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ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The Alexandria Transportation Commission will consider endorsing up to $35 million in state grant applications and review the draft mobility framework for the Duke Street Land Use Plan when it meets Wednesday evening.
The hybrid meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the North Quaker Lane Room A at 2900B Business Center Drive and will also be available on Zoom.
$35 million in grant requests
The commission's lone action item asks members to back a letter to the City Council supporting two SMART SCALE applications for fiscal years 2033 and 2034. The larger of the two requests, up to $27 million, would fund the King Street-Bradlee Safety and Mobility Enhancements project, which calls for wider sidewalks, a separated path for people biking, e-biking, and scooting, intersection safety improvements, and enhanced transit stops along King Street between Quaker Lane and Menokin Drive. The project was approved by the Traffic and Parking Board in June 2024 and by the City Council in October 2024, but was not awarded funding in an earlier SMART SCALE round.
The second request, up to $8 million, would fund Mount Vernon Avenue North Intersection Improvements, including the realignment of Executive Avenue and Russell Road at the Mount Vernon Avenue intersection. According to a staff memo from Deputy Director of Transportation Hillary Orr, the project aims to reduce crashes, slow vehicle speeds, widen sidewalks, add crosswalks, and improve bus stops. The project traces back to a 2016 case study on safety improvements along Mount Vernon Avenue, which was incorporated into the 2021 Arlandria-Chirilagua Small Area Plan and emerged from a multi-year planning process the city dubbed the Mount Vernon Avenue North Complete Streets Project. The Traffic and Parking Board approved a final preferred design in April 2024.
How SMART SCALE works
SMART SCALE scores projects in Northern Virginia on five weighted factors: congestion mitigation at 45%, accessibility at 25%, safety at 15%, environmental quality at 10% and economic development at 5%. The grants do not require a local match. Full project submissions are due Aug. 1, and the state will announce awards in June 2027 for projects to be built in fiscal years 2033 and 2034. To date, the city and DASH have received about $154 million in SMART SCALE funding, according to the staff memo.
Duke Street mobility framework
Earlier in the meeting, urban planner Michael D'Orazio of the Department of Planning and Zoning will brief commissioners on the Duke Street Land Use Plan and its recently released draft Mobility Framework Plan. The planning effort, launched in June 2025 as part of the City Council's fiscal 2026 long range planning work program, has drawn more than 3,500 stakeholders through more than 45 pop-up events, five community meetings, an open house, four workshops and conversations with civic groups, businesses, Alexandria City High School students and property owners, according to a staff memo.
The Mobility Framework Plan proposes new bike lanes, sharrows and multi-use trails; pedestrian connections to existing paths and sidewalks; a set of street typologies covering park, retail and residential streets; and the planned Duke Street Transitway with proposed stops. Staff plan to release draft recommendations in July and the full draft plan for public comment in September.
Project updates
In written items, staff report that construction on the Holland Lane Corridor Improvements Project, which adds pedestrian crossings, medians, trees and protected bike lanes, will wrap up this spring. A protected contraflow bike lane has also been added on Reinekers Lane to improve access to the King Street-Old Town Metro station, with additional connections being installed on Diagonal Road.
Twelve new bus shelters were installed at the West Alexandria Transit Center in April, funded by a TRIP grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. The shelters will eventually be relocated to other priority stops once the permanent transit center is built. The West Alexandria Transit Center replaces the former Landmark Mall Transit Center, which closed in November 2025.
Other written updates cover the Commonwealth Transportation Board's meeting and VDOT Six Year Improvement Program public hearing in Alexandria on Monday and Tuesday; a May 12 Talking Transit webinar staff hosted with counterparts from Alexandria's sister cities of Dundee, Scotland, and Helsingborg, Sweden; and milestones on several capital projects, including the start of construction on the Route 1 Median Improvements project this month.
How to participate
See the full docket and supporting documents here.
The meeting will open with a 10-minute public comment period followed by approval of minutes from the April meeting, when commissioners endorsed the GO Alex Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 and elected Tim Lovain as chair and Dan Beattie as vice chair.
The meeting can also be accessed via Zoom by registering at the following link: https://zoom.us/j/95028234542. Meeting ID: 950 2823 4542. Passcode: 947959.
Written testimony will be accepted until 3 p.m. Wednesday at transportationcommission@alexandriava.gov.
The commission's next meeting is scheduled for June 17.
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