About the Braddock Road Corridor Improvements

Braddock Road is one of Alexandria’s most important east-west corridors — connecting Del Ray, Rosemont, George Washington Middle School, and the Braddock Road Metro station. The Braddock Road Corridor Improvements project would add protected bike lanes, improve crosswalks, calm traffic, and close a critical gap in Alexandria’s bicycle network.

On February 23, 2026, Alexandria’s Traffic and Parking Board voted 6-0 to approve the project following a six-hour hearing in which more than half of 66 speakers supported the improvements. Opponents filed an appeal to City Council, which is expected to be heard later this spring.

On the safety data

Opponents point out that there have been no bicycle or pedestrian accidents on the middle stretch of the corridor in recent years. But that’s not evidence the road is safe — it’s evidence that people have already decided it isn’t worth the risk. You can’t measure demand that was never allowed to exist. Meanwhile, VDOT has designated the full corridor as a high-priority area for pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements, 17 crashes caused 8 injuries between 2019 and 2023, and a pedestrian was killed at Braddock and Commonwealth Avenue in 2015.

On accessibility

Opponents have raised concerns about people with disabilities — and those concerns deserve a real answer. Right now, the sidewalks on this stretch are just 4–5 feet wide with no buffer from traffic, too narrow for wheelchairs and difficult for strollers. People with mobility differences who need to travel this corridor are forced into the road. Protected bike lanes give people on bikes a safe place to ride — which means the sidewalks belong to everyone else.