Duke St Service Road Alert
The Duke St Service Road from Hilton to West Taylor Run will be converted to one-way Westbound as the result of a vote by The Alexandria Traffic and Parking Board (ATPB) ignoring City Staff recommendations. In September, the City Council will have a final vote.
The neighborhood overwhelmingly voted in the City’s January 2024 survey to have the service road remain two-way.
One-way service road will increase:
The time to return to the neighborhood from EB Duke ST from 1.5 minutes up to a range of a minimum of 6.25 minutes to 11 minutes, depending on the route. For more information, click here.
Cut through traffic in the neighborhood by at least 41%
Increased delays at the stop sign on West/East Taylor Run and Janney’s Lane
Traffic volume on King St to return to homes
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Contact City Council through ALEX311 and voice your concerns before the Council votes to make this road permanently one-way in September!!!
Sign the petition which we will share the results with the city council.
Duke Street in Motion Resident Survey
On December 14th, the city had a meeting with the neighborhood and has a pre-recorded presentation that is worth your time.
Here is where the project page can be found.
Please take time to fill out this survey from the city about the proposed changes to the West Taylor Run/Duke Street intersection and connected service road.
Current Slip Lane Plans
These are possible plans for the installation of a future slip lane from Duke Street to the Duke Street service road as part of the Duke St/W Taylor Run intersection project. Each has pros and cons. A public meeting will be scheduled with T&ES in December.
Plan #1
Insertion of slip lane between E Taylor Run and Moncure. Maintains two way service road between W Taylor and Moncure.
Plan #2
Insertion of slip lane between E Taylor and Moncure. Changes service road to one way westbound only between Moncure and W Taylor Run. Inserts and two way bike lane of service road between W Taylor and Hilton St.
Plan #3
Insertion of slip lane at Moncure allowing traffic to proceed onto Moncure, E Taylor, or W Taylor. Hilton traffic would use Moncure to access the service road. Changes service road to one way westbound only between Moncure and W Taylor Run. Inserts a two way bike lane on service road between W Taylor and Moncure (seen in red).
Plan #3A
Insertion of slip lane at Moncure maintains two-way traffic on the service road from from ETR to WTR. Hilton traffic would use Moncure to access the service road. Bike lane is shared with the road and marked in red.
Plan #4
Insertion of 2 slips lanes. One between Moncure & Hilton (meant for local traffic) the other between E Taylor and W Taylor (meant for through traffifc). Changes service road to one way westbound only between Hilton and W Taylor Run.
Duke Street in Motion
On June 27th, City Council approved the concept design for the Duke Street Transitway as proposed by the Duke Street Advisory Group. The City has said it will continue to work with residents on design elements of the project, specifically some of the service roads and intersections in Segment 3, later this summer. Here are some things you should know about the design as it stands now.
This is the overview of Duke Street and the southern boundary of TRCA and the approved concept design. There are three major concerns TRCA has about the concept as it stands now:
The proposed slip lane between ETR and Moncure
The service road being converted to a permanent one-way west bound street
The cycle track (bike lanes)
The Slip Lane
The slip lane is designed to keep the Duke Street in motion by eliminating the right turn at WTR. That turn lane backs up every weekday morning and evening and reduces the west bound traffic to two lanes.
Here is the problem with the slip lane. When the light turns red at WTR, traffic is going to back up. As you will read below, this is not only traffic going north on WTR, but it is also residents and patrons going to Longview or the office park down the service road. Once that traffic backs up to ETR, cut through traffic will go north. People like to be in motion, not idle. ETR will see a dramatic increase in northbound cut through traffic. It is designated a “local neighborhood road” not designed for fluid two-way traffic.
Almost all of north bound traffic is going up to Janneys Lane. More that half of that traffic is turning right to cut over to 395. This part of the neighborhood could see increased congestion on a road that cannot handle two way traffic easily.
If the slip lane gets approved, E Taylor Run could lose parking on one side of the street. Where will these residents park? Will the street return to the days of not being able to get in and out of its’ driveways?
One Way Service Road
It should be obvious that if the service road is turned one way west bound only, everyone on ETR, Moncure, Hilton and Upland will now have to go up WTR, on to Janneys Lane, back down ETR and to your homes.
There is another aspect that combined with the cycle track makes getting out of the neighborhood even more difficult. DSIM reverses the slip lane west of WTR so service road traffic can get onto Duke Street. No more lining up 3-4 cars at the stop light at WTR because it may only hold one car if the design even allows for that.
When the light turns green for both Duke Street and the service road, the service road will have to yield. This means cars will be waiting to get onto Duke street. Or if you live on Longview or are going to a business down the service road you are now caught up in or adding to the wait to get past the slip lane.
What about the businesses at the corner of Moncure and the service road? Patrons and delivery trucks will now have to go through the neighborhood to reach them. On June 27th, the owner of Caribbean Pool Services told the council that he routinely gets deliveries from tractor trailers. Fold in those mirrors folks on Moncure.
The cycle Track
The purpose of the proposed conversion of the service road to a one-way street is to remove one vehicular lane and replace it with a cycle track (bike lanes). While we would love to see Duke Street more bike friendly, this half a mile bike track from Hilton St to Cambridge Rd (the 7-11) does more harm than good. Restricting access for TRCA, Longview and CCPCA residents to their homes - for such a small stretch of bike lanes - is not the best use of the land. It is a great idea in theory but half a mile of cycle track doesn’t justify all the problems it will create. 50% of Duke Street will be implementing a Shared Use Path for bikes and pedestrians and that is what should happen here as well, to avoid access issues for over 500 residents.
Janneys Lane Intersection
Previously, cars were not yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalks pictured above. In order to improve pedestrian safety a 6-way stop was installed. This intersection was not considered by the DSIM advisory group when they made their recommendation to City Council. The 6-way stop was put into place in December of 2022 AFTER MacArthur Elementary had moved to the swing space at Patrick Henry. No one has seen what the intersection will look like once MacArthur re-opens on Janneys Lane (scheduled for August). The intersection will have MANY more pedestrians and more vehicles as well. Right now, it is measurably more difficult to go west on Janneys from E Taylor Run. Adding school-aged kids and morning cut through traffic increases the degree of difficulty and lessens safety for our kids.
What To Do
Let the City Council know your thoughts. They are listening and the more people who voice their opinions the better. You can contact all of them via this online form.
Come to TRCA’s National Night Out at Angel Park on Aug 1st at 5:30pm, where you can speak with fellow residents. You may have an idea or concern that we are not aware of.
Connect with us via email or our Facebook page and let us know your concerns.
Join TRCA and help us get out the word using yard signs, mailings and via our website.