The long-awaited Dollar Tree in Vienna is finally scheduled to open this week.

A sign in the doorway said that the location is set to open on Thursday (Feb. 28) at 9 a.m.

The store will open at 215 Maple Ave. W, formerly a Rite Aid in the center of town.

Dollar Tree is a discount store that has been thriving and expanding despite e-commerce outlets like Amazon devastating other retail chains.

At least one Vienna resident is eager for the new store to open — she was spotted parking and approaching the door last week before swearing when she saw the sign.

An autonomous shuttle bus between Merrifield’s Mosaic District and the Dunn Loring Metro Station could become a reality, as part of a pilot program pursued by Fairfax County.

Providence District Supervisor Linda Smyth said state officials were in discussions with county economic officials about applying for a grant to bring the project to Fairfax, InsideNoVA reported. But so far, little about the potential project seems set in stone.

A report to the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 12 said Fairfax County was looking at partnering with Dominion Energy and the Virginia Transportation Research Council to introduce a route for a connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) program.

The project aims to be a “first-mile, last-mile mobility solution” to connect Metro stations with emerging activity centers. As anyone who has walked from the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station to the Mosaic District knows, it’s just far enough to be a pain.

According to the report:

The CAV pilot is intended, in part, to be an important component of VDOT’s broader vision and policies regarding the development and deployment of CAV technology and related demonstration projects throughout the Commonwealth.

The new shuttle would be implemented alongside other public transportation services in the area to assess the viability of CAV shuttles. The report notes Arlington, Texas, as an example of another location to use CAV programs to operate a shuttle service.

The grant money for the program would flow through the state’s Department of Public Rail and Transportation, and be included as part of the Fiscal Year 2020 grant cycle.

Meanwhile, in Reston, self-driving cars could be hitting the street by June.

Photo via City of Arlington, Texas

The Weekly Planner is a roundup of the most interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.

We’ve scoured the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!

Monday (Feb. 25)

• Vienna Town Council Meeting — 8 p.m. at Town Hall Council Chambers (127 Center St. S) — At tonight’s meeting, the Town Council will review public input on the ongoing effort to revise the town’s Maple Avenue zoning guidelines. Most of the feedback so far indicates Vienna residents prefer a rustic brick look to the sleek, modern design popular in new developments.

Wednesday (Feb. 27)

• ‘The Color Purple’ Screening — 7-10 p.m. at Angelika Film Center (2911 District Ave) — As part of the theater’s “Black is the New Black” film series, the Angelika Film Center will show the coming-of-age story about an African-American woman growing up in rural Georgia. Tickets are $14.50.
• State of the Chesapeake Bay — 7:30-9 p.m. at the Vienna Fire House (400 Center St. S) — The Potomac River Smallmouth Club is hosting a discussion with Captain John Page Williams, a senior naturalist at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Williams is scheduled to discuss the state of the Chesapeake Bay, including issues related to climate and agricultural changes underway.

Thursday (Feb. 28)

• Transform 66 Update — 7:30 p.m. at Providence Community Room (3001 Vaden Dr.) — The Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling is hosting a meeting with the Virginia Department of Transportation for an update on train alignment, access points, barrier design and construction timing on the ongoing Transform 66 program.
• A Tribute to Dave Grohl — 8 p.m. at Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave E) — Jammin’ Java is hosting a musical tribute to Northern Virginia native Dave Grohl with a series of bands covering the music of Nirvana, Food Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door.

Friday (March 1)

• Vesper Trail Ribbon Cutting — 10 a.m. at Vesper Street — A new half-mile bike and pedestrian trail is set to officially open this Friday. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for the Vienna end of the trail, followed by refreshments and a bicycle mechanic available for free tune-ups.
• Mardi Gras Party — 9 p.m.-2 a.m. at Tysons Biergarten (8346 Leesburg Pike) — Citing difficulties with partying all night on a Tuesday, the Tysons Biergarten is hosting its “Fat Tuesday” party on Friday. The celebration will include beads and live music, with guests encouraged to bring masks and feather boas.

Saturday (March 2)

• SHARE Food Drive — 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at Safeway (1688 Anderson Road) — The SHARE Food Pantry is in need of food and supplies. The food pantry benefits around 40 local families or older adults per week. The pantry is in need of volunteers and non-perishable food.
• McLean Project for the Arts Spring Open House — 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at MPA (1446 Chain Bridge Road) — At the open house, the McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) will host information sessions about the all-ages spring art classes and summer camps. Art activities will also be available for children. No registration is required.
• 11th Annual Capital Princess Ball — 6-10 p.m. at Westwood Country Club (800 Maple Ave E) — A musical dinner and dance in Vienna will celebrate fathers and daughters. The event is a fundraiser for organizations promoting adoption, orphanages and foster care. The event is black tie optional and includes a silent auction and raffle.

Photo via Facebook

(Updated on 12/8/2021) Construction is now underway at the sprawling Highland District from developer CityLine MRP Realty, which is planned to add 1.8 million square feet of residential, retail and office space on a 17-acre site straddling Old Meadow Road.

The new development is just east of the Beltway and south of Route 123, near the McLean Metro station.

Along with the Scotts Run developments, the Highland District is one of the large projects planned to replace the 1970s-era office buildings in Tysons East with new mixed-use developments.

The developer is kicking off the project with work on “Highlands B,” one of two buildings planned as the start of the new development. The buildings will be located on either side of Old Meadow Road at the southern end of the development. Building B is planned to offer 210 residential units and 7,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor.

Across the street, the mid-rise “Building A” is planned to have 410 residential units and 5,000 square feet of retail.

Plans for the development also include a spread of eight public parks throughout the Highland District, from urban plazas to smaller pocket parks.

The largest of the parks will take a small existing field and convert it into a full athletic field with an adjoining sports court, child play area and a dog park. The athletic field, which will be owned and operated by the Fairfax County Park Authority, will have synthetic turf and will be lit.

Photo via Fairfax County Planning and Zoning

The Vesper Trail, a new half-mile bike and pedestrian trail between Vesper Street in Vienna and the Spring Hill Metro station, officially opens Friday (March 1).

The trail links the residential neighborhoods in northeast Vienna to the area around the Metro station, which is the site of several redevelopments with significant new retail and residential planned for the area.

The trail is part of a series of necessary transportation improvements identified in the Tysons Metrorail Station Access Management Study. The trail is federally funded.

The trail passes through Raglan Road Park, a small forested area separating Vienna and Tysons.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for 10 a.m. at the Vienna entrance to the trail.

The Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling will be hosting a ride from the Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry St) at 9:30 a.m. to the trail in time for the opening. After the event, light refreshments will be served and a bike mechanic is scheduled to be available for free tune-ups.

Photo via Fairfax County Department of Transportation

A new survey shows Vienna residents prefer their downtown with classic, small-town brick frontages, rather than the more popular modern designs populating the rest of the area.

The popular sentiment is that the design of new projects on Maple Avenue doesn’t fit with what many people envision for Vienna, so much so that the town is in the middle of overhauling its zoning code following last year’s controversial development discussions.

At tonight’s meeting, the Vienna Town Council will review a visual preference survey for the Maple Avenue Commercial Design Guidelines. The survey collected feedback on what, from a variety of architectural options, best reflected what local residents wanted their town to look like.

With 16 total options, differences in opinion between them was largely marginal, with most ranked around two or three stars out of five.

The most popular facade, with an average rating of 3.28, is based on Keene, New Hampshire. The downtown area depicted shows a series of square, brick buildings more reminiscent of Old Town Alexandria than Tysons. All of the buildings that scored above an average of three stars were the square, red-brick buildings commonly associated with older downtowns.

The least popular of the choices, ranked at an average of 1.6 stars, was a modern-styled brick and glass warehouse design. In general, the buildings reminiscent of trendy redevelopment styles in places like McLean and Merrifield fared poorly in the rankings.

In a ranking of streetscape preferences, the top contender with an average ranking of 3.6 stars showed very wide sidewalks with trees separating pedestrians from the street. All of the top three ranked streetscape designs had similar components.

Streetscapes also had a clear loser, with an average ranking of 1.8 stars. The picture of Fort Industry Square in Toledo, Ohio, had a comparatively narrow sidewalk littered haphazardly with empty pots for plants and old plastic newspaper bins.

There was less variation in what Viennans thought of key intersections and gateways into the town, most of them averaging around two stars. The highest ranked was Merchant Street in Decatur, Illinois, with a metal sign hanging over an entrance. Least popular was a foreboding curved brick building separated from the street by thick foliage.

Photo of Keene, New Hampshire via Wikipedia

Whether you have opinions on development, the environment or any other local issue, Fairfax County wants to know what you think the county should look like in the years to come.

The county has put together a short survey to gather public feedback on its new strategic planning process. It asks the public to rank their priorities and describe their vision for the county’s future.

The goal of the strategic plan is to put the county’s various individual plans — on topics ranging from health and human services to economic success, into one aligned — coordinated project.

The strategic planning process will take place for most of the year. The first phase of the process — developing an initial work plan — was completed in January. The community engagement phase is scheduled to run through March and will involve sifting through feedback to identify 7-10 public priorities, which will divided among teams that will work on the priorities throughout April.

A series of public meetings will also allow locals to voice their feelings about priorities for Fairfax County. One meeting is planned for Tuesday, Feb. 26 at the Little River Glen Senior Center (4001 Barker Court) south of Vienna. Another is planned for March 6 at the James Lee Community Center (2855 Annandale Road) in Falls Church.

Photo via Twitter

A new project is underway to make Tysons East a little more walkable.

The Scott’s Run Trail will provide a half-mile trail connecting Westgate Elementary School to the McLean Metro Station. The planned trail runs through the heart of Tysons East.

The path is planned to have an eight-foot-wide pedestrian walkway and two pedestrian bridges over the stream. The project’s aim is to facilitate pedestrian access to the McLean Metro for residents in the southern section of Tysons East, like the Pimmit Hills neighborhood.

Plans for the project date back to the Tysons Metrorail Station Access Management Study in 2011, and it was approved by the Board of Supervisors as part of a transportation priorities plan in 2014. The project recently opened for construction bids, which will be collected until March 5 and opened publicly that same day.

The total estimated cost of the project is $3.3 million funded by the Federal Regional Surface Transportation Program (RSTP).

Another trail pedestrian-bicycle trail is planned nearby to connect Tysons East with Tysons Corner Center.

Photo via Fairfax County Department of Transportation

The Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling (FABB) is looking for Northern Virginia residents to help with bicycle and pedestrian safety by becoming a transportation safety leader.

The program offers free training in bicycle and pedestrian safety techniques and certification as a bicycle education instructor.

Are you a #NoVa resident committed to safer #cycling? @BikeFairfax and @WABADC sponsor seminars in March: pedestrian or bike safety, or become a @BikeLeague Cycling Instructor. Apply by Mar 1 https://t.co/9XNwWJ4FwE
Dates here: https://t.co/c0pmhnZHww@BikeArlington @Active_PW pic.twitter.com/c6a8mN2vbu

— Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling (@BikeFairfax) February 21, 2019

The program is a collaboration with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, which is partnering with FABB, George Mason University, Inova Hospital and others on the project. The aim is to increase the safety of bicyclists and reduce crashes. The training is part of a federal highway safety project funded by a grant from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Three training programs are available:

• League Certified Instructor (LCI) Seminar (24 hours) — To become an LCI, you’ll need to complete this comprehensive 3-day LCI Seminar. As a prerequisite, you must also complete the one-day “Smart Cycling Class” at least one month prior to the seminar as well as an open-book assessment.
• Smart Cycling class (eight hours) — Gain bicycle safety knowledge and skills by completing this class online and six-hour seminar both in a classroom and on a bicycle.
• Pedestrian Safety Training class (four hours) — Gain pedestrian safety knowledge and skills by completing this four-hour class over two evenings.

Participants in the program must attend all applicable training dates and commit to doing at least two community pedestrian and bicycling safety outreach events by Sept. 15 and one more by January 2020.

The training is open to any local government staff, police, school faculty or residents with an interest in improving bicycle safety. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. on Friday, March 1.

Olympic Gold Medalist Tom Dolan is opening a new children’s swimming school today (Friday) in Falls Church.

The Tom Dolan Swim School is located in the Willston II Shopping Center (6112-A Arlington Boulevard). The new facility includes a 90-degree pool, as well as changing rooms, showers and other pool-related amenities.

The Falls Church location is the second Tom Dolan Swim School. The first opened in Loudoun County in 2012.

The school opens for the first time today, but the first day of classes is scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday).

Classes at the school vary from “waterbabies” classes to ones specializing in different kinds of strokes. An adult class is taught at the Loudoun County location.

A grand opening celebration is planned for Sunday, March 10 from 1-3 p.m. The grand opening is planned to include pool games, water safety classes, face painting and more. Dolan will also be available for autographed photos and visitors can try on his gold and silver Olympic medals.

Dolan is originally from the area, having grown up in Arlington. He won Olympic gold medals in the 1996 Atlanta and the 2000 Sydney, Australia Olympics. Dolan is a 14-time U.S. National Champion and has been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Photo via Facebook