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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The City of Alexandria is seeking public feedback on proposed pedestrian safety improvements along Russell Road near Naomi Brooks Elementary School that could remove as many as 20 on-street parking spaces in the Rosemont neighborhood.
The project, part of the city's Safe Routes to School program, focuses on a stretch of Russell Road between West Maple and West Myrtle streets. Two design concepts are under consideration.
Concept 1 would remove four parking spaces and add painted curb extensions with flex-posts at each corner intersection. Concept 2 would remove 20 parking spaces and add median islands at the intersections.
The city says there have been seven traffic crashes on the corridor since 2017, two of which resulted in injuries.
The project is the latest in a series of safety improvements the city has made near Naomi Brooks. The city completed a Russell Road traffic calming project and a Commonwealth Avenue Complete Streets project near the school in previous years, both stemming from a 2017 Safe Routes to School walk audit that identified safety needs along the corridor. The current project is included in the city's Complete Streets Five-Year Work Plan and is tied to a planned repaving of Russell Road.
Because the parking changes require approval from the city's Traffic and Parking Board, the project is expected to go before the board at its July public hearing. Construction is anticipated in 2026-2027 as part of the repaving process.
Residents can view the two design concepts using the city's online mapping tool and submit comments by Wednesday, June 10, at alexandriava.gov/go/8332 or by emailing project coordinator Silas Sullivan at silas.sullivan@alexandriava.gov.
The Safe Routes to School program has resulted in safety improvements near several other Alexandria elementary schools in recent years, including curb extensions, crosswalk upgrades and parking removals near William Ramsay and Charles Barrett elementary schools.
