Envision Route 7 Newsletter:

Envision Route 7 Newsletter

May 14, 2025

Give feedback on Envision Route 7 bus priority features

A front photo of an F20 bus traveling on Route 7

Envision Route 7 would like your feedback again!

Last fall, the team asked residents, business owners, and visitors along the Route 7 corridor to share their vision for transit improvements between Seven Corners and Mark Center/Southern Towers. Now, we're back to share feedback results, project updates and gather additional input on some of the potential bus priority design features that could shape bus service along Route 7.

You can review the design options, and tell us what you think of them, by filling out our feedback form or attending our open house next month.

Envision Route 7 Open House

Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library

4701 Seminary Road

Alexandria, VA 22304

Tuesday, June 9

5 – 7 p.m.

Drop in anytime!

Can't make the open house? Envision Route 7 is hosting pop-ups and bus stop chats along the corridor in May and June. Look for us out in the community!

Prefer to fill out the online feedback form? Visit novatransit.org/programs/route7 to learn more about enhancements to bus stop locations, boarding and other potential options that can make buses faster, and then share your thoughts and ideas. The form is open through June 12.

We want to hear from you! After asking for your vision of transit on Route 7, we'd now like your input on bus priority designs along the corridor. Visit novatransit.org/programs/Route7 to share your thoughts. (Photo: person holding backpack on a bus with dark blue seats, back turned to camera, watching scenery out window.

Community Priorities for Route 7

Graphic with a green cartoon icon of a bus and statistics about the Fall 2025 Envision Route 7 outreach campaign. All information in graphic is repeated below in text form.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Envision Route 7 with us last fall! The information you shared on infrastructure improvements that you'd like to see informed the bus priority design options we're currently asking for input on.

During 41 days of public comments last fall, we enjoyed hundreds of conversations -- 47% of them in languages other than English! -- at 10 rider-focused events. And more than 450 of you filled out our feedback form to share your thoughts about Route 7 bus service.

Here's what we learned:

🚌70% of those who responded rode the bus along the Route 7 corridor

🚌3/4 of those who responded ride it at least twice a week

🚌64% were satisfied with bus service

We also learned that frequency, bus priority, and hours of operation were the main areas where you saw room for improvement. The two areas that can be addressed through the Envision Route 7 project -- bus frequency and bus priority -- are currently being studied and actively discussed with our project partners, including Metro and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).

To review the design options and share your opinion, visit our online feedback form.

Thanks for helping to build better bus service on Route 7!

BRT 101: Dedicated Bus Lanes

A cartoon rendering of a bus traveling in a red painted road traffic lane; "BUS LANE" is written on the read pavement and a "RIGHT LANE BUSES ONLY" street sign hangs above the street.

Bus-only lanes ensure roads are as efficient as possible. On highly traveled corridors with frequent bus service, these bus lanes improve safety and traffic flow for buses and cars.

To help improve transit frequency and priority infrastructure—the top priorities that we heard during fall 2025 outreach—Envision Route 7 is currently exploring two potential design options for bus-only lanes along the Route 7 corridor: “curb running” and “center running.”

Curb-running BRT places bus-only lanes on the outside edge of the road, typically along the curb with stations on the sidewalk.

Center-running BRT places bus-only lanes in the middle of the roadway, typically within a median that also has space for stations.

To find out more about these tools, visit NVTC's novatransit.org/buspriority.

Envision Route 7 Explorer

Take a closer look at Route 7 and the Envision Route 7 project through NVTC's interactive project explorer. The Envision Route 7 explorer provides project history and background, key facts about the area, and details about some of the BRT improvements that could enhance bus service for people traveling along this busy corridor.

Welcome back, Vikram!

A photo of Envision Route 7's Vikram Sinha holding his new baby, whose back is to the camera so he can show off his Envision Route 7 onesie

Vikram Sinha, senior program manager for Envision Route 7, is back from parental leave. Anand Thomas Sinha was born December 27, weighing 8 lbs., 10 oz. The proud new family is happy and healthy. Congratulate Vikram when you see him out at Envision Route 7 outreach events this month and next!

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