The Hello Kitty Cafe Truck is rolling back into Tysons for its typically annual spring visit.
The pop-up from toy company Sanrio will park at Tysons Corner Center’s Events Plaza from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday (March 25), just over a year after its last appearance.
New items in tow include a hoodie and a plush coffee cup carrying the truck’s titular, bow-wearing cat. The truck will also bring back some collectibles and snacks, including:
- Hello Kitty Cafe coin bank
- Glass mug with sprinkle handle
- Hello Kitty Cafe lunchbox
- Hello Kitty Cafe lavender T-shirt
- Hello Kitty Cafe canvas tote
- Hello Kitty Cafe rainbow thermos
- Hand-decorated cookie sets
- Enamel pin sets
- Madeleine cookie sets
- Hello Kitty Cafe plush toys
- Giant Hello Kitty Cafe chef cookies
The truck doesn’t accept cash payments, only credit or debit cards, according to a news release.
For those who miss the Tysons stop, the truck will stick around the D.C. area for a two-day sojourn at the National Cherry Blossom Festival on April 15-16
Electric bicycles with a brand-new look will dock at select Capital Bikeshare stations in Fairfax County this spring.
The rental bicycle-sharing service is rolling out 850 new e-bikes across the D.C. area, more than doubling its current stock and bringing its total fleet close to 7,000 bicycles, according to the Washington Post.
Initiated yesterday (Monday) and continuing through April, the rollout includes 45 e-bikes owned by Fairfax County, which will introduce them to five stations in Tysons, Reston and Dunn Loring:
- Tysons Metro North
- Dunn Loring Metro
- W&OD Trail/Sunset Hills Road & Isaac Newton Square
- Wiehle-Reston Metro South
- Reston Town Center Metro North
Manufactured by the ride-sharing company Lyft, the new e-bikes will be able to reach speeds of 20 mph with the electric assist, have longer-lasting batteries, provide better visibility with retroreflective paint, and eliminate the shift transmission on the older e-bikes, according to Capital Bikeshare.
The company intends to phase out the existing, black-painted model of e-bikes this August, the Fairfax County Department of Transportation previously said.
The county is working to expand its Bikeshare network with new stations in the Tysons, Franconia and Huntington areas in the works. Another 100 e-bikes will be ordered to support those stations this spring.
“In 2024 and beyond, Fairfax County plans to acquire approximately 200 additional e-bikes to support expansion around the Huntington and Innovation Metrorail Stations, Baileys Crossroads, Seven Corners, and Annandale,” FCDOT said in a news release.
While e-bikes are more expensive, the county has said the costs of the initial rollout will be covered by federal grant money and rider fees.
The bikes cost 10 cents per minute for annual Capital Bikeshare members, with a $2 fee for parking outside of a station. Non-members pay $1 to unlock the bike and 15 cents per minute. Members of the Capital Bikeshare for All program can ride e-bikes for free for up to 1 hour and don’t have to pay the $2 out-of-station fee.
The new model of e-bikes is also being added in D.C. and Arlington County.
Metro Adds Trains to Speed Up Service — “Metro is ramping up service across much of the rail system starting [Monday], promising ‘an infusion of trains.’ This comes as ridership has been on the upswing, hitting new post-pandemic records, and as the transit system has been allowed to bring back more 7000-series railcars.” [DCist]
County Launches Fund for Tech Startups — “The Fairfax Founders Fund (FFF), a grant and technical assistance program providing funds to early-stage Fairfax County-based startups, will begin accepting applications on April 10. FFF will provide up to $50,000 in capital to help start-ups develop their business and prepare for later-stage investment.” [Department of Economic Initiatives]
Local Parents Indicted After Infant Fatally Overdoses — “Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced Tuesday that a grand jury had indicted 19-year-old Juan Oliva-Ruiz and 23-year-old Shantica Tillery on involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty charges, after their 11-month-old allegedly ingested a fentanyl pill found on the floor of their Alexandria home in June 2022.” [WTOP]
Man Arrested for Reported Fairfax Knife Attack — “On March 11, 2023 at 2:45 P.M. City of Fairfax Police responded to 7-Eleven, located at 10140 Fairfax Boulevard, for a malicious wounding. Investigation revealed that during a verbal altercation, the suspect, Anibal-Guzman, assaulted the victim with a knife causing injuries to their head, neck and hands.” [City of Fairfax Police]
Halal South Asian Restaurant Now Open in Mount Vernon — “Food Flame, a restaurant specializing in Indian and Pakistani cuisine, opened March 3 at Engleside Plaza shopping center in Alexandria. Located in a space formerly occupied by Wing Zone, Food Flame is owned and operated by Zafar Khan and family.” [On the MoVe]
Reston Theater Company Cleans Up at Regional Awards — “Reston Community Players was the big winner Sunday night at the 2023 Washington Area Theatre Community Honors Awards ceremony at the The Birchmere in Alexandria. RCP racked up a combined total of 13 awards for its productions of ‘A Little Night Music,’ ‘The Game’s A Foot’ and ‘Bright Star.'” [Patch]
Herndon Thrift Store Boosts Nonprofits, Students — “The Closet of The Greater Herndon Area Inc., a nonprofit thrift store, distributed over $273,000 worth of 2022 grants, scholarships, and vouchers to local nonprofits, students and community residents.” [Inside NoVA]
Vienna Bassist Selected for National Orchestra — “A Vienna teen will be part of a residency and tour with the 2023 National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. Joshua Thrush, 16, is a double bassist who was chosen for the National Youth Orchestra, a prestigious free summer program for the nation’s promising young musicians.” [Patch]
It’s Tuesday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 59 and low of 35. Sunrise at 7:11 am and sunset at 7:22 pm. [Weather.gov]
The redevelopment of the West Falls Church Metro station secured the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s endorsement last week, a critical step forward for a project that could serve as a guide for other transit-oriented developments in the D.C. region.
The commission voted unanimously on Wednesday (March 15) to recommend that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approve a rezoning of the 24-acre property to allow over 1 million square feet of development, including 810 multifamily residential units, 85 townhouses, a 110,000-square-foot office building and up to 10,000 square feet of retail.
As seen at a public hearing in February, the proposal from developers EYA, Rushmark Properties, and Hoffman & Associates (FGCP-Metro LLC) has divided the community. Some hope the new housing and infrastructure will energize the neighborhood, while others worry it will fuel traffic and parking issues.
“It’s going to be a big change, and that’s difficult for some people, but I think it’s going to be a positive change in the long run,” Dranesville District Planning Commissioner John Ulfelder said. “We’re going to have to break a few eggs on the way to get there, but I think, in the long run, it’s going to be great for the neighborhoods, for the people who’ll be living there, and for the county.”
The commission’s vote followed weeks of negotiations involving the developers, the county, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and neighboring residents, primarily over an existing stormwater pond on the site.
Expected to be retained with the redevelopment, the pond manages stormwater runoff from Metro’s facilities and the Village and Pavillion condominiums southeast of the station along Haycock Road.
The agreement between WMATA and the condo associations granting residents access to the pond is set to expire in 2026. Condo representatives asked the planning commission last month not to approve the redevelopment until they get a permanent extension of the easement.
While Ulfelder said then that he couldn’t delay the rezoning for “really an off-site issue,” FGCP-Metro LLC has agreed that its development won’t use the pond for stormwater detention and to “reserve sufficient detention capacity” for stormwater from Metro’s facilities and the condos, according to a draft proffer agreement updated on March 13.
Walsh Colucci lawyer Andrew Painter, who is representing the developers, confirmed that the proffer essentially guarantees that the condos will have perpetual access to the pond.
“It is very close,” Painter said regarding WMATA extending the stormwater agreement. “…We received an email earlier this evening…from counsel for the Villages and Pavillions saying that we are very close and they’re confident they will be able to resolve this issue shortly.”
Ulfelder acknowledged the lingering anxiety from some neighbors over the developers proposing 40% fewer parking spaces on the site than what the county requires, but he noted that the parking reduction request will be voted on by the Board of Supervisors separately from the overall development plan.
If the request is rejected, the developers must provide parking in accordance with the county’s zoning requirements, which could soon be lowered.
Metro’s board of directors is scheduled to vote on a plan for reducing parking and other transit facilities at the station this Thursday (March 23).
Ulfelder thanked the developers for working with county staff and the community on their application, which he said was made “better, stronger and more fitting” by the public input. A county-led study of potential pedestrian and bicycle improvements in the area, for instance, led FGCP-Metro LLC to agree to build a shared-use trail on Haycock Road.
“I believe it is an excellent example of how the county can and should address large and complex applications, while making sure they are consistent with the county’s long-range plans for development and redevelopment,” Ulfelder said. “We don’t need to fall into the trap of development for development’s sake to make progress on long-term county goals.”
The proposal is now set to go to the Board of Supervisors for a public hearing and vote on May 9.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors got a first look last week at a new plan that it hopes can help turn the county into a hub for the arts.
At an economic initiatives committee meeting on March 14, Fairfax County Arts Committee Chair Leila Gordon said the new Master Arts Plan shows that some of the county’s revitalization zones — like the one in the works for downtown McLean — need to do more to prioritize the arts and add more supporting facilities.
“Beyond what are traditionally characterized as ‘major arts venues,’ the County needs multiple other support facilities and spaces to complement existing arts venues,” a presentation on the plan said.
Those arts-supporting uses include creating residential zoning for live/work studios, more small-scale venues, and better temporary use of vacant facilities.
Supervisors at the meeting shared positive feedback on the plan, but many had individual areas they wanted to see more fully explored.
“We’re not doing public art well in this county at all, regardless of how many times we’ve tried to do it,” said Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross. “On Richmond Highway they’ve had some success with some murals, but trying to get permits for murals and trying to explain to the planning and development department that this is not a sign…that’s a wonderful way to grab people really quickly.”
Gross said as the process goes on, she’d like to see more public art worked into the plan.
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik expressed hope to see more descriptions of how art uses should be managed and governed.
“We can build the spaces, we can permit the spaces, we can transform the spaces, but I think the question is…place-based governance,” Palchik said. “We are a large county. We have a lot of initiatives as well as priorities. We can build all the spaces we want, but they have to be run, they have to be activated, they have to be managed.”
Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay said the arts across Fairfax County are currently plagued by waste and unequal distribution, two topics he hopes to see the plan tackle.
“There’s also a lot of waste in the arts,” McKay said. “When props are done, they’re trashed. When costumes are done, they don’t get stored. I know there are a lot of private arts organizations — dance schools are familiar with this — that spend a lot of money on props, a lot of money on costumes, and when the show is over, they go in the trash.”
McKay said the Master Arts Plan is a chance to organize the local arts community and get organizations on the same page when it comes to sharing resources. McKay said he hoped to see a “huge inventory” of items that can be recycled across multiple shows. From the county leadership side, that may involve financing storage space.
“One thing we should be looking at in terms of facilities [is] if the county can provide a centralized warehouse of arts materials,” McKay said. “There is quite a bit of waste in the arts and it doesn’t need to be that way. A lot of high school theater groups do the same rotating shows but a lot of times, they’re starting from scratch for props, and finding out they’re discarded from another school that did the same show. That can be very costly.”
McKay also said part of the plan should focus on distributing arts venues around Fairfax County, noting that many arts spaces are being built where there is already an abundance of facilities.
According to a draft plan, there are several potential venues in the works, including proposed arts centers at Reston Town Center and in downtown Herndon, but a lack of funding is cited as an obstacle in multiple cases.
“Unfortunately where [there’s] the greatest art advocacy is where there are already facilities,” McKay said. “There are parts of the county that just don’t have the same access. Looking at that through gap analysis is going to be really important.”
The plan also notes that cost and availability limitations lead many organizations in Fairfax County to use venues not intended for arts programming, like schools or churches, or to go outside the county.
The Master Arts Plan for cultural facilities is under review and will be fully released sometime this spring. A broader Public Art Master Plan is scheduled for completion in early 2024.
(Updated at 11:55 a.m.) A group of McLean residents opposed to the extension of the I-495 toll lanes past their neighborhoods have turned to the courts in a bid to halt the project, now in its second year of construction.
The Northern Virginia (NOVA) Citizens Association filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Alexandria on Thursday (March 16) alleging that major revisions to the project design violated federal law, resulting in “significant on-going environmental harms” to residents.
The Virginia Department of Transportation, Secretary of Transportation W. Sheppard Miller, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), private toll lanes operator Transurban, and Transurban subsidiary Capital Beltway Express LLC are named as defendants.
“As a result of Defendants’ actions, NOVA and its members are experiencing significant adverse environmental impacts caused by the Project,” the complaint says, arguing that the road construction and loss of trees will contribute to noise, light, air pollution, water quality, erosion and health issues.
In the works since 2018, the I-495 Northern Extension project (495 NEXT) is adding 2.5 miles of express lanes from the Dulles Toll Road in Tysons past the George Washington Memorial Parkway in McLean, reconfiguring many of the bridges and interchanges within that span.
The GW Parkway interchange has been a particular point of concern for the NOVA Citizens Association, whose members fear that their neighborhood along Live Oak Drive will be destroyed to accommodate planned ramps and stormwater management ponds.
According to the complaint, VDOT unveiled significant changes to the project design in September 2021 and June 2022 — months after the FHWA approved its environmental assessment, an evaluation of the project’s potential impact required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The changes — including a consolidation of stormwater facilities, a narrowing of Live Oak Drive to 22 feet wide, and the relocation of an I-495 Express Lanes exit ramp to the GW Parkway — were substantial enough that additional environmental review should’ve been conducted, the association contends.
“The major changes to the stormwater control plan, the expansion of impermeable surfaces, and the greatly expanded deforestation will result in a significant increase in the release of stormwater which is contaminated with pollutants onto the properties of members of the association,” the complaint says.
The complaint also raises concerns about the safety of narrowing Live Oak Drive, especially for kids traveling to Cooper Middle School and the nearby Langley Swim & Tennis Club, and a reported plan to place a 5G cell tower on one resident’s property.
In a Feb. 24 declaration supporting the complaint, Live Oak Drive residents Pritesh and Marisha Patel wrote that the noise and pollution from the 495 NEXT construction has caused “irreparable harm” to their family, particularly their 11-year-old son, who has asthma. Read More
Developers Seek to Add More Housing in Fair Lakes — “Proposed updates to Fairfax County’s land use regulations, preliminarily earmarked for the county staff’s highest priority, signal that the sea-changing real estate market wants to see Fair Lakes, like elsewhere in the county, shift away from suburban office and toward new residential development.” [Washington Business Journal]
Reston Fire Station Introduces New Engine — “Thursday, Station 25. Reston, A-Shift placed new Engine 425 in service. A ‘push In’ ceremony was conducted by the shift. This tradition dates back to the days of horse-drawn equipment when firefighters had to push the equipment back into the station. E425 responded on its first call, an outside fire, a short time later.” [FCFRD/Facebook]
New Italian Deli Gets Ribbon-Cutting in Fairfax — “After selling his first restaurant in Manassas, Kapoor opened a new one in Arlington, but he was forced to close it due to the impact of the pandemic. Kapoor began his new venture in Fairfax City with a soft launch on Feb. 14. Friday’s ceremony marked the restaurant’s official opening.” [Patch]
D.C. Poaches Tysons Architecture Firm — “D.C. is turning to its recently created Vitality Fund, a pot of incentives to lure more businesses to its downtown, to…offer undisclosed cash grants to architecture firm KTGY to move its office from Tysons, as well as branding and marketing consultancy Quadrant Strategies to triple its D.C. office, so long as they both meet certain annual performance targets.” [WBJ]
Historical Marker Unveiled for Vienna Preschool — “Beautiful day [Saturday] for unveiling a new historical marker at Marshall Road and Ware Street commemorating Parkwood School and its legendary founder, Clarene Vickery, who educated thousands of preschool children here in Vienna.” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]
Candytopia Opens in Tysons Corner Center — “After weeks of anticipation, Candytopia at Tysons Corner Center…is finally open! The candy museum is a sweet experience for children and a colorful one for adults. Decked out with an art salon, Candytopia has crafted pieces using different arrangements of your favorite flavors of candy.” [WTOP]
Metro Gets Overall High Marks in Poll — “Commuters have abandoned the system not because they dislike Metro, the survey suggests, but because they are working from home more frequently. The survey of a random sample of more than 1,600 D.C., suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia residents shows that despite Metro’s high-profile struggles…3 in 4 riders rate Metrorail ‘excellent’ or ‘good.'” [The Washington Post]
Great Falls Resident Competes in Netflix’s “Dance Monsters” — “A professional dancer and the owner of a modeling agency, Chelsea Cushing knows how to put her best face forward, so it’s ironic that the Great Falls resident’s most public appearances have happened behind face- and body-concealing CGI and motion-capture technology.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Reston Woman Wins WaPo Poetry Contest — “Even without a calendar, you know when spring has arrived. You can feel it in the air. And Vicki Elsbernd’s poem about something recently in the air — and in the news — tickled me enough to choose it as my favorite entry in this year’s Springtime in Washington Haiku Contest.” [The Washington Post]
It’s Monday — Clear throughout the day. High of 51 and low of 29. Sunrise at 7:13 am and sunset at 7:21 pm. [Weather.gov]
Just one day after Major League Baseball’s Opening Day, Capital One will kick off the inaugural season of its newly built baseball stadium in Tysons.
Capital One Park, located at 1600 Scotts Crossing Road, will host its first-ever games on March 31, introducing itself to the neighborhood with a double-header between Arlington’s Marymount University and Centenary University from New Jersey.
“Capital One Park, when it comes online in late March, will be an attraction for the community to come together and experience America’s favorite pastime,” Capital One Center Managing Director Jonathan Griffith said.
Approved by the Fairfax County Planning Commission in October, the park represents the first step toward developing the 6.9-acre site known as Capital One East.
Previously occupied by a parking lot, the property will be an extension of the Capital One Center campus where the financial company has its headquarters. It was part of the planned Scotts Run North development until Capital One acquired the land in May 2019.
Though a representative for Capital One told the planning commission it would discuss letting residents of the adjacent Gates of McLean condominiums use the field when it isn’t booked, Griffith says the baseball stadium isn’t designed for casual recreational use like a public park.
Instead, it’s meant to be “an attraction for friends, families, and community baseball aficionados to experience the game played at a high-intensity level,” he said.
Primarily made out of artifical turf, the field was built to meet NCAA standards. The facility can seat over 300 spectators and has picnic areas, restrooms, and a press box.
A schedule of games through Aug. 1 is now on the Capital One Center website.
In the spring and fall, the stadium will host college and high school baseball as well as the Northern Virginia Travel Baseball League. In the summer, the Potomac League — a wooden bat league for D.C.-area college players — will take over with nightly double-headers.
“In planning for Capital One Park, we have worked to ensure that the fan experience is front of mind with easy parking, game-day activations, and a robust concession program all as elements to complement and amplify the action on the field,” Griffith said.
Capital One plans to have an official grand opening celebration for the stadium in June.
Intended to be temporary until the site is built out, Capital One Park will later be joined by a publicly accessible urban park with a water feature, landscaping, a playground, a fitness zone, a plaza with seating, and food truck parking, according to the plan approved by the county.
According to Griffith, construction on that next phase of Capital One East is expected to begin later this year for a potential opening in late 2024.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors isn’t holding a public hearing on its proposed salary increases until Tuesday (March 21), but some county workers have already made their opposition known.
A union representing over 2,000 county government employees criticized the proposal as a blow to workers, whose projected pay raises aren’t expected to be fully funded in the county’s next budget.
“Despite our calls for wage fairness for county employees, it appears the County has another priority — raises for politicians,” SEIU Virginia 512 Fairfax President Tammie Wondong said. “A meager 2% raise combined with the crushing weight of wage compression has left us feeling devalued. When employees have to work multiple jobs to get by or can’t afford to live in the county, it’s clear change is needed.”
With 33 years of work for the county under her belt, Wondong says the disparity between what the board is considering for itself compared to employees illustrates the need for “a union contract to achieve pay fairness.”
The Board of Supervisors approved collective bargaining in October 2021, but the Fire and Rescue Department is the only unit to officially elect a union representative so far.
Put forward by Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust on March 7, the raises would push the salaries for board members up from $95,000 to $124,000-130,000 per year and from $100,000 to $140,000-145,000 a year for the board chair.
The high end of those ranges would amount to pay bumps of nearly 37% for supervisors and 45% for the chair. Both positions last got raises in 2015.
Foust, who’s retiring at the end of December, says higher compensation will encourage candidates to run for supervisor, a position that carries full-time commitments but is treated as a part-time job in Virginia.
As I leave, I know it is critically important that we continue to attract great candidates from all backgrounds and stages of life to serve on the Board. The opportunity to serve is itself very rewarding. However, I believe it is in the best interest of the County that Supervisor compensation be set at a level that will enable anyone to serve regardless of their personal circumstances, and not just those who are wealthy or have other sources of income. I believe that increasing Supervisor pay for the first time in 8 years will advance that goal. I recognize that others have raised concerns and I look forward to the public hearing that will be held on March 21.
“I hope that through my service I have demonstrated that I care very much about the residents and employees of Fairfax County,” he said in a statement to FFXnow.
However, the challenge of affording housing, child care and other living expenses that some supervisors mentioned during their March 7 meeting also poses an obstacle to other county workers, like teachers and police, Fairfax County Federation of Teachers President David Walrod said.
About 1 in 7 Fairfax County employees can’t afford to live where they work, according to a 2021 analysis by The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis (TCI), a Richmond-based think tank.
“I’d never want to minimize the importance of the Board of Supervisors,” Walrod said. “But the reality is that if they are finding it difficult to maintain their homes and find childcare at $90,000, and require 47% raises to make ends meet, they should consider what that means for the county’s public employees who make significantly less.”
The county forecast in November that workers should get a 5.4% market rate adjustment (MRA) — the highest in more than 25 years due primarily to inflation, County Executive Bryan Hill said in a letter on his proposed budget for fiscal year 2024, which begins July 1.
Faced with an $86 million price tag, Hill included a 2% MRA in the advertised budget, prioritizing merit, longevity and performance increases instead.
Lauren Tumbleson, a social services worker for the county and member of SEIU Virginia 512, said she and her coworkers were “shocked and dismayed” when they learned about the Board of Supervisors’ proposed raises.
“Whether it’s wage compression or raises that don’t keep pace with the cost of living, the County is showing that it doesn’t value our hard work and dedication,” she said. “We’ve been vocal about the need for pay fairness but leadership decided to propose a raise for themselves instead.”
County workers have gotten support for its objections from at least one state legislator.
Del. Holly Seibold, who was elected to represent the 35th House District in January, called the proposed raises “objectionable” in a March 8 statement, encouraging constituents to participate in the upcoming public hearing.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors should prioritize funding for employees who need it the most, not increase their own pay. My full statement below: pic.twitter.com/7EHxjILdUO
— Holly Seibold (@HollySeiboldVA) March 8, 2023
A former teacher with a master’s degree, Seibold said she would need to work for 18 years from a starting salary of around $58,000 to match the supervisors’ current pay, which is still more than the $38,000 that a county records clerk makes annually on average.
“I expect the board to make responsible decisions or I would be open to creating oversight to ensure that they do,” she said, noting that she has a second job so that she can serve as delegate, which pays $17,000 a year.
When asked to elaborate, Seibold told FFXnow that the General Assembly has existing committees that can be assigned to provide oversight for localities.
“I thought it was important to publicly comment on this issue because so many of my constituents — many of which were teachers, support staff, first responders, etc — contacted me and were upset over the increase in supervisor salaries, yet the wages of county employees remained low,” she said by email. “I, too, thought it was wrong — and believe it is important to stand up for what’s right.”
(Updated at 1:30 p.m. on 3/20/2023) Fairfax County is in the midst of deciding where nearly $25 million in funding for pedestrian and bicyclists improvements will be allocated.
After combing through more than 2,000 possible projects, staff have develop a draft list of prioritized projects, according to Michael Guarino, head of the Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s capital projects division.
At a Board of Supervisors transportation committee meeting on Tuesday (March 14), Guarino said the county is using spatial analysis tools to help sift through roughly 2,800 unfunded projects and project requests. The list was then further pared down by examining network connectivity and trip generators.
“We’re using technology as best as we can. I think are areas where we can do it more. Overall, the process is working the way we want it to, it’s just taking longer than we want it to,” Guarino said.
The decision is part of the county’s $100 million commitment to support active or non-motorized transportation access and safety improvements.
The first $5 million in funding, approved in November 2022, included $2 million for trail maintenance, $2.7 million for crosswalk projects, and $200,000 for a safe routes project near Bush Hill Elementary School. An additional $100,000 was allocated to speed feedback signs for the Fairfax County Police Department.
As part of the next cycle, $2.3 million for crosswalk projects has already been approved, along with $400,000 to repair and replace existing rapid flashing beacons through fiscal year 2028.
Board members lauded staff for the methodology used to create the draft list.
“It was very well done the way you pulled this all together,” Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said.
The county plans to seek additional money for pedestrian intersection improvements at Blake Lane and Bushman Drive in Oakton as well as Beverly Road at Old Dominion Drive and Elm Street at Old Dominion Drive in McLean after missing out on a federal grant.
The county did not receive the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant due to a lack of needed data to back up claims for the need for the projects, along with the projects not being ready to build yet, Guarino said.
Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross noted that some projects can take years to come to fruition. She said it took nearly 37 years to install sidewalks on Sleepy Hollow Road — a project that is currently under construction.
“It wasn’t all the county’s fault,” Gross said, adding that an iterative process will ensure that projects are shovel-ready.
The proposed list of active transportation projects includes:
- Curb ramps and marked crosswalks at Sunset Hills Road and Reston Station Blvd
- Improvements at Lockheed Blvd from Hybla Valley Elementary School to Huntley Meadows Park
- Gum Springs Trail
- A sidewalk on westbound Route 7 from Magnolia Avenue in front of 5930 Leesburg Pike
- Vale Road and Flint Hill Road crosswalk improvements near Flint Hill Elementary School
- Crosswalk improvements at Columbia Pike and Tyler Street
- Lorton Station Blvd and Potomac Bend crosswalk improvements
- Preliminary design for a Tuttle Road trail connection to Hillside Road
- Rolling Road and Grigsby Drive crosswalk improvements
- Fair Lakes Blvd and Sedghurst Drive crosswalk improvements
- Projects from the West Falls Church and Huntington Metro area active transportation studies
- Saint Germain Drive and Machen Road intersection improvements
- Eskridge Road crosswalk improvements
- Roughly $400,000 for additional Fairfax County Park Authority trail maintenance
Staff also proposed reserving funds to cover consultant fees for assistance in prioritizing projects and creating a contingency fund for cost overruns and other considerations.
The county expects to finalize the list of allocations for board consideration at a April 11 meeting. The prioritization process would continue in the fall to determine how any carryover money from the current fiscal year 2023 cycle will be allocated.
