For years, the shared sidewalk on the south side of Lee Highway has ended abruptly with a ditch.

But a planned bike/pedestrian path on the highway just south of the Vienna Metro station could finally bridge that divide and make the sidewalks more walkable.

At a meeting tonight (Tuesday), Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is scheduled to discuss plans to complete missing segments of a shared-use path on the southern side of Lee Highway between Vaden Drive and Nutley Street. The path aims to improve safety and accessibility for bicyclists and pedestrians near the Fairlee neighborhood.

The $1.3 million project is being funded through the Transform I-66 Outside the Beltway project.

Design approval for the project is scheduled for this fall, with construction beginning summer 2021.

The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 at Fairhill Elementary School (3001 Chichester Lane) with a presentation starting at 7 p.m.

A bullet was fired into a home one block from the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station, but so far, that’s about all police are saying about the incident.

Police say the incident occurred 2600 block of Avenir Place on Saturday (March 2) around 2 a.m.

“A woman was lying in bed with her mother when a bullet shot through their bedroom window,” police said in a crime report. “No injuries were reported.”

Police said they were still investigating the incident and working to determine the source of the bullet.

Photo via Google Maps

Fairfax County officials are hoping a new lane restriping on Pimmit Hills streets can trick speeders into slowing down.

At a meeting at Westgate Elementary last night (Monday), Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) staff said that Lisle Avenue — a main traffic route through Pimmit Hills — and Pimmit Drive are not wide enough to add bike lanes while maintaining street parking.

But staff said adding clear designators of the parking spots could give the street a “narrowing effect” that has been shown to reduce excessive speeding.

The actual size of the lanes doesn’t change, but the narrowing can have a psychological impact on drivers and reduce the feeling of wide-open roads that lulls drivers into the idea that it’s safe to speed.

“We see reductions in outlying speeds of 10-20 miles above the speed limit on traditionally wide roads,” said Chris Wells, bicycle and pedestrian program manager for FCDOT. “These narrower streets benefit in eliminating the fastest speeders.”

Normally, Wells said he would like to see bicycle lanes added, which would also have the narrowing effect, but that the only way to introduce bike lanes would have been to take away street parking.

The lane changes are being planned as part of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s planned repaving of the entire Pimmit Hills Neighborhood.

Allison Richter, liaison for Fairfax and Arlington counties for VDOT, said that Pimmit Hills had been on the schedule for a while, but water line work in the area meant VDOT held off because they didn’t want to put down asphalt only for it to be torn up again.

The timeline of when the repaving and restriping will take place is vague, occurring sometime between April and November. Richter said VDOT lets contractors select their own schedule as a cost-saving measure, but more exact dates will be known closer to when work starts.

At the meeting, a half dozen local residents also urged officials to look at the intersection of Pimmit Drive and Route 7, which they said is terrible for pedestrians and faces frequent backups into the Trader Joe’s parking lot. Wells said staff would look into what could be done to improve the location, but they’re restrained at the moment to the project’s scope.

Photo via Google Maps

Vienna police were called last week for a report of a drive-by paintballing.

The incident happened last Monday, around 4:45 p.m., at the intersection of Marshall Road and Ware Street, SW.

“A resident reported that her vehicle was struck with a paintball on the driver side door while she was driving from Ware Street turning onto Marshall Road,” Vienna PD said in a crime report. “She did not observe anyone in the area.”

Photo via Google Maps

GO Bus, a bus line that operates throughout the northeast, has added an additional stop in Tysons.

According to a press release, the new stop will be at the Tysons Corner Metro station.

From the press release:

For the D.C. and Virginia service to/from New York City, this new stop joins five other stops in the D.C./Virginia metro area, and is the 13th stop overall in the GO Buses network.  Other existing stops in the region include L’Enfant Plaza (C Street SW in D.C.), Eastern Market (Pennsylvania Avenue SE in D.C.), the Eisenhower Avenue Metro Station in Alexandria, the Fairfax/GMU Metro station in Vienna, and the Manassas commuter lot on Cushing Road in Manassas. The New York City stop is in Midtown Manhattan (30th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues).

While the press release boasts fares as low as $18, the lowest Tysons to New York City tickets available over the next month are $22.

This isn’t the first new affordable Tysons-New York line to open up. Last November, OurBus opened a new line to New York for around the same price.

Photo courtesy Go Bus

Fairfax County is planning to include McLean in a new targeted economic revitalization plan.

The proposed Economic Revitalization and Redevelopment Zones (ERRZs) would allow developers a 5-10 percent fee reduction for site plan reviews and a partial real estate tax abatement for properties consistent with the county’s Comprehensive Plan. A staff report noted that developments approved through the ERRZ pipeline could also see expedited processing.

The plan is the result of legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 2017 that allowed regulatory flexibility and financial incentives to encourage private sector growth.

“An inter-departmental team developed and vetted with industry a proposal for a program in Fairfax County to provide an economic development opportunity to the private sector consistent with the legislation,” Fairfax County staff said in the report.

In order to qualify for the program, developments would need to have two parcels that collectively comprise at least two acres in size. Smaller acreages could be considered with Board of Supervisors review.

The ERRZs would be located in the Commercial Revitalization Districts first established in 2004.

In addition to McLean, new ERRZs would be established in:

• Annandale
• Baileys Crossroads
• Springfield
• Lake Anne Village Center
• Richmond Highway Business Centers
• The Huntington Transit Station Area
• The Lincolnia Community Business Center
• Franconia-Springfield Transit Station Area

At tomorrow’s (Tuesday) Board of Supervisors meeting, the scheduling of a public hearing for the ERRZ ordinance is included in the items scheduled for administrative approval. If approved, a public hearing would be scheduled for April 9. If adopted, the changes would take effect on Jan. 1, 2020 and would last until Dec. 31, 2029.

Photo via Fairfax County

The Weekly Planner is a roundup of 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 (March 4)

• McLean CBC Study Task Force — 7-9 p.m. at Fairfax County McLean Government Center (1437 Balls Hill Rd) — Tonight the task force developing policy recommendations for downtown McLean’s future will continue looking at where the rural transitions to urban in McLean. Staff is also scheduled to present potential land use scenarios.

Tuesday (March 5)

• McLean Citizens Association Meeting with Superintendent Scott Brabrand — 7 p.m. at Mclean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Ave) — At an MCA-hosted meeting, the Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent is scheduled to discuss priorities and challenges facing the schools, particularly regarding the overcrowding at McLean High School. Residents will be able to ask Brabrand questions.

Thursday (March 7)

• 2019 Philadelphia Flower Show — 6:45 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Ave) — The McLean Community Center will be hosting an all-day trip to Philadelphia to see 10 acres of landscapes and gardens. The trip is $138, or $133 for McLean residents, and includes transportation, tickets to the show, a morning snack and driver’s tip.
• 2019 Shape of the Region Conference — 8-11:45 a.m. at Valo Park (7950 Jones Branch Dr) — The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia will host a conference looking at the economic inequality in the region and how closing that divide can help businesses. Registration is $65.
• Adventures in History: Ancient Egypt — 4:30-5:30 at Dolley Madison Library (1244 Oak Ridge) — Library staff will host a class for kids ages 6-12 on ancient Egyptian history, featuring games, stories and skill-building exercises. The event will include a costume contest.

Sunday (March 10)

• Jazz Brunch at Blackfinn — 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Blackfinn Ameripub Merrifield (2750 Gallows Road) — The bar and eatery near the Mosaic District is hosting a relaxing Sunday brunch featuring live music from the Blue Dot Jazz Troupe. Seating is first come, first served with free admission.
• 2019 Trombone Summit — 2 p.m. at Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave E) — University of North Texas’ “U Tubes” and the Capitol Bones will host a trombone festival at Jammin Java.

Photo via Facebook

One local site aims to bring slugging — the practice of informal carpooling for commuters — into the 21st century with a Facebook group and app to connect Beltway and I-66 riders and drivers.

Sluglines is a site that uses social media and an app to link commuters for shared rides.

Morning commuters are picked up in Northern Virginia and dropped off in Arlington or D.C., and picked up from those locations in the afternoon to driven back into Northern Virginia. Among the Northern Virginia stops is one at the Vienna Metro station’s southern kiss-and-ride.

The group is self-governed by participants and no money is exchanged between riders and drivers.

According to the Facebook group:

• Drivers post pickup location, pickup time, drop off location and the number of seats available. Drivers post before 6 a.m. for morning rides and 12 p.m. for afternoon rides.
• Riders respond to the driver’s post
• Riders request only if there are no rides that fits them.

The app includes information on how drivers can take advantage of I-66 HOT lanes.

The rides are first come, first serve. Most of the site’s suggested rules and etiquette are general courtesy items like “play acceptable news or music” and “no personal grooming in the car.”

A similar app, Sameride, includes commuter routes through Tysons.

Photo via Facebook

In what is a best-case scenario for an elected official, County Supervisor John Foust and others at last week’s Fairfax County Budget meeting in McLean said the new year’s spending plan has been fairly uncontroversial.

“In prior years it’s been much more controversial,” said Foust. “The budget this year seems to be generally accepted. People are happy that we’re holding the tax rate flat and I know people are thrilled that we’re able to fully fund the school operating budget.”

Others in the McLean Citizens Association said that the biggest talking point in the audience was concern over the McLean High School overcrowding, which is currently a School Board issue rather than a County Board one.

Foust noted that a leader of a local parent group spoke up and asked Superintendent Scott Brabrand about redistricting the school. At a School Board meeting last week, Brabrand said an update on solutions for McLean High School overcrowding would be released sometime in March.

Foust said 3.8 percent revenue growth, much of it driven by new development in Tysons, has given the Board flexibility to fund the School Board’s budget and funding for county priorities like gang and opioid prevention efforts. Foust said some of the biggest new items in this year’s budget are a series of environmental initiatives to address climate-change related issues.

But Foust also said one of the biggest criticisms of the budget has been that it doesn’t give enough to the county’s affordable housing programs.

“One issue that is not funded the way advocates would like to see funded is affordable housing,” said Foust. “There’s been so little concern expressed about this budget, but the extent that I’ve heard has been that we need to do more about affordable housing. I think the Board of Supervisors agrees and we’re working on that.”

Foust also said that there are concerns about the budget skipping a pay-raise for employees.

“There are concerns by employees that as advertised the Board does not pay full market rate adjustment to county employees,” said Foust. “We’re looking at our options to see if there’s anything to help find money in the budget to pay a little bit more.”

Public budget meetings are being held in each of Fairfax’s districts, but anyone wishing to address the Board of Supervisors directly regarding the budget is invited to speak at public hearings on April 9 and 11.

The Vienna Town Council will review two projects along Maple Avenue in a work session tonight (Monday), after indicating concerns that developers are trying to skirt zoning regulations by pushing their proposed heights a bit higher than current limits might allow.

The 380 Maple development is a proposed mixed-use building with 7,500 square feet of ground floor retail and 40 residential condominiums on three floors. The building includes one floor of underground parking and two floors of structure above-ground parking, but staff noted that the applications calls for an extra half-floor added to the mix, beyond current limits in the area.

“Staff notes that the applicant is proposing a half-floor of parking between the first story and second story of the building, beyond the four stories allowed per code,” staff said in a project overview. “The applicant is applying for a modification of requirement for the additional half-story.”

While approving of greater levels of parking available at the site, Councilmember Douglas Noble said at a meeting last week that he was concerned the additional half-story would still be contrary to the Maple Avenue zoning code’s five-story limit.

Meanwhile, the Sunrise Assisted Living project, a four-story building with 85 assisted living units and 7,700 square feet of first-floor commercial space, is also requesting a “half-story” space.

“Staff notes that the applicant is proposing a half-story space to include additional lobby and common spaces for the assisted living facility between the first story and second story of the building, beyond the four stories allowed per Code,” staff said in the project overview. “The applicant is applying for a modification of requirement for the additional half-story.”

An additional item listed as “limiting discussion with developers” was also added to the agenda at the request of Councilmembers Pasha Majdi and Howard Springsteen, two of the leading opponents to the controversial Maple Avenue Commercial developments last year.

Image via Town of Vienna Planning and Zoning