Alexandria changes tour bus rules

Tour buses in Alexandria will have to register to park at two Old Town locations as part of a pilot program to provide more spaces for motorcoaches and to keep them from circulating on residential streets, said Lorraine Lloyd with the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association. The program is a result of work by the city's Motorcoach Task Force.

The free registration -- which can be completed online after April 1 or by calling the Alexandria tourism department hotline at 703-746-4020 -- is required for spaces at the Robinson Terminal on Union Street and in the 900 block of North Saint Asaph Street. If an unregistered bus parks at on of the sites, the owner could face a $100 fine. A dozen new spaces will be provided on Wheeler and Swann avenues. Daytime and overnight parking is still available at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.

Loading and unloading zones on King and Washington streets, for example, are unchanged. The peak travel season in Alexandria, between spring and summer, brings about 25 motorcoaches a day.

-- Christy Goodman