Commitments to maintaining existing facilities and expanding the town’s pedestrian network are just two of the items on the Vienna Parks and Recreation Department’s to-do list for the next decade.
Formally approved by the Vienna Town Council on July 7 with only Councilmember Roy Baldwin opposed, the town’s first-ever parks and recreation master plan — dubbed “Our Plan to Play” — lays out a vision that will help guide future programming and funding decisions, identifying existing gaps and potential improvements.
“Our Plan to Play represents a shared commitment to keeping our community active, connected and thriving, and we’re proud of the collaborative work that brought us to this point,” Vienna Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Nicole Falceto said when presenting the document to the town council.
Town staff and the consulting firm Kimley-Horn, which was contracted for $236,230, began developing the master plan back in December 2023 with an evaluation of current facilities and services. The result was also shaped by public input that included community workshops, interviews with specific interest groups and organizations, and an online survey that drew over 1,200 responses.
According to the report, 92% of survey respondents expressed satisfaction with the quality and condition of the town’s existing parks and rec facilities, but they identified restrooms, weather and shade structures, seating, water fountains and fitness equipment as the amenities most lacking in parks and green spaces.
Swimming pools emerged as the biggest “unmet need,” echoing the results of the Annex feasibility study that led town leaders to consider building an aquatics facility on the former Faith Baptist Church site at 301 Center Street South. After contemplating a meals tax increase to support the project, the town decided instead to set aside $200,000 in its fiscal year 2026 budget, the beginnings of a reserve fund.
Walking paths or sidewalks, trails and fitness centers also ranked high in importance.
Analysis of existing amenities
An analysis of the town’s facilities, combined with Fairfax County sites within a 15-minute drive, found shortfalls of paved and “soft” trails, outdoor fitness amenities, splash pads and skating spots based on national standards.
“Vienna residents are interested in more means to exercise (walking paths, sidewalks, trails, and fitness areas) and facilities accommodating aquatic uses,” Kimley-Horn said in the master plan. “A skatepark or skate spot may be an example of a shortfall for the Town, but if interest is limited by residents, it may not warrant addressing within the park system. It will be the Town’s responsibility to continue to track resident interests and trends and whether these needs are met by the Town or by another authority.”
However, at the July 7 meeting, some town council members questioned the rationale for which facilities were counted in the inventory. The membership-only Vienna Aquatic Club and Vienna Woods Swim and Dive Club swimming pools weren’t included, for instance, and the Washington & Old Dominion Trail was left out because it’s owned by NOVA Parks and only has a portion inside town limits.
Kimley-Horn project manager David Samba said planners focused on amenities that are in the town and publicly owned “because that’s what you have the most control over.”
Councilmember Chuck Anderson suggested that the question of ownership isn’t that relevant when the inventory is intended to show the town’s capacity for and access to various amenities.
“I certainly would include W&OD because almost everybody has access to that, so that should be put in,” he said. “That makes the shortfall [for paved trails] much smaller, and that, I think, is a more representative way of looking at it for us as policymakers for where we need to put our money.”
Samba countered that including the W&OD Trail and erasing the paved trails shortfall could gloss over a lack of shared-use paths as connections between different parks, but he and Falceto confirmed that a detailed dataset showing what was included in the analysis and why will be an appendix in the final master plan.
Pocket park proposed for Robinson property
The plan also includes a variety of recommendations for operational and service improvements, along with a case study evaluating the viability of parks and recreation uses for the former home of the late mayor Charles Robinson and his wife and former council member Maud Robinson.
Located at 124 Courthouse Road, the 0.75-acre property could function as a pocket park with either active or passive recreational amenities, the study found. Concepts for both approaches were developed based on feedback from town staff, with the consultant estimating potential costs ranging from $2.1 to $3 million.
“This pocket park could serve the surrounding residents and become a retreat from the main commercial throughway,” the report says.
Other recommendations
According to the master plan, Vienna should bring its parks and rec budget — currently around $5.7 million for 2026 — up to $7.5 million by 2036 to keep up with inflation, though it would need to aim higher ($9.5 to $11.5 million) if it wants to support a “new functional area,” such as an aquatics facility, in the future.
When sharing the plan, Falceto stressed that it’s intended to be a flexible “framework for future priorities without locking us into a rigid timeline or financial commitments.”
An overview of some of the master plan’s more notable recommendations is below. After being updated based on the town council’s final feedback, the full plan will be published on the Town of Vienna website, though it wasn’t available yet as of press time.
Operations and maintenance
- Prioritize maintenance and improvement of existing facilities above all other initiatives
- Establish systemwide standards for equipment and signage
- Implement town-wide rebranding of parks and facilities
- Prioritize accessibility for all ages and needs
- Set accessibility requirements for all programs, services and projects
- Conduct accessibility assessment of all facilities for ADA compliance issues
- Expand free WiFi availability in parks
Financial sustainability
- Pursue new funding avenues
- Consider capital fundraising campaigns for major projects
- Establish criteria for considering naming rights and donations to support major capital projects
- Dedicate staff to identify and manage grants
- Establish tiered system for recovering program/service costs, similar to the model adopted by Reston Association
- Develop policies and criteria for providing financial assistance
Advancing parks and infrastructure
- Implement two capital projects over next 10 years to enhance offerings
- Consider alternative sites, such as the Beulah Road yard previously used for mulching operations, before developing aquatics and fitness center
- Develop vacant properties with recreational or natural features
- Create town-wide playground plan to assess current conditions and guide future improvements
- Expand trail and sidewalk connections to ensure all residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park
- Enhance conservation and management of natural resources
- Fully develop Tree Advocacy Committee created last year
- Consider requiring 25% or more of neighborhood parks and “signature sites” to be conservation open space
- Use parks and “small spaces” to demonstrate sustainability practices, such as pollinator meadows and rain gardens
- Improve facilities in “under-served” quadrants
- Focus on the town’s northwest and southeast quadrants, particularly for basketball courts, pavilions and trails
Programs, services and events
- Partner with educational institutions, religious organizations and Fairfax County for more indoor programming space
- Consider further expanding after-school programs
- Expand arts and culture programming
- Support potential redevelopment of the Vienna Public Arts Commission
- Collaborate with arts councils, museums, libraries, music venues and other cultural organizations
Marketing and outreach
- Expand volunteer opportunities to support parks programs and facilities
- Establish a volunteer coordinator
- Evaluate events and remove ones with low impact or effectiveness
- Develop an online app with maps, general information and other function “to enhance participants’ experience at events”
Investments in staff and partnerships
- Expand partnerships to support parks and rec operations
- Offer prioritization, price reductions and other benefits to partners
- Evaluate the feasibility of creating a nonprofit foundation to raise funds for the department
- Create a task force to advocate for underrepresented groups, including seniors, people with disabilities, veterans and minorities
- Consider adding staff, including a designated marketing manager, maintenance and custodial workers, and support for the Club Phoenix Teen Center, given the “increasing costs of childcare and a growing need for after-school programs”
