complete Streets

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.