City of Alexandria, Virginia
Office of the City Manager
Alexandria City Hall
301 King Street, Suite 3500
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211
www.alexandriava.gov
Telephone: 703.838.4300
Fax : 703.838.6343

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2001
CONTACT: Richard J. Baier, Director, Transportation and Environmental Services (703)838-4966


CITY OF ALEXANDRIA ANNOUNCES
NEW MAINTENANCE INITIATIVE ON KING STREET

The City of Alexandria will officially kick off a new initiative by its Department of Transportation and Environmental Services, the Downtown Maintenance Manager Program, at a special event on Monday, March 19, 2001, at 10 a.m. The event will be held at the Seagars Restaurant located in the Hilton Hotel at 1767 King Street in Alexandria.

The Downtown Maintenance Manager Program is a partnership between the City and the King Street business community to keep King Street, from the Metro Station to the waterfront, an attractive place to work, visit, shop and dine.

Two members of the City’s Transportation and Environmental Services staff will be Downtown Maintenance Managers. They will be walking up and down the King Street corridor twice a week to serve as liaisons between the businesses and the City. The Downtown Managers will provide information about City programs; gather ideas from businesses to support the program; note concerns; provide answers to questions; and pinpoint maintenance issues to ensure problems are fixed quickly.


The businesses will work with the Downtown Maintenance Managers by not only sharing ideas and concerns, and asking questions, but also telling the Managers what needs fixing (e.g., loose or missing bricks, overflowing trash cans, traffic signals that do not work, parking meters that are broken or damaged) and keeping the sidewalks clean and clear, removing snow and ice or clearing weeds and grass, as well as doing things that spruce up the entrances to businesses.

The Mayor, the City Manager and members of the business community will give brief remarks on March 19. Those invited include the members of the Alexandria City Council, the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, the Hotel Association, the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association, and KSMET, as well as representatives from King Street businesses and neighborhood civic associations.

Richard Baier, the City’s Director of Transportation and Environmental Services who developed the Downtown Maintenance Manager Program, said: "For many years, the City has been removing trash and sweeping the sidewalks along King Street on a daily basis, and hosing down the street once a week. But the real success of any maintenance program is partnering with our customers, the businesses. This program does just that and we look forward to working with every business on King Street."

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