King+Beauregard project

[lordofthemark]

1. I think all new developments above a certain size are required to have bike parking in Alexandria. I seem to recall Ms Poole telling a BPAC meeting that T&ES were making sure City zoning staff were being trained in understanding the standards so they could appropriately improve/inspect. I also seem to recall some reference to Arlington, I think in terms of the model for the standards

2. The Alexandria Gateway project is promising 60k for a bikeshare station. They will have some serious TDM standards, as they are asking for a waiver on the motor vehicle parking minimum, IIUC. They will have an interest in encouraging biking. The project DSUP was voted on by the Planning Commission last night, but due to a conflicting engagement, I was unable to attend or even to watch it on City govt TV. I have not yet heard if it was approved, though I expect it was.

3. As you are likely aware, there are already several hardy cyclists from the Park Center area, who either cross the King and Beauregard intersection (proceeding to either the sharrows on Walter Reed or the Lucky Run Trail), or enter Fairlington from King Street, or even ride down the awful
center path on King St over 395.

4. The draft Alexandria Bike Ped Master Plan prioritizes bike facilities on Beauregard west of Seminary. Since those will depend on the timing of redevelopment under the Beauregard Small Area Plan, which may take years, BPAC is proposing that Beauregard from Seminary to King be prioritized instead. This could tie in with the private and public plans at King and Beauregard, as well as Arlington plans for improvements to Walter Reed adjacent to the Four Mile Run Trail.

5. I look forward to clarification from T&ES on the schedule for their work on King and Beauregard. IIUC an RFP has just been released for some of the work.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@lordofthemark 127463 wrote:

….or even ride down the awful
center path on King St over 395.
.

The best part is how there’s no way to get on or off it on the west end. It just starts abruptly mid-block from a sliver of a traffic median that has no curb cuts at the crosswalk 100 yards away.

[lordofthemark]

The Planning Commission has recommended approval of the rezoning for the Alexandria Gateway project. I think it now goes to the Council.

[lordofthemark]

here is the current status of the King and Beauregard intersection improvement project

Phase I consist of grading, curb and gutter and retaining walls that need to be constructed prior to the utility relocation. (See Exhibit Plans Phase I) The Phase I design has been completed, and construction will begin in Spring 2016 and be completed in Fall 2016

Once Phase I construction is completed, existing utilities will be relocated before construction of Phase II begins. The utility relocation is expected to take 10-12 months and should be completed in Summer 2017.

Phase II improvements include: an additional turn lane in each direction on King Street, medians, curb and gutter, sidewalk, pavement, drainage, storm water management, BMP’s, traffic signal and crosswalk upgrades. (See Exhibit Plans Phase II) The Phase II design is anticipated to be completed in Spring 2016. The construction budget includes construction management and inspection. Once the utility construction is completed, the Phase II project will be advertised. The Phase II construction is anticipated to begin in Summer 2017 and completed in late 2018.

[CaseyKane50]

There is a meeting on May 24 from 7 – 8 pm to discuss this project at Minnie Howard 3301 West Braddock Road.

King-Beauregard Intersection Improvements Project to Begin

For Immediate Release: May 16, 2016

The City of Alexandria will soon begin the King-Beauregard Intersection Improvements Project. This project includes roadway and sidewalk improvements, as well as the construction of new medians and a 10-foot shared use path on portions of King Street. Sagres Construction, Inc., has been awarded the project and will begin construction in late spring.

The project is being implemented in three phases, with Phase I consisting of grading, curb and gutter and retaining walls to be constructed prior to utility relocation. While access to all businesses and residences will be maintained, there will be periodic lane and sidewalk closures to ensure the safety of workers and the public. Phase I construction will be completed in the fall of 2016.

A public information meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 24, 2016, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Minnie Howard Campus of T.C. Williams High School, 3301 W. Braddock Rd.

Throughout construction, updates will be posted on the Department of Project Implementation’s Active Construction web page at http://www.alexandriava.gov/DPI .

For questions or concerns, please contact Tafesse Gyes, Acting Division Chief of Construction, at tafesse.gyes@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.4051.

[peterw_diy]

Will they put crosswalks along Reed/Beauregard, crossing King? I especially dislike going south on Reed to Beauregard. Few locations better illustrate the general superiority of Arlington’s bike & pedestrian accommodations.

[CaseyKane50]

@peterw_diy 139721 wrote:

Will they put crosswalks along Reed/Beauregard, crossing King? I especially dislike going south on Reed to Beauregard. Few locations better illustrate the general superiority of Arlington’s bike & pedestrian accommodations.

I assume you are asking if a crosswalk will be placed on the west side of King Street between Walter Reed and Beauregard Street. If you look at the drawing, it does not appear that there will a crosswalk there. Only improvement I see southbound is the slip lane from eastbound King Street to Beauregard will be eliminated.

[bobco85]

@CaseyKane50 139731 wrote:

I assume you are asking if a crosswalk will be placed on the west side of King Street between Walter Reed and Beauregard Street. If you look at the drawing, it does not appear that there will a crosswalk there. Only improvement I see southbound is the slip lane from eastbound King Street to Beauregard will be eliminated.

It looks to me like there will be 4 crosswalks. If you zoom in on the drawing, you can see that there are 8 pedestrian ramps (2 per crosswalk) whereas currently there are only 6, so I would infer that one would be able to cross King St on either side. I think the drawing just does not show the pavement markings.

It also looks like it will take longer to cross King St due to the addition of a left turn lane for both directions, making it a 6 lane crossing (2 EB straight, 2 left turn, 2 WB straight lanes) instead of the current 5 (2 EB straight, 1 left turn, 2 WB straight lanes).

[lordofthemark]

@bobco85 139745 wrote:

It looks to me like there will be 4 crosswalks. If you zoom in on the drawing, you can see that there are 8 pedestrian ramps (2 per crosswalk) whereas currently there are only 6, so I would infer that one would be able to cross King St on either side. I think the drawing just does not show the pavement markings.

It also looks like it will take longer to cross King St due to the addition of a left turn lane for both directions, making it a 6 lane crossing (2 EB straight, 2 left turn, 2 WB straight lanes) instead of the current 5 (2 EB straight, 1 left turn, 2 WB straight lanes).

This is correct, crosswalks on each side are envisioned in this :

https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/tes/info/King-Beauregard%20Improvement%20Project%20Presentation.pdf

Casey

We discussed the issue of the wide MUP not continuing from 28th Street to North Hampton. While the space looks tighter than north of 28th https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8395752,-77.1055409,3a,75y,269.69h,82.01t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9lraX41eUpTcpt41y8V3Ag!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 I am not 100% clear if it is a space issue. There is more room past the City Health Dept building, by the dry cleaners, if they could at least use that space to improve the connection to the North Hampton bike lane that would be good. Will be interesting to see if that is addressed at the meeting.

Alternatively I suppose I should mention (here and at the meeting) my notion of connecting 28th directly to North Hampton with a short MUP/MUT here
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8385212,-77.1062395,3a,75y,158.14h,67.58t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1saHvn_3VjlPDwzYTlMo8Prw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

That would mean the loss of one parking space each on 28th and on North Hampton.

[lordofthemark]

Oh dear. Not the best run meeting I have been to in Alexandria. Main takeaway, the project is starting on June 20th. It is multiphase, and not all the details of the final design are fleshed out, but yes, there will be crosswalks on all four sides of the intersection. And the 10 ft wide MUP stops at 28th because of ROW issues involving the health department (but IF that property were to be redeveloped, new possibilities would arise ). As for my idea of a 28th to N Hampton direct connection, out of scope, “ask Hillary”. Oh, and it will be integrated with the Alexandria Gateway project (the new building with the Harris Teeter ) which should accompany phase 3.

Most of the meeting was consumed by the normal detail stuff – where will retaining walls go, how much utility undergrounding will there be, how many trees will be lost, etc. But we had one gentleman from Fairlington who was in full anti-urbanist NIMBY rant mode, with the added twist of resenting all these new people in Alexandria who will overcrowd Arlington recreational facilities. He said something about people bike racing through Fairlington but I couldn’t quite make sense of it. I am used to Alexandria NIMBYS – it was quite surreal the amount of time taken up at an Alexandria meeting by an Arlington NIMBY. As Casey will attest, I had some difficulty keeping my cool demeanor.

[chris_s]

Congrats, I’m pretty sure your Fairlington character was perennial Arlington [commenter] [name redacted at individual’s request]. He pontificates at every Arlington County Board meeting as well as various other meetings.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

[lordofthemark]

@chris_s 140318 wrote:

Congrats, I’m pretty sure your Fairlington character was perennial Arlington [commenter] [name redacted at individuals request]. He pontificates at every Arlington County Board meeting as well as various other meetings.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Yup, that was him. Apparently he has now taken to harassing the Alexandria City Council, the Planning Commission, and now T&ES. Though he seems to also blame Arlington for not stopping this Alexandria project.

[dbb]

@lordofthemark 140316 wrote:

I am used to Alexandria NIMBYS – it was quite surreal the amount of time taken up at an Alexandria meeting by an Arlington NIMBY.

Please take that as evidence those in Arlington are willing to share with our neighbors.

[CaseyKane50]

Some other details from the meeting

Phase 1 (nine months) preparation for utility relocation in phase 2

• Build two retaining walls on south side of King
• Close two slip lanes – northbound from Beauregard to King and westbound from King to Walter Reed

Phase 2 Utility relocation on south side of King Street (winter 2017 – winter 2018)

Phase 3 intersection improvements (spring 2018 – fall 2019)

• Drawings are not complete
• Pedestrian countdown signals at 28th Street, Beauregard/Walter Reed and Chesterfield

[dasgeh]

@dbb 140322 wrote:

Please take that as evidence those in Arlington are willing to share with our neighbors.

Maybe he’ll want to move to Alexandria, what with all those people filling up the Arlington parks and community centers.

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