Fairfax County wants the public to weigh in on the projects that it plans to submit for funding as part of the Transportation Alternatives initiative, a federal program that gives grants to smaller community projects that expand non-motorized travel or enhance transportation infrastructure.
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation is reviewing four projects that it has proposed submitting for the federal grants: the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metro Station bicycle connection, Safe Routes to School projects for Shrevewood and Bush Hill elementary schools, and the Mason Neck Trail.
The virtual meeting will occur at 6 p.m. on Thursday (May 27). County staff will give a presentation at the meeting and provide a Q&A session. Attendees can join online or call 1-844-621-3956 with access code 173 919 2128.
FCDOT spokesperson Robin Geiger said that, once projects are identified, the county often seeks multiple funding sources due to the competitive nature of grants.
The Shrevewood Elementary Safe Routes to Schools project has been the beneficiary of a Transportation Alternatives grant before. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors accepted $560,000 from the Virginia Department of Transportation in March to support the project, which will add crosswalks, curb ramps, and other improvements outside the school in Falls Church.
The Metro station bicycle project will add dedicated bicycle facilities to Virginia Center Boulevard and Country Creek Road from Nutley Street to Sutton Road, county staff said. It will also include a connection to the I-66 parallel trail being planned with the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project through protected bike lanes, narrowing an existing median and adding trail connections, according to the county.
The Transportation Alternatives initiative is overseen by the Federal Highway Administration. Projects through the program can assist students, people with disabilities, pedestrians, cyclists and others by adding sidewalks, lighting, and other safety-related infrastructure.
Photo by Michelle Goldchain
The first in-person show for 1st Stage since the COVID-19 pandemic began is coming to The Boro in Tysons.
The theater is holding an outdoor performance of the off-Broadway musical and book, “A New Brain,” in the form of a concert reading at 5 p.m. on June 27 at Boro Park, an outdoor space of the development located at 8350 Broad St.
“For over a year now, we’ve been looking forward to bring live theater back to our beloved audiences,” the nonprofit said in a news release. “We’re so excited to see you again and to offer this wonderful musical experience of hope, recovery and rediscovery.”
With a book by William Finn and James Lapine, “A New Brain” follows a composer who undergoes a surgery while trying to create a song for a children’s TV show. The concert reading will be directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer with music direction by Walter “Bobby” McCoy.
The event will also be livestreamed. In the case of rain, it will only run online.
Organizers hope to bring the community together and raise money to support 1st Stage’s safe return to in-person theater. Donations will be matched up to $20,000, thanks to a reciprocal gift.
Citing the COVID-19 pandemic, the theater company announced in March that it was canceling in-person shows for the remainder of the 2020-2021 season, though it has provided some online performances and classes. The organization hopes to return to its space this winter.
“‘The 1st Stage Celebration at The Boro’ will be one of the first live cultural experiences in the Tysons region following more than a year of cultural drought,” organizers said. “With an outdoor in-person audience, and a free companion livestream, this will be the first opportunity for our full community to gather together since our last production in February 2020.”
The event is currently selling $500 sponsorships, which includes seating for two as well as with food and drinks.
Tickets will be available June 1 for $20 each, with attendees allowed to bring a chair or rent one for $10. Food can be brought or possibly bought — the group is working on food possibilities with restaurants. A cash bar will also be available.
“Four of our incredible donors got together to provide this [$20,000] to aid the theatre and inspire others to give,” Heidi Fortune Picker, director of engagement for 1st Stage, said. “Honestly, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our 1st Stage family during this time.”
A crepe restaurant in Vienna and other businesses are easing into changes as Virginia lifts public health restrictions prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issuing new mask guidance for fully vaccinated people, Virginia has eased its mask mandate, and major retailers like Starbucks and Walmart have also lifted restrictions in stores, but businesses can still impose restrictions.
For the safety of customers and staff, Crepe Amour (407 Maple Ave. E.) in Vienna is still requiring people to mask up.
“You can’t declare a victory before you get to the finish line,” the restaurant’s owner, Sri Suku, told Tysons Reporter.
His business shut down in late March 2020 and reopened in June.
Suku says grants have helped businesses like his survive during the pandemic.
Crepe Amour is one of nine Fairfax County restaurants that recently received a $3,500 grant from the food ordering app DoorDash and the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association, which represents the state’s hospitality industry.
The VRLTA’s 2021 DoorDash Restaurant Operator Relief Grant program gave a total of $450,000 in grants to 128 businesses after over 690 restaurants in the state applied for relief.
The initiative is part of the tech company’s Main Street Strong Pledge philanthropy effort and did not require businesses to be a DoorDash partner to be eligible, the association said.
The grants were intended for restaurants that had their operations disrupted, saw reduced revenue, or experienced financial stress between March and December 2020. To be eligible, businesses had to have no more than three locations with 50 or fewer employees and annual gross revenue of $3 million or less for the specific location that was applying.
The other Fairfax County recipients were Pho 2000, Sully’s Pour House, and Herndon Donuts in Herndon, Reston’s Sprout Cafe, Mazadar Restaurant in Fairfax, and DC Steakholders and Meaza Ethiopian Restaurant in Falls Church.
Eight of the county recipients, including Crepe Amour, also got money from the Fairfax Relief Initiative to Support Employers that the Board of Supervisors established last year to give financial assistance to local businesses and nonprofits.
Suku has used the money for rent, marketing, and other expenses. He says the money is great to help stay afloat and especially helped the catering side of his operations with letting people know they’re back in business.
Under Gov. Ralph Northam’s current public health order, restaurants and other food service venues are limited to 100 people indoors and 250 people outdoors, and different groups of patrons must be kept at least six feet apart. However, the state will end those and other capacity and distancing restrictions on May 28.
While Suku says mask requirements will remain in place, Crepe Amour currently allows outdoor seating, and he plans to reopen indoor seating when Virginia’s capacity and social distancing restrictions end on May 28.
Photo courtesy Sri Suku
