South Pickett Street Corridor Improvements

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The City of Alexandria is exploring options to make it easier, safer, and more comfortable for people of all ages, and abilities to walk, bike, and access transit along South Pickett Street. The area of study is the South Pickett Street segment between Duke Street and Edsall Road. We want your feedback on the design options that are being proposed. 

In 2021, the City of Alexandria adopted the  Alexandria Mobility Plan (AMP) , as the comprehensive transportation plan for the City. The Guiding Principles of the AMP for the City include:

• Work to make its transportation network easily accessible for users of all ages and abilities.
• Provide a transportation system with high-quality mobility options that are reliable, frequent, proximate, and comfortable.
• Acknowledge the disparities in neighborhoods and populations in the city that have been historically underserved.
• Eliminate all traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2028.
• Prioritize low-carbon mobility options and reduce automobile dependency.

Among the strategies to support these principles is to “build out a connected bicycle network of both on- and off-street facilities to benefit cyclists of all ages and abilities.” As part of this strategy, the City established a proposed citywide bicycle network, which includes an “enhanced bicycle facility” on South Pickett Street between Duke Street and Edsall Road.

South Pickett Street is a four-lane road that provides access to high-density apartments, commercial and retail uses, parks, trails, an elementary school, mixed-use developments, and transit.

Today, South Pickett Street serves fast-moving vehicular traffic, has very few pedestrian crossings despite a robust crossing demand, and has no bicycle facilities. This corridor has gradually been redeveloping into a higher-density neighborhood conducive to non-automobile travel, but the existing street design is challenging and hostile for people walking, biking, and taking transit. 

Last fall, the City launched an online survey to get feedback from the community on how the corridor is being used and what issues and challenges are being experienced by the roadway users. An average of 181 people responded to the survey.

The responses from the residents indicated:

• Desire for more and safer crossing opportunities
• Desire for wider, more comfortable sidewalks
• Support for bike lanes, specifically ones that provide physical protection
• Preference to keep South Pickett Street the same
• Concern about speeding and support for measures to slow traffic

The proposed design alternative includes:

• Repurposing a travel lane, on each direction, to accommodate one-way protected bike lanes on each side of South Pickett Street
• Dedicated center turning lane
• Posted speed limit reduction to 25 mph
• New pedestrian crossings at key locations
• Traffic calming measures
• Upgrades to pedestrian ramps
• Lead Pedestrian Intervals and no turn on red restrictions at signalized intersections

Left turn lanes at signalized intersections and bust stops are being maintained and there is minimal impact to the on-street parking currently available.

Based on a traffic analysis performed, no significant differences in traffic operations were found because of the reduction in the number of lanes from the existing conditions.

The maximum additional delay expected is about 9 seconds, at the intersection of South Pickett Street/Edsall Road/Cameron Station Boulevard. No additional delay is expected at the intersection of South Pickett Street/Duke Street.

Adequate queue lengths are provided for the dedicated left turn lanes to prevent turning traffic to impede flow of thru movements at signalized intersections.

Please use this interactive map to understand the proposed design along the corridor and the improvements at different points with specific needs.

Please use this interactive map to identify the points where you have specific concerns related to walking, bicycling, speeding, crossing, transit access, turning movements, etc. Click the "New Feature" window on the map below to leave a comment about South Pickett Street.

To learn more about the project, please visit the project  website .