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]
Len Forkas, a Reston-based businessman, is skiing to the North Pole in a few weeks to break the ice on support for kids with cancer.
The 63-year-old — who is described as an “ultra-endurance athlete” — plans to ski 60 miles to the North Pole in order to raise money for Hopecam, a nonprofit organization he founded that connects children undergoing cancer treatment with their friends.
“I know some people think I’m crazy,” Forkas said. “But I think of myself as crazy about Hopecam’s kids. I hope I’ve convinced everybody that I’ll go to any length to support them.”
For Forkas, the trek is will bring him one step closer to his goal of completing the Explorer’s Grand Slam, a physical challenge that includes a trek to the North Pole, the South Pole, and all the highest mountain peaks on each of the seven continents, known as the Seven Summits.
So far, Forkas has travelled to five of the Seven Summits. He hopes to check off this physical challenge by August 2024 in time for his 65th birthday.
He plans to fly to a Norwegian village at the end of the month to meet the expedition team. They will then fly to a temporary camp in the Arctic Ocean.
Forkas founded Hopecam through personal struggle.
In 2002, his son, Matt, was diagnosed with leukemia. Forkas received permission from Fairfax County Public Schools to install a webcam in the classroom of a school in Great Falls to make sure Matt could participate. He began competing in ultra-endurance sports at the time of his son’s diagnosis.
“The exercise helped me cope with the stress of Matt’s illness,” he said. Matt, now 30, survived the bout of illness.
Forkas hopes to raise $60,000 for the nonprofit organization by matching the 60 miles he will ski to the North Pole. So far, the campaign has raised over $10,500, as of this morning.
With Hopecam, kids are provided with a tablet computer with a webcam, internet access if it’s unavailable, and assistance to work with the school so they can take part in some classroom activities and see their friends.
The nonprofit organization is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. It aims to overcome the social isolation that kids often experience while they receive cancer treatment.
“His North Pole journey presents a timely opportunity to showcase this noteworthy occasion,” Brett Fox, Hopecam’s development director, said.
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.
A traveling exhibition looking at the ins and outs of Prohibition in Virginia is coming this month to Reston Museum.
The Library of Virginia’s Teetotalers & Moonshiners exhibit will be on view between tomorrow (March 21) and April 29. Reston Museum will also showcase artifacts from its own collection of Bowman Distillery items.
The exhibition tells the story of Virginia’s Prohibition, including its history as part of a social reform movement, the economic and social costs of Prohibition and the role of government in overseeing public health.
Here’s from Reston Museum on the exhibit:
Distilled from the Library’s 1,200 square foot exhibition (on view through December 5, 2017), Teetotalers & Moonshiners uses the Library’s deep and compelling collections on this era, from humorous sheet music mocking the absurdities of Prohibition to blazing headlines in anti- and pro-liquor newspapers and broadsides. At the core of the story are the records of the state’s Prohibition Commission, which record the daily activities of its agents. A digital interactive component documents statewide prohibition trends and tells the personal stories of commission agents, bootleggers, and moonshiners. The exhibition is supported in part by the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the National Alcoholic Beverage Control Association. The Virginia Distillers Association provided support for the traveling exhibition.
Teetotalers & Moonshiners addresses the important and long-lasting effects of Prohibition on Virginia and America, including the prohibition movement as part of a social reform movement, the economic and social costs of Prohibition, including the closing of businesses and conflict within communities, and the rise of illegal alcohol production and sale as an underground culture and economy, the role of government in overseeing public health, and prohibition’s legacy–from NASCAR to the creation of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to the rise of the modern brewing and distilling industry.
The Library of Virginia was founded in 1823 to preserve the state’s printed and manuscript holdings. The exhibit is made possible in part with support from Virginia ABC and the Virginia Distillers Association.
Located at Lake Anne Plaza (1639 Washington Plaza North), Reston Museum is a nonprofit organization that aims to preserve Reston’s past, inform its present and influence the future of Reston.
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]
Voting for Reston Association’s Board of Directors’ election closes on March 31.
This year, 10 candidates are vying for five seats on the nine-member board. The results of the election will be announced at the annual members’ meeting in April.
The month-long voting period kicked off on March 1 at 5 p.m.
RA organized two virtual candidate forums in late February.
Margaret Perry is seeking an at-large candidate seat for three years. A Reston resident and RA member for more than 12 years, Perry says she hopes to boost active engagement of RA members, work towards an improved website, work with staff to improvve organizational functionally and procedures and find “fiscally responsible ways to maintain, improve and add additional facilities,” according to her candidate statement.
She is running against John Farrell, who has lived in Reston for nearly 40 years and currently serves on the board.
If elected, Farrell — who is also running for state delegate — says he would “demand all new residential development join Reston Association” in an effect to reduce annual assessments and demand recreational money from residential developers to pay for pools, tennis courts and other amenities.
Gene Zapfel, who recently retired from a career in consulting and technology management, hopes to maintain Reston’s “small-town cluster feel” while improving the community experience for current and future residents. He also hopes to balance the “explosive” growth in Reston’s Transit Station Areas with the “human-scale lifestyle” of surrounding areas.
Mike Collins, who has served on the board for the last three years, is seeking a three-year term as the apartment owners’ candidate.
“My main goal on the board will be to continue to make sure that RA maintains its focus on enhancing property values for members,” Collins wrote in a candidate statement.
He added that the board should not “let internal challenges and political issues distract us from this mission.”
Jalal Mapar, who has lived in Reston for more than 30 years, is vying for a two-year at-large seat. He hopes to establish a strategic plan to maintain Reston’s infrastructure and ensure the efficient use of resources to meet member needs.
Trevor Grywatch, the director of a global consulting firm, is vying for the same position. He hopes to maintain open and green space in the community and explore possibilities for a “more data-drive approach to, and, presentation of, RA’s current business practices.”
For the one-year at-large candidate seat, Michael Brandland, a Reston resident since 2014, hopes to “get all activities in Reston the proper distribution of funds and amenities equal to the number of participants,” according to his candidate statement.
Bob Petrine — a board member for the last three years — is also vying for that position. He hopes to focus on fiscal stewardship, active engagement of membership and advocacy for the community.
Although the seat for Hunters Woods/Dogwood director is not contested, a quorum of 19% of eligible voters is required to officiate the results. Travis Johnson, a Reston resident for more than 14 years, is running for that seat.
He hopes to work with staff to “improve the Association processes that serve Restonians, to use the technology available to us in the 21st Century to more effectively communicate with Restonians and to make all Restonians feel included in the community,” he wrote.
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.
Updated at 4:05 p.m. — Yesterday’s meeting on a potential Lake Audubon renaming was suspended after 20 minutes due to a medical emergency. The meeting will be rescheduled, but an exact date hasn’t been determined yet, Reston Association spokesperson Mike Leone says.
Earlier: Months after floating the possibility of a name change for Lake Audubon, Reston Association is beginning initial conversations with the community.
RA planned to hold a meeting on the idea of renaming the lake yesterday (Thursday) at the Walker Nature Center.
The meeting was strictly intended to “explore community sentiment on whether to rename Lake Audubon,” RA spokesperson Mike Leone said.
Leone told FFXnow that the meeting focused on getting input from members in the area around the lake on the possibility of a name change.
“Currently, no other meetings or discussions are scheduled on the renaming,” Leone wrote in a statement.
RA’s Board of Directors first pitched the idea at a December meeting. The motion was suggested by at-large director John Farrell, who later announced that he is running in the state delegate race to succeed Ken Plum.
Farrell is also seeking to retain his seat on the RA board, which has an election now underway.
The lake is named after 19th century artist and known enslaver John James Audubon.
In October 2021, the Audubon Naturalist Society — a major D.C. area conservation group — said it will change its name due to the “pain” caused by Audubon. The organization is now called Nature Forward.
The National Audubon Society, however, voted earlier this week to keep its name, even as local chapters of the bird conservation nonprofit — including the one in D.C. — move to drop it.
Strep Throat Diagnoses Rise in Fairfax County — “Data from emergency departments and urgent care centers in the community have shown an increase in the number of people who have been diagnosed with strep throat since late January 2023. For the week of March 5-11, there were more visits to ED and urgent care facilities for strep throat than at any time in the past 3 years” [Fairfax County Health Department]
BB Gun Appears During Fight at Annandale HS — “Video obtained by 7News captured a fight at Annandale High School in Fairfax County Wednesday where a BB gun ended up falling to the floor…Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) also confirmed to 7News the presence of the BB gun following the fight during a ‘class change.'” [ABC7]
Tysons Developers Pivot Away From Office — “Cityline Partners still has 4M SF of office space planned at its Scotts Run development in Tysons, but the only projects moving ahead at the vast site near the McLean Metro station are multifamily and hotel. With the region’s already weak office market not expected to recover in the near future, that trend is poised to continue.” [Bisnow]
West Springfield Student Wins Landmark Wrestling Title — “Elaina Primozic won the first Virginia girls wrestling state meet. Elaina entered the wrestling team as a manager, but after a few weeks, she emailed the coach to join the team. Elaina finished the season by winning the 156-pound title at the first Virginia High School League girls’ championships.” [FCPS/Facebook]
Board Chair Frustrated by Maryland’s Beltway Project Delays — “Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay (D) called Transurban’s decision in Maryland a setback to needed improvements at the American Legion Bridge, one of Fairfax County’s biggest traffic bottlenecks, and said the outcome was not in the long-term interest of Virginia or Maryland.” [Gazette Leader]
Mount Vernon Post Office Stays in Place — “The post office at Mount Vernon Plaza will remain in business at its current location, a spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) confirmed March 15 to On the MoVe.” The Washington Business Journal reported in December that the shopping center’s property manager had “filed suit against the USPS for unpaid rent,” giving the post office until Feb. 28 to vacate. [On the MoVe]
Herndon Library Gets “Maker Lab” — “The Maker Lab @ Herndon is a space designed for people who love to learn, discover, and explore…You will have access to a variety of tools and equipment, including a 3D printer, sewing machines, robots and more.” The facility’s grand opening will be celebrated tomorrow (Saturday) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. [Fairfax County Public Library]
Fairfax Woman Competes in Beauty Pageant — “On Saturday, Fairfax City resident Amini Bonane will be pursuing her quest to become the first Congolese woman to be crowned Miss Africa USA…Patch recently interviewed Bonane to find out about her experience growing up in Fairfax City and what led up to her becoming a Miss Africa USA contestant.” [Patch]
Nearby: Baby Bald Eagle Hatches in Loudoun — “On Tuesday, the eaglet hatched in the nest along the Dulles Greenway. The eaglet’s parents — Rosa and Martin — have two more eggs they’re incubating in the nest in a wetlands area of Leesburg, so wildlife experts are watching closely for those to hatch sometime this week.” [The Washington Post]
It’s Friday — Possible light rain in the afternoon and evening. High of 60 and low of 45. Sunrise at 7:18 am and sunset at 7:18 pm. [Weather.gov]
The Town of Herndon is instituting uniform sign standards in an effort to manage consistent design that fits its character and architectural context.
The proposal, which was adopted by the Historic District Review Board yesterday (Wednesday), would also streamline the number of cases that go before that board and the town’s Architectural Review Board.
“These standards give direction on the ways in which signage can serve practical needs while contributing to Town character and appearance,” the new design standards say.
Specific standards laid out for the town’s Historic District Overlay area say signs should typically follow a consistent design palette and ethic. The rules also discourage the use of standardized designs and colors that clash with the overall aesthetic of buildings.
“Creative and artistic designs are encouraged to enhance liveliness and visual interest,” the design standards say.
The guidelines also detail considerations for projecting signs, wall signs, free standing signs, canopy signs and awning signs. Similar standards are considered for the town’s Architectural Control District.
At a previous work session, board members said the design standards were too broad and not restrictive enough.
But in a March 15 memo, Herndon Deputy Director of Community Development Bryce Perry said that the board did not provide additional comments on possible changes.
“Staff is open to suggestions on how to add further specific to the standards,” Perry said, adding that additional specificity is included in other documents like the downtown pattern book.
He said the guidelines are crafted “purposefully to cover broad design considerations that could be applied to all sign cases.”
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay plans to introduce a board matter next week that would direct county staff to analyze a road safety measure called turn calming.
The measure would direct staff to look at cities like Portland and New York City that have established turn calming programs, as recommended in a March 1 letter from the county’s Trails, Sidewalks and Bikeways (TSB) Committee.
McKay plans to introduce the matter when the board meets Tuesday (March 21).
“When it comes to pedestrian safety in particular, we need every possible tool in our tool box,” McKay told FFXnow.
After a year that saw a high number of pedestrian fatalities in Fairfax County, the TSB wrote to McKay endorsing a turn-calming program as one way to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists in the county.
A turn calming program would make alterations to intersections with the goal of bringing down vehicle speeds during turns and reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities.
In an addendum to the letter, the TSB points to an education campaign, physical improvements such as “hardened” center lines, and other strategies as “essential components” of a turn calming program.
Shawn Newman, who represents the Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling on the TSB, says turn calming would push transportation planners to rethink how intersections are designed.
Right now, many right turn corners in the county are designed so that cars can make them at “a relatively high rate of speed,” he explained.
“A simple fix such as bumping the corner out a bit and making it closer to a 90-degree angle will force vehicles to slow down and be more careful on the turn,” Newman said. “Left turns can also be made safer by extending out the median to again force vehicles to slow down and drive more carefully.”
According to the TSB committee’s letter, intersections were the location of 54, or 45%, of the county’s pedestrian-involved vehicular crashes recorded in the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Crash Analysis Tool between 2015 and October 2022.
“Intersection-related accidents are likely due to several factors that would be addressed by a turn-calming program: many drivers are traveling at too high a speed through intersections, cut corners and accelerate through intersections, and have limited awareness of potential presence of pedestrians,” TSB Chairman Kenneth Comer wrote in the letter.
The TSB letter comes after the Board of Supervisors unanimously endorsed a Safe Streets for All program in May 2022. The letter identifies a turn calming program as the “most promising” step to prioritize along the county’s major arterial roads in addition to the program’s recommendations.
“It’s good that they passed that…but it hasn’t accomplished its goal yet,” Newman said. “The streets are not safe yet.”
VDOT maintains practically all of the county’s public roads, so the state agency would have to be involved. If the measures work, McKay says he would fight for them to be implemented.
“I don’t want to spend any resources on things that don’t statistically work,” McKay said.
The TSB letter also recommends the county resist any efforts by VDOT to remove a crosswalk at the Braddock Road and Kings Park Drive intersection in West Springfield, where a pedestrian was killed in December.
The design phase of the renovation at Reston’s Armstrong Elementary School is nearly complete.
The project — which would boost the building’s design capacity from 784 to 800 students and add 126,00 square feet of space — is on track to begin construction in the spring of 2024.
Completion is expected in the summer of 2026, according to project staff.
It will include a revamped administrative wing with a new main entrance, a new library, a new extension of a classroom wing, and two new Pre-K classrooms. Renovations are also planned for general learning classrooms and support spaces, bathrooms, plumbing and mechanical systems, and new outdoor play areas.
A community meeting on the project is slated for tonight (Thursday) in the school cafeteria of the school (11900 Lake Newport Road). The hour-long meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.
Because the project is in the design stage, only minor changes may be incorporated.
“At this stage in the design process, no major changes may be made but small adjustments may be considered,” Fairfax County Public Schools says.
It’s led by architect Hord Coplan Macht, with civil engineering by Pennoni and structural engineering by Ehlert Byran.
Permitting is expect to take roughly a year, according to a staff presentation. The project is funded by a 2021 bond.
The school currently has 362 students enrolled. It is ranked 49 of 63 schools in the school system’s renovations queue, which was approved in 2009.
Man Arrested for Pointing Laser at Police Chopper — Fairfax County police detectives arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly pointing a laser at the department’s Fairfax 1 helicopter around 11:25 p.m. on Saturday (March 11). The Fairfax 1 crew was assisting Virginia State Police with a search and traced the laser’s source to an apartment in the 9200 block of Ashland Woods Lane. [FCPD/Facebook]
Dunn Loring Metro Escalator Replacements Underway — Metro began work on Monday (March 13) to replace the two platform escalators at the Dunn Loring station, part of a push to upgrade 130 escalators in the rail system by 2028. Construction will be done on one escalator at a time, with the open one being treated as stairs. The project is expected to take about eight months, finishing around the end of October. [WMATA]
Park in Springfield Gets New Name — The Franconia District’s transition continues with the Fairfax County Park Authority Board approving “Grove Point Park” as the new name of Franconia District Park. The move avoids confusion with Franconia Park in Groveton — formerly known as Lee District Park — and helps “connect the new name of the park with surrounding neighborhoods.” [FCPA]
Chantilly Pizza Chain Eyes Expansion — “More than a decade after selling its first Italian restaurant franchise, Paisano’s plans a major expansion that would nearly double its D.C.-area footprint, and stretch it much further along the East Coast. The pizza chain, with more than two-dozen Greater Washington locations and roughly 75 in all, aims to add 200 total new spots by 2026.” [Washington Business Journal]
Renovated Merrifield Office Building Features ‘Treehouse’ — “Bridge Investment Group recently completed amenity renovations to Willow Oaks Corporate Center at 8280 Willow Oaks Corporate Boulevard…Renovations include the run-of-the-mill amenity updates, like a fitness center, coffee bars and a new cafe, but the renovation at the top of the building is a little different.” [WTOP]
Laser Hair Removal Clinic Opens in Tysons — LaserAway has opened its doors at The Boro. The company provides laser hair and tattoo removals as well as skin care services and products. Also at The Boro, ShowPlace ICON Theatre is reviving its $5 Tuesdays discounts this spring, which will be valid all day for all movies. [The Boro/Tysons Today]
GMU Backs Bringing FBI HQ to Springfield — “George Mason University is throwing its support behind the effort to attract the new FBI headquarters to Springfield, citing its academic programs that align with the FBI’s interests and its three campuses near the proposed site.” [Patch]
County Seeks Performers for New Farmers Market Season — “The Fairfax County Farmers Markets are seeking musicians to perform at local farmers markets. Musicians and singers are invited to apply online through the Music at Market website…Farmers markets are open Wednesdays through Sundays from April until December” [FCPA]
It’s Thursday — Clear throughout the day. High of 59 and low of 33. Sunrise at 7:19 am and sunset at 7:17 pm. [Weather.gov]
