Alexandria Traffic and Parking Board Meeting - May 19, 2026
Alexandria Traffic and Parking Board Meeting - May 19, 2026
The Traffic and Parking Board met on May 19, 2026, to discuss and vote on several transportation and parking matters, including food truck vending locations, a pickup/drop-off zone relocation, and proposed residential parking permit changes. The board also received a staff update on the North Beauregard Street trail feasibility study.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes of the previous meeting as amended, including a request to add language about the Braddock Road Metro concept plan and corrections to speed limit statements.
- Approved items 5 and 6 (parking conditions and turn-on-red locations) as consent items, with no public comment.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jessica Lafer (Commission on Aging): Requested communication between the board and the Commission on Aging regarding pedestrian safety measures, referencing a recent pedestrian fatality and her own accident. Staff agreed to reach out.
- Heather and husband (raised hand but deferred to speak on docket item 8 about North Lee Street scooter corral).
Discussion Items
- Food Truck Vending Locations (Item 7): Staff recommended removing the underutilized 80-foot on-street vending zone at 2231 Eisenhower Avenue and adding a 30-foot zone at 3301 Landover Street (near Warwick Pool) with seasonal and time restrictions. The food truck community supported the change. The board discussed potential future demand and enforcement. Approved unanimously.
- Pickup/Drop-off Zone on North Lee Street (Item 8): Staff proposed permanently relocating the existing pickup/drop-off zone from the southbound side to the northbound side of the 100 block of North Lee Street to improve access for a valet operation. The move also involved relocating a scooter corral. Public speakers Rich Hoff and Heather Orsiva raised concerns about illegal parking, safety, and emergency vehicle access. The board approved the relocation with an amendment to include striping for the zone and scooter corral.
- Residential Parking Permit Changes – House Manager/Services (Item 9): Staff presented a proposal to allow individuals providing services to a residential household (e.g., house managers, chefs, cleaners) to obtain residential parking permits, with a higher fee ($500) and strict criteria. After extensive discussion about definition, enforcement, potential abuse, and the need for more community input, the board voted to defer the item for further information and clarification from city council. A friendly amendment to increase the fee was included in the deferral.
- North Beauregard Street Trail Feasibility Study (Staff Update): Sarah Brant Burrell presented preliminary recommendations for a multi-use trail along the corridor, dividing it into three segments. The board discussed design alternatives, community engagement, and coordination with the West End Transitway. Board members emphasized the need for deeper community outreach, particularly to diverse populations, and highlighted safety concerns for pedestrians and cyclists.
Key Outcomes
- Vote on Food Truck Zones: Approved (7-0) to remove the Eisenhower Avenue vending zone and add a Landover Street zone with seasonal restrictions (March 1–October 31, 10 a.m.–9 p.m., 6-hour limit).
- Vote on Pickup/Drop-off Zone: Approved (7-0) to relocate the zone to the northbound side of the 100 block of North Lee Street, including striping for the zone and scooter corral.
- Vote on Residential Parking Permit Changes: Deferred (7-0) to allow staff to gather more information on definition, enforcement, fee structure, and community input, with a request to return within six months.
- Next Steps for North Beauregard Trail: Staff will continue analysis, particularly for Segment 3 (south end), and conduct additional traffic studies and community engagement before returning to the board.
- Next Meeting: Scheduled for June 22, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Yep. Okay. Yes. Yeah, we can hear me. Okay. All right. So the same system seems to be working. for the speaker yep okay i can hear now ashley can you hear us now yes can you hear me yeah we can hear okay all right so same as system seems to be working okay all right well it but it shouldn't have an impact if we have her back on the screen right well if it's ashley is remote she's what she did here so it should be fine sound correct in Zoom translating so much can you hear us ashley so yes yes you can hear yeah I wouldn't trust the traffic the city council meeting I think what happened is we had a hit out marked can we video on my current things are you working on the I'll call you back to the is actually spoken to us yes that's yeah we're not gonna thank you yeah I think it's Ashley can you speak again I don't I'll volunteer to go to the end of the class Ashley can you hear us can you speak try speaking again yeah I I hear I think that's Hillary yeah maybe I just need to turn it up we do yeah they're saying they're saying they can hear okay so we don't need to repeat the well I think we should we can I think we should just start a bad piece the Ashley is that better Max is crystal clear okay no the speaker is in the picking up your volume is the screen like the microphone towards that yeah okay big brother is watching speak to green mic went back so we're gonna start meeting over and first welcome Rose Marie stando to the board um and read this notice the main 18 2026 meeting of the traffic and parking board is being held department of transportation environmental services TMES 2900 business center drive an electronic members of the traffic department board and staff who participating either in person or from a remote location video conference call on zoom meeting can be accessed by the public in person or by Zoom okay so welcome everybody um we're gonna hear comments from the public in person and via zoom each speaker gets three minutes if you're here in the room hopefully come up to the podium here and be able to speak to us and then we'll uh if you wish to speak uh electronically if you'll raise your hand we'll unmute unmute you when it's and just a reminder that uh public hearing is not for uh items that are on the current agenda if you want to speak during a public uh session on the agenda you can speak then but this is for things other than other than our phone agenda okay so before we get the public hearing though we're gonna approval within minutes so are there any comments yes okay um yes um like um during the uh in the written staff update session um last month um i had made a request for uh crash now driver um crash data to be incorporated into the staff update so could we amend the minutes to reflect that requests read it didn't have to session and the agenda you can speak then but this is the things other than the other than our time attending okay so before we get the public hearing though we're gonna do uh approval of the minutes so are there any comments yes okay um yes um like um during the uh in the written staff update session um last month uh i had made a request for uh crash now driver um crash data to be incorporated into the staff update so can we amend the minutes to reflect that requests read it didn't have any is there's something because we do have a bullet that says in the stop request that staff include regular written updates on crashes is that just it's under the complete streets updates a bullet oh okay i take it back so i learned he well yeah uh thank you mr chairman uh uh items in the minutes uh item seven uh the bullet that says road corridor appeal update uh the current language in there doesn't really capture everything that i said and i would really like to get that on the record so i have uh written some yeah hold on one second one don't we have uh uh uh an audio tape of the last meeting yes so i'm not sure you need everything that you're wanting there the minutes are only supposed to be just a a brief summary if people if they want to get the full details should be able to go to the well the the summary does not capture the important points that i've made so i i respectfully wish they're offered amendment yeah that's the appointment is that we're trying to we're trying to reduce the amount of stuff we're putting in minutes and having people go from the same to the um the actual video i i i take your point but i uh respectfully ask that i uh submit language that more uh captures what i think were four points that i want to have in the minute start to just call me audio date okay uh the language i'm suggesting and i will explain why i i think it's important uh replaced the current language with the following mr stout noted that the recently published romata concept plan for joint development at the braddock road metro station appeared to conflict with the braddock road complete streets project approved by the board in February especially with regard to the layout of east braddock road between northwest street and the railroad overpass he requested staff to provide an update concerning any conversations they may be gathered with lomata staff to resolve this apparent conflict and he urged them to use this as an opportunity to begin a broader community based planning effort that would include those projects those are points that I made and I would really like it to be a minutes because I want it to be on the record for the future and I respectfully ask that language incorporated I'd be happy to move it as a as an amendment if you wish we're gonna wish to take a vote on it yeah so if you could send I think you've already sent those to yeah I said just Sheila but it did you got the maximum okay and you said that okay yeah thank you oh sure um so uh a couple minor edits and then one so in uh item number eight on the discussion uh the second sentence is currently says Mr. King asked residents uh included and I think we can just add the word if asked if residents were included and then um on the public testimony the fourth paragraph it's it starts with for all approaches when future requests recommendations are brought I want to add the words are brought forward to the uh TPE and that staff consider making changes okay and then under the commission updates uh the first one just sort of make sure that we get transportation in there is um oh you just be a commissioner and so it would be the transportation uh commission uh electricity chair um and then in the second bullet point uh there's new draft goal's comprehensive plan of looking at teaching students out so uh add the word teaching then we're on and then in the last bullet point mr king will be speaking before city council on behalf of the board on right for budget because i that's what i went there for and then one that um i'm gonna i made a misstatement in uh uh meeting when um during the public discussion period when the gentleman elanus sorkin was speaking and um what i had said was that the speed limit was 20 but in fact it's 15 miles the city manager can be used to speak on King will be speaking before city council on behalf of the board on right or budget. And then one that I'm I made a misstatement in uh meeting when during the public discussion period when the gentleman Ellen and Sorkin was speaking, and what I had said was the speed limit was 20, but in fact it's 15 miles. The city manager can be just uh 15 miles. You know, I think it had that we talked, but I think it'd be good to with that since it was incorrect in the actual uh video. I have a motion to approve the minutes as uh amended. Some of the second and second, Marcus second. All those in favor, uh so grocery actually can't vote on that vision or uh a member of last month. But going forward vote over time. Okay, so we have finished with the approval of the minutes uh now. We have any speakers in the house who would like to speak. Have any online? Yeah, if so, would you please raise your hand? I'm seeing a couple people with your hands raised online, just as a reminder, this is for the public discussion period. If you are wishing to speak on an item on the docket, we will do comments for each docket item. But this is a time period for folks to speak on item on topics that are not on the agenda. So if you're uh so I'm gonna go through why see now and I'm gonna start. We're gonna have Richard Grosima followed by Jessica Lafer. I'm gonna allow you to speak, Richard. Richard, can you unmute your microphone? Okay, I'm gonna move to Jessica and then we'll come back to you with something. Okay, uh, go ahead, Richard. We can't hear you. All right, let's move on to Jessica. We'll come back to Richard. Hi, can you hear me? Yes. Thank you. Um I am a commissioner with the Alexandria Commission on Aging. And I signed in tonight, and I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. We the city has recently adopted our new age-friendly plan, and there's a transportation section in the plan, which includes um an item on pedestrian safety. And this is uh it's a topic that we have decided we want to look into. I myself was hit by a car near my house in Old Town last fall, ended up um in the ER, and it's taken me about six months to get back on my feet. As I'm sure you all know, we had um a 62-year-old woman killed in actually the same type of accident that I was um involved in. Uh, she was killed within the last month in North Old Town. Um talking with the other commissioners, we're just wondering if there's a way that we might communicate with with the traffic board, if perhaps someone from the traffic board might be willing to um attend a meeting of the commission and talk to us about what measures, if any, your board is looking into regarding pedestrian safety. Thank you for that comment. Um the board actually doesn't uh typically initiate stuff that's done through the city staff. I think we can have somebody from the city staff reach out to you uh and work out some where they could come talk to you about uh kind of complete streets policy, which includes uh pedestrian safety, you know, be able to give you some guidance as to where the city is leaning, but also you can help them lean in a particular direction. So we'll have somebody from uh city staff uh reach out to you too like that connection. Okay, I appreciate that.
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