The Alexandria Brief: Monday, March 23

Good morning, Alexandria. It's Monday, March 23.

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm this morning before 11 a.m., then clearing. High near 61, dropping to the mid-30s tonight.

Tonight at 7 p.m., the Traffic and Parking Board holds a public hearing on three items: residential parking restrictions on the 300 block of Commerce Street, a temporary Capital Bikeshare relocation, and a revised proposal for an Old Town Circulator bus stop on North Fairfax Street.

Here's what you need to know today.

1️⃣ Traffic and Parking Board to weigh Old Town parking changes, bikeshare relocation tonight

An aerial shows the current Capital Bikeshare station location on Commonwealth Avenue and the proposed temporary relocation to West Reed Avenue during flood mitigation construction. The station is expected to remain at the temporary site until mid-2029. (City of Alexandria)

The Alexandria Traffic and Parking Board will hold its next public hearing tonight at 7 p.m. at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center. Three items are up for public comment.

Residents of the 300 block of Commerce Street, one block from King Street, are seeking approval to add residential pay-by-phone parking restrictions to their block.

The board will also consider a staff request to temporarily relocate the Capital Bikeshare station at Commonwealth and Reed avenues to the unit block of West Reed Avenue.

The third public hearing item revisits a decision made at the February meeting. After additional site visits and resident feedback, city and DASH staff are now proposing to shift a planned Old Town Circulator bus stop from the 200 block to the 300 block of North Fairfax Street — retaining two parking spaces on the 200 block that were previously approved for removal while eliminating up to four spaces on the 300 block instead.

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2️⃣ Alexandria kicks off spring maintenance season with street sweeping, pothole repairs, and more

Alexandria has more than 561 lane miles of road and each year, the City resurfaces approximately 50 of those lane miles. (City of Alexandria)

The city of Alexandria is rolling out four seasonal maintenance programs this spring, targeting everything from pothole repairs to gateway cleanups as the Department of Transportation & Environmental Services ramps up its warm-weather operations.

Citywide street sweeping began Monday, March 2. Crews will make three passes across city-maintained streets and key corridors, with each pass estimated to take 12 weeks. The effort is designed to keep neighborhoods and commercial corridors clean and to prevent debris from running off into local waterways.

The city's spring Pothole Palooza gets underway Monday, March 30, launching a monthlong push to identify and repair winter road damage along Alexandria's right of way. Residents should expect periodic lane closures as crews move through the city.

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3️⃣ Alexandria City Council to weigh major housing investment, senior plan at Tuesday meeting

Council will consider a Housing Opportunities Fund loan of up to $4 million to Housing Alexandria to finance construction of the Naja Apartments. (Housing Alexandria)

The Alexandria City Council will hold its next legislative meeting tomorrow night at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center.

Before the regular meeting convenes at 7 p.m., council members will sit down with the Alexandria Transit Company for a stockholders meeting.

Council will consider a Housing Opportunities Fund loan of up to $4 million to Housing Alexandria, the city's affordable housing nonprofit, to finance construction of the Naja Apartments — the second and final building in the development at the intersection of Mount Vernon Avenue and Glebe Road. A separate item asks the council to approve a Housing Trust Fund grant of up to $400,000 to provide rental subsidies for eight units at the building.

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📰 In brief

Dozens of volunteers came together along the Potomac River on Saturday to clean up the Alexandria waterfront and nearby parks in honor of World Water Day. (WJLA)

Agenda:Alexandria named its panelists yesterday for tonight's event, "Housing in Alexandria: Are There Solutions That We Can Agree on?" (The Brief)

Next up on the city's 2027 budget calendar is Work Session #6: Accountable & Effective Government on Wednesday night. (City of Alexandria)

The city will host a virtual community meeting on Thursday to discuss design alternatives for the Taylor Run Infrastructure Stabilization Project. (The Brief)

The city will host a pre-construction community meeting on Thursday for the Eisenhower Avenue Metrorail Station Pedestrian Crossing Improvements Project. (The Brief)

A local activist organization is planning to line the sidewalks along a mile-long stretch of Route 1 on Saturday as part of a nationwide protest effort targeting the Trump administration — and a neighboring Arlington group is planning its own action the same day. (The Brief)

As of March 19, 2,537 residents have voted early in person for the April 21 Special Election, and another 9,969 have requested mail-in ballots. (City of Alexandria)

Today in Alexandria

⛅ Weather

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 11 a.m., then isolated showers between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. High near 61 degrees.

Partly cloudy tonight, with a low around 34 degrees.

🌖 Sun, Moon, & Tide

Sunrise at 7:06 a.m., sunset at 7:22 p.m. 12 hours & 16 minutes of sun.

High tide at 12:02 a.m. and 12:09 p.m. Low tide at 6:16 a.m. and 7:24 p.m.

The moon phase is a Waxing Crescent.

🗓️ Things To Do

9 a.m.: Monday Morning Coffee Club at Rosemont Cellar
6:30 p.m.: Joggers & Lagers at Port City Brewing Company

🎶 Entertainment

219 Restaurant: Just For Fun at 9 p.m.
Clyde’s at Mark Center: Trivia at 6:30 p.m.
Daniel O’Connell’s Irish Restaurant: Traditional Irish Music at 7 p.m.
Del Ray Pizzeria: Trivia at 7 p.m.
Epicure on King: Open Mic at 7 p.m.
Laporta’s Restaurant: Jim West at 6 p.m.
Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub: Colby Sard at 8:30 p.m.
O’Shaughnessy’s Pub: Karaoke at 9 p.m.
Rock It Grill: Karaoke at 9:30 p.m.

🏛️ City & Schools

6 a.m.: Chinquapin Open
4 p.m.: ACPS CTE Advisory Committee
5 p.m.: City Council/School Board Subcommittee Meeting
6 p.m.: Minnie Howard Open
7 p.m.: Citizen Corps Council Meeting
7 p.m.: Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority
7 p.m.: Traffic and Parking Board Meeting
7 p.m.: Sister Cities Committee - Dundee and Helsingborg

The ACHS Titans and middle school sports schedule can be found here.

📚 Alexandria Library

10:30 a.m.: Senior Bingo at Burke Branch Library
11 a.m.: Storytime in the Reading Garden at Beatley Central Library
1 p.m.: English Language Learning (ELL) at Burke Branch Library
5 p.m.: Dungeons & Dragons at Burke Branch Library
5:30 p.m.: English Language Learning Workshop at Beatley Central Library
5:30 p.m.: Teen Takeover at Beatley Central Library
7 p.m.: Let's Talk Books - "Sing, Unburied, Sing" at Barrett Branch Library

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