[Archived] City of Alexandria to Launch Duke Street Traffic Mitigation Pilot Project

­­For Immediate Release: December 30, 2021

On January 3, the City of Alexandria will launch its Duke Street Traffic Mitigation Pilot. This three-month pilot is intended to measure the impacts of signal timing changes on Quaker Lane and Duke Street, with the goal of reducing cut-through traffic on local streets. The project will provide longer green lights for drivers on Quaker Lane and Duke Street, with shorter green lights on neighborhood streets. Initially, drivers should expect to experience additional delays and longer backups on neighborhood streets, such as West Taylor Run Parkway and Cambridge Road.

The City received feedback through community engagement activities for the Alexandria Mobility Plan update, the Duke Street In Motion project and the annual resident survey, which affirmed that traffic congestion and cut-through traffic are top concerns that affect the quality of life for Alexandrians, particularly in this area of the city. According to StreetLight, the City’s traffic data provider, about half of the drivers coming from Seminary Road and Quaker Lane use Quaker Lane to access the Telegraph Road freeway ramp and the other half cut through local streets (Cambridge Road, Yale Drive and West Taylor Run Parkway). As an initial step, this pilot is an attempt to make immediate changes and assess the impact on the local community before implementing larger capital projects aimed at reducing traffic congestion.

The City has conducted community engagement activities with stakeholders, community leaders and civic associations to develop the pilot program timeline, duration, study area and evaluation plan. The City invites feedback from the public on their experience during the pilot. 

Visit the project website and review the frequently asked questions for more information.

For inquiries from the news media only, contact Andrea Blackford, Editorial Communications Manager, at andrea.blackford@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.3959.