The Fairfax County Department of Transportation is ready to take a hard look at the future of Gallows Road.

The department will introduce a Gallows Road Multimodal Study with two public meetings next week, seeking feedback on enhancing mobility and safety along the major road between Tysons and Annandale. It will also give an update on the current travel conditions.

According to FCDOT communications head Freddy Serrano, the study is needed to address various transportation and connectivity challenges in the Gallows Road corridor.

“[Those include] pedestrian and bicycle facilities, limited mobility options, traffic conditions, and barriers created by I-495,” he said. “It aims to explore opportunities to mitigate these barriers and improve multimodal mobility between the planned land uses on the east and west sides of the interstate.”

Serrano says the goal is to find solutions and improve accessibility for everyone who uses the corridor, while supporting planned development.

Merrifield in particular is poised for growth. This spring, the county designated proposals to redevelop aging buildings in the area as top priorities for review, and plans to convert former Inova office buildings into live/work units recently raised concerns about traffic backups at the Gallows and Gatehouse Road intersection.

“Additionally, the study is essential for securing funding and planning for transportation infrastructure projects that align with the goals of the comprehensive plan and accommodate future development,” Serrano said.

The study stems from a comprehensive plan amendment that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved in 2019, opening up the Merrifield Suburban Center to more mixed-use development. With the vote, the board also directed staff to:

• Conduct a comprehensive study of multimodal transportation opportunities
• Study the barriers to connectivity in the Merrifield suburban center created by I-495, and opportunities to mitigate the barriers
• Develop a funding plan for the transportation infrastructure improvements recommended in the Merrifield suburban center comprehensive plan.

The study started late last year, and it’s expected to wrap up by 2024.

“Overall, the study aims to improve transportation infrastructure and connectivity within the Merrifield suburban center and along Gallows Road to support sustainable development and enhance mobility for residents and stakeholders in the area,” Serrano said.

The first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 19. at 7 p.m. and will be virtual. A second meeting will be held in person at Luther Jackson Middle School (3020 Gallows Road) on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.

Comments will be accepted until the end of the business day on Friday, Oct. 6.

Shoplifting and assaults have gone up in Fairfax County so far this year, the county police department’s mid-year crime data shows.

The department released the report in coordination with the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA), which ranks the nation’s 70 largest police departments by four crime categories: homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The report covered data from January to June.

Of all the reported offenses, shoplifting saw the largest uptick in the county, with numbers up by 50% to 3,736 incidents. There were 2,489 shoplifting incidents reported in the same time frame last year. Residential burglaries also increased by 20 incidents.

The county reported 15 carjackings — a small increase from 13 last year. There have been 45 more auto thefts, but thefts from vehicles and of vehicle parts have both declined. The Fairfax County Police Dpartment targeted those crimes last month as part of a summer-long crime prevention initiative.

“Our unwavering commitment to public safety drives our efforts to implement targeted patrols and deploy advanced crime prevention strategies, ” a news release read.

The number of assault offenses increased more than 13%, jumping from 4,348 to 4,931. In addition, about 15% more people have been charged this year with assaulting family members, a category that increased from 702 by the end of June in 2022 to 816 in 2023.

However, murders and forcible sex offenses decreased from 12 to 10 and 194 to 192, respectively.

Despite upticks in some categories, the police departments said the county is still the safest of its size.

“When all MCCA police departments are ranked by violent crime rating, we are proud to say Fairfax County remains the safest jurisdiction of its size,” the FCPD said.

Best Buns Bakery & Burgers is adding another location to the Northern Virginia region. The bread company is opening a location in Springfield towards the end of this year, adding to locations in Shirlington and Vienna.

Erica Herrera, a spokesperson for the company, confirmed the opening to FFXnow. She said since opening in 1995, the Shirlington Best Buns location has grown in popularity while producing all the burger buns for Great American Restaurants’ 15 restaurant locations.

“It has grown so popular as a neighborhood mainstay for freshly baked breads, breakfast sandwiches, pastries, sandwiches, cakes, and cupcakes that we are moving our home-made burger buns for all our locations to Springfield,” Herrera said, adding that the Vienna location is also growing steadily.

The new location will be across the street from Mike’s American Grill, located in the Concord Shopping Centre.

“The Springfield location will also offer burgers, breads, cookies, sandwiches, salads, and fresh pastries made in house throughout the day,” Herrera said.

She said given the popularity, the company is actively looking to open additional locations in Virginia.

In an effort to reverse a decrease in the tree canopy, Vienna’s government is taking another step towards tree preservation and plantings. Last week, the town council discussed proposed amendments to enhance tree canopy, including moving forward with a tree conservation ordinance and the possible creation of an independent tree commission.

Town Attorney Steven Brigalia said the tree conservation ordinance would put the town in line with Fairfax County, which has had conservation rules since 1990. He said it would require builders to indicate which trees can and cannot be saved before cutting them. 

“They are still allowed to develop their property,” Brigalia said. “But they have to upfront identify the trees and give justification if they’re going to take out trees, and then they still have to meet a canopy requirement.” 

Under the town’s current canopy requirements, developers are only required to replace eliminated trees to meet canopy standards. Also, for single-family residential lots, builders must provide enough trees to cover at least 20% of the lot after 20 years. A conservation ordinance would increase that 20-year standard to 25%. 

Brigalia said the town would have to provide provisions if they increase the standard to 25%. For example, if a developer says they are unable to preserve a 25% canopy, they would pay into a tree bank or tree fund. 

There’s also a requirement for allowing additional credits for the developer if they provide certain types of trees. 

Brigalia also hopes to strengthen the town’s tree board. 

“There’s not a lot of authority for what they can do except advise the town on good tree planning processes and advise the town on planning on public property,” he said, adding that the board could eventually give recommendations of where to plant trees with money from the tree fund. 

Councilmember Howard Springsteen said he hadn’t heard of the tree board in his 14 years of service. 

“I never heard of it, so I rather have a tree commission that reports to council,” he said. 

Springsteen also said residents are starting to voice concern about the town’s tree coverage, prompting the need for the council to act according to council member Ray Brill.

“We need to set up something separate, that focuses on tree canopy if, in fact, we believe it’s an issue. I personally believe it’s an issue, and we need to focus on it and get it done and get it done,” Brill said.  

The council voted to refer the proposed ordinance to the planning commission for their consideration and review.  A public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for Oct. 23.  

The Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) is unveiling its first electric refuse trash truck today (Friday).

The truck will “pick up residential trash and yard waste on routes throughout the county,” DPWES announced. The county says the truck is “a move that will save money and protect the environment.”

The unveiling falls in line with the county’s strategy to make government operations carbon-neutral by 2040.

“Electric vehicles produce zero emissions, meaning cleaner air for Fairfax County. Electric vehicles are quieter, also reducing noise pollution. The electric truck saves residents money by requiring less overall maintenance and eliminating fuel costs,” the site reads.

The truck will join a fleet that already has 50 electric vehicles in operation, including four sedans used by DPWES. In addition, Fairfax County Public Schools has eight electric school buses.

Scott Peterson, vice chair of local environmental advocacy group Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, called the new trash truck a positive first step.

“We hope the trial is successful and that electric trash trucks in the county, both private and county-owned, will quickly become the new normal,” Peterson said. “Heavy trucks running through our neighborhoods won’t be polluting the air we all breathe, and they’ll be so much quieter, too.”

Charging stations have been installed at the DPWES Newington Collections facility at 6901 Allen Park Road, where the county is holding the unveiling.

“When the battery has less than 20 percent of power, it will take up to five hours to recharge. Once it’s on its route, this truck can hold up to seven tons of recycling and up to 12 tons of trash,” the county says.

The trucks cost the county roughly $350,000 and are paid for by the Department’s Solid Waste Management Program and a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality grant. The county expects to have a second electric truck in September.

The unveiling is open to the public, and several county lawmakers are scheduled to speak. The event starts at 11 am.

In its first public hearing last Wednesday (July 26), the Fairfax County Planning Commission heard from the community on its proposed overhaul of parking requirements.

The initiative known as Parking Reimagined puts forth changes to off-street parking, bicycle parking, and loading. Overall rates and regulations have not been comprehensively reviewed since 1988.

The county says the goal is “an evaluation of existing parking rates to determine if adjustments of requirements to meet current parking demand is appropriate, while also examining County administration of parking regulations.”

One of the most notable changes is a tiered system for off-street parking, where rates are based on a development’s gross square footage instead of the number of people served.

In a report released July 12, county staff called the system the “most critical new component” of Parking Reimagined. The proposal also allows the county to approve shared parking reductions and transit-based reductions of up to 30%.

Susan Jollie, president of the Hummer Woods Civic Association in Annandale, called the reduction in the minimum parking requirements “radical.”

“The proposed radical reductions in the minimum parking requirements will create numerous new problems while failing to secure the alleged public benefits,” Jollie said. She added that the proposal is controversial because of a failure to perform relevant research.

Dennis Hays, a representative for the Reston Citizen Association, points to the high number of residents who own a car within the county as a reason for opposition.

“The county’s website says that only 4% of U.S. households do not own a car,” Hays said. “That means 96% of household in Fairfax County have a car — 30% have more than one car possibly subject to that. So it’s not possible to simply say that everybody in this county is going to be able to ride their bike to Whole Foods, or hike out to the Blue Ridge Mountains on any given day.”

Earlier this month, the Reston Citizen Association wrote a letter of opposition to the county, saying proposal doesn’t fully consider the impact on Reston and the county.

The proposal saw some support from people who said it’s good for the county’s future.

Aaron Wilkowitz, vice president of Fairfax County’s chapter of YIMBYs of Northern Virginia, called the proposal a step in the right direction for the county.

“Parking minimums contribute to environmental destruction because parking lots themselves create heat islands retaining warmth from the sun,” Wilkowitz said. “Parking spaces increased car dependency, which leads to more smog and carbon emissions and parking spaces worsen housing scarcity.”

Sonya Breehey, Northern Virginia advocacy manager for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said the proposal will benefit housing and climate.

“The proposed zoning amendment offers to better balance future parking demand with other communities like equity, affordability, environmental sustainability and effective land use,” she said.

Though the public hearing lasted more than four hours, the planning commission scheduled a second one for Sept. 13. After that, the matter is set to go before the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 26. If approved, the changes would go into effect on Jan 1.

(Updated at 9:05 a.m. on 7/26/2023) Fairfax County is currently the second largest suburban office market in the nation, with an inventory of 120 million square feet.

However, the current office vacancy rate sits at 16.7% — topping the county’s previous 10-year high, according to Stephen Tarditi, director of market intelligence at the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.

He called the office market “a lagging economic indicator” when presenting the data last Tuesday (July 18) to the Board of Supervisors economic advisory committee.

Despite the county’s vacancy rate, Tarditi said the demand for office leasing is increasing.

“Last year, we had 6.6 million-square-feet of office space leased, so we’re 37% below our pre-pandemic average,” he said. “And comparing that to 2021, we were about 4.5 million square feet.”

Almost half of the county’s office inventory was built before 1990, and Tarditi said the county is seeing a bifurcation in its office market, where older buildings are not being leased at the same rate as newer buildings.

Almost 5.9 million square feet of office space is slated to be demolished or converted into another use, most of it built before 1990, according to the presentation.

“The class B, class C inventory — that’s not seeing your net new tenant demand. It’s your trophy office buildings. In fact, the trophy office vacancy rate for Fairfax County is right around 10%, which is very healthy,” Tarditi said.

According to the data, coworking space is another strong sector in the office market, with demand increasing among more small businesses.

“I think more and more building operators — if there is vacant space and newer buildings — they’re looking to incorporate coworking space and have them graduate in that space,” Tarditi said.

National economic indicators that could have a potential effect on the county’s office market include mass layoffs and interest rates. Although the county is seeing a high vacancy rate, Tarditi highlighted some statistics that could indicate growth in office demand in the future.

Fairfax County now has 42,000 employee establishments (companies with employees and payroll) — a record number for the county, according to Victor Hoskins, CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.

“That shows that there would be future office demand as a new company is established,” Tarditi said.

The Fairfax County Park Authority wants feedback on a draft plan to make county parks more equitable and accessible.

County staff is collecting input on its Parks, Recreation, Open Space, and Access (PROSA) Strategy through an online survey and two virtual workshops scheduled this month. The second round of community engagement comes as the FCPA prepares to finalize the strategy later this year. 

FCPA Director Jai Cole said the strategy will guide the park authority toward improved accessibility, park equity, and a “stronger balance of park experiences countywide.”

“The cutting-edge research which we’ve undertaken, coupled with the valuable insights we’ve received by way of community input, will be invaluable tools in our work to ensure equitable access to our park system,” Cole said.

According to the county, top priorities of the draft PROSA report include:

• Ensuring all community members have access to FCPA parks within a 10-minute walk
• Enhancing access to “complete park experiences”
• Enriching habitat connectivity between environmental corridors
• Analyzing and prioritizing recreation needs and projects with an equity lens, as required by the county’s One Fairfax policy

According to the report, approximately 52% of residents have access to a county park within a 10-minute walk from their home.

Emphasizing its vision of ensuring residents can get to a park without driving, the report states that barriers can include the presence of large roadways with limited pedestrian crossings, a lack of sidewalks, remote park entryways and natural features, such as a stream or forested area.

“Opportunities to remove barriers and improve park access range from adding a trailhead or a new park entrance where feasible, to partnering with an agency to add a crosswalk, or acquiring parkland,” the PROSA report says.

Enhancing accessibility is also about improving the access visitors have to active, “passive,” social and natural or cultural recreation, according to the report, which proposes that the park authority develop parks with limited activities, acquire parkland, and collaborate with other public agencies to achieve its goal.

The objective of enriching habitat connectivity is centered on preserving and enhancing the county’s current and future natural environment.

“Improving habitat connectivity is a critical strategy for addressing habitat loss and fragmentation, a top threat to biodiversity,” the report reads.

The FCPA will identify sites where habitat health could improve, plant trees to bolster area with lower tree canopy, and consider opportunities to improve habitat connectivity when acquiring parkland.

The report commits the park authority to considering “racial and social equity and population density when prioritizing park and recreation needs and projects in order to diminish racial and social inequities within our community.”

The first round of community engagement on the PROSA strategy wrapped up last fall. The virtual workshop for the second round of community engagement is scheduled for July 18 and July 25. Comments through the online survey will be accepted through Aug. 6. 

Registration for the online survey and workshops is available on the PROSA webpage.

Sheila Pauline Comstock (Age 71)

Sheila Pauline Comstock, 71, unexpectedly passed away on June 10th, 2023 at her home in Nags Head, NC. She will be deeply missed by her friends and family. Sheila was born in Toledo, Ohio. She was raised in a large family with 6 brothers and sisters and would go on to have five children of her own and raise them with her husband, Robert “Bobby” Comstock, in Woodbridge, Virginia.

She was happiest when caring for others, always making sure every mouth was fed and head had a roof. She fostered three children in addition to her five, and she would become a grandmother to 13 and great grandmother to 4. She was a skilled event planner and manager, but she took pride in being a mother most.

She loved being surrounded by her family most of all. Sheila is survived by her husband, Robert “Bobby” Comstock; her children, John David Deardorff Jr. (Fiona Deardorff), Ian Michael Comstock (Lisa Molina), Torey Lhe Ossman (Phil Watson), Robert “Keith” Comstock, Andrew Jones; her grandchildren, John Deardorff III (Alexandra McMahon), Cassandra Deardorff-Villare (Jason Villare) Mikaila Caggese (Sonny Caggese), Brandon Deardorff (Alesha Martinec), Collin Ossman, Luke Gapinski, Taylor Comstock, Kyle Ossman, Brooke Comstock, Aden Comstock, Kaiden Comstock, James Boice, Luke Boice, Arabella McCalla; her great-grandchildren Bradley Deardorff, Sebastian Deardorff, Colton Deardorff, and Sienna Caggese, and her siblings Jean Overly, Janet Ludwig, Kathleen Cook (William Cook), Dewey “Butch” Kessler (Deb Kessler), Kerri Kessler, Patricia & Kenneth Swecker as well as a long list of cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. Preceded in death by her sons Travis Kelly Deardorff, Marcus Thompson, and her brother Keith Kelvin Kessler.

Sheila will be missed but her legacy will live on through all of the lives she’s touched during her time on earth.

Donations can be made to Mane & Tail Horsemanship Academy for children and adults with disabilities in Sheila’s honor:
117 Buster Newbern Rd
Jarvisburg NC 27947

Fairfax County wants to bridge the gap between employers and qualified talent through a work-based learning opportunity initiative.

Talent Up will match local employers facing hiring challenges with qualified talent through paid temporary-to-permanent work-based learning internships, staff explained to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at an economic initiatives committee meeting last week.

According to the presentation, Talent Up will offer a variety of solutions to employers facing hiring challenges:

• Targets hard-to-fill, entry-level professional gateway jobs
• Repositions work-based learning as low-risk temporary to permanent hiring on-ramp
• Incentivizes employer participation by underwriting work-based learning wages
• Advises employers on revising job descriptions to focus on skills-based hiring, increasing the pool of qualified applicants by up to 50%
• Easy access to hundreds of candidates via talent development partners

“There’s a lot of movement going on in the workforce space right now — movement towards skills-based hiring, and we believe that this can dramatically accelerate that movement,” Bill Browning, workforce innovation manager at the Fairfax County Department of Family Services, said of the initiative.

The focus will be on gateway jobs such as information technology specialists, accounting clerks, sales representatives, and office administrative support.

“These are entry-level professional jobs, where there’s reams of data showing that they’re great springboards for future advancement and career advancement for candidates,” Browning added.

According to his presentation, Fairfax County had more than 67,000 job openings in May of this year, and 71% of employers in Northern Virginia reported it being more difficult to fill jobs now than last year, or even just a few months ago.

The initiative will also address what Browning called the “missing middle.”

“We’re looking at middle-skilled jobs that require some skills beyond high school, but perhaps not a college degree,” he said. “And we’re also looking at some of those midsize employers that don’t have some of the advantages large employers have.”

How it works:

• Business outreach: Initial focus on small to medium-sized employers
• Advise: Address hard to fill occupations and sponsor new temporary-to-permanent internships
• Match: Talent partners’ referrals to generate qualified candidates to interview
• Choose: Employers select interns
• Support: Coaching and training support during internship to increase success rates
• Success: Convert internships into full-time offers or place interns into new jobs

Theresa Benincasa, manager of economic mobility with the Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives, said the plan is to get started right away with the board’s approval.

“We’re going to just go ahead and do a launch event in the fall with board approval. We’ll start doing events with workers to communicate, we’ll do some one-to-one engagement,” she continued.

To be eligible for Talent Up, employers must have a physical presence in Fairfax County and be ready to establish a work-based learning internship.

Job seekers must be county residents, meet the skills requirements of an open internship and be impacted by pandemic-related unemployment, underemployed or seeking greater economic mobility.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay voiced support for the initiative, saying it builds resilience.

“If you can help some folks move into these jobs, not only do we help our employers, we help those individuals. But it’s a resilience thing where their lives can change dramatically for the better,” he said.

The program will seek the board’s approval at the July 11 meeting.

Photo via Eric Prouzet/Unsplash