Metro Shutdown Impact on Businesses Greater Away from Old Town Core

A newly released study indicates that those businesses located further away from the base of Old Town (such as those in the Carlyle area) are experiencing greater impacts from the summer shutdown of all Alexandria Metrorail stations. The survey was conducted to assess the impacts thus far of Metro station closures and overall, results suggest that certain mitigation tactics deployed by the City and WMATA have been effective in reducing negative impact to businesses. That said, certain segments of the business community have seen more significant impacts. Respondents include many from restaurant and retail interests. Takeaways from the initial shutdown period are:

• 59% of business respondents reported their revenue was either up or unchanged from the same period in 2018;

• 83% of businesses in the Lower King portion of Old Town have seen their revenues either rise or remain unchanged;

• 38% of businesses on Upper and Middle King St. report revenue declines of greater than 5%, with most of those seeing declines of greater than 10%;

• 46% of retailers and 43% of restaurants report that their revenue is down more than 5%; and,

• 57% of hotel respondents report that their business is either up or unchanged.

Mitigation efforts found to be most positive include; evening/weekend parking discounts, expanded cleaning and maintenance of King Street, expanded DC regional advertising, expanded King Street Trolley hours, transit options flyer, ambassadors at Metro stations, and free shuttles. The survey was a joint project by the City of Alexandria, its tourism and economic development agencies and the Chamber of Commerce and was conducted from June 14 – 19.