Vienna is considering several options to improve parking availability along its commercial corridor.

At a conference session on April 15, the Vienna Town Council reviewed recommendations to its update zoning laws, promote shared parking and improve signage, aiming to optimize downtown parking usage and reduce traffic in busy areas.

The recommendations were informed by a recent parking study conducted by the town’s consultant, Nelson Nygaard. The study included a survey completed in February 2023 that got responses from over 700 residents and visitors who shared feedback about their experiences parking in the town.

According to the survey, respondents most frequently visit areas between Maple Avenue and Church Street. They typically park in free lots or garages — with only about a third parking for more than two hours — and often no more than a block from their destination.

Survey participants noted that, while many businesses they visit have ample private parking, there is a significant lack of free public parking.

According to the study, 5,033 of the 5,221 parking spaces in the area are privately owned, leaving only 94 publicly owned spaces.

“During existing peak demand, many parking spaces are available in most locations,” town staff said in a presentation. “This is not a parking supply problem — it’s a parking management problem.”

To address the issue of under-utilization, the consultant suggested the town modify its zoning laws to allow more flexibility in parking requirements and encourage higher-density development.

For example, office and retail uses, including grocery stores, currently need one parking spot per 200 square feet of space. Staff recommended amending the minimum to four spaces per 1,000 square feet.

Another suggestion is to make better use of existing parking spaces by promoting shared parking agreements between different businesses and property owners. This would allow visitors to use the same parking facilities, tailored to different peak hours and specific parking needs.

Other potential strategies include improving signage to guide people to available parking spots, introducing metered on-street parking to encourage quicker turnover, promoting the use of public transit among visitors and adopting parking design standards to “achieve a vibrant streetscape and attractive walking conditions.”

After some discussion about the difficulties of finding parking for the town’s most popular shopping areas, such as the strip housing Chipotle and Crumbl Cookies, Councilmember Chuck Anderson cautioned against making “hot spots” the norm for parking requirements.

“Overall, we’re over-parked, and what that does, it drives up our rates, our leases. It reduces the amount of space we have. It doesn’t come without a cost,” Anderson said. “There’s always going to be hot spots — always. You try to work around those and minimize those by doing the shared parking that we eventually got around to at Chipotle. But essentially, if you try to solve the problem by going to the spaces that have the worst parking and considering that the norm, you’re going to end up with a lot of empty parking spaces in the rest of town.”

Mayor Linda Colbert confirmed that those areas are “outliers.”

Council members didn’t vote on any recommendations and plan to continue discussing the next steps.

(Updated at 11:50 a.m.) Fairfax City will soon invite community members to experience cuisines from Azerbaijan and the Caribbean to Ireland and Vietnam for its seventh annual Restaurant Week.

From Monday, Feb. 26 through Sunday, March 3, promotions will be available to diners at more than 25 restaurants, according to the event’s website.

Restaurants will offer prix fixe menus, setting prices at $25 for brunch/lunch and $40 for dinner. Specialty restaurants will offer a two-for-$10 deal, according to a press release.

“Restaurant Week is that nudge our residents get twice a year that says dining out is a community event,” City of Fairfax Mayor Catherine Read said in the press release. “Dining in the city can be a culinary trip around the world without needing a passport.”

Participating restaurants include:

Baku Delicious, Bellissimo, Commonwealth Brewing Co., Capital Ale House, Coyote Grille, Curry Mantra, Dolce Vita, Draper’s Steak & Seafood, Earp’s Ordinary, El Pollo Rico, Hamrock’s Restaurant, Jas & Fam Caribbean Flavor, Mackenzie’s Tunes & Tonics, Mama Chang, Meokja Meokja, Ned’s New England Deck, Old Dominion Pizza Company, ONE Bar & Grill, Ornery Beer Company, Okonomi Asian Grill, Patriot’s Pub & Grill, P.J. Skiddos, Roots Natural Kitchen, Taim Mediterranean Kitchen, The Auld Shebeen, The Wine House and Vivi Bubble Tea.

Though it wasn’t mentioned in the initial list, Pupatella says its Mosaic District location is also participating in Fairfax City Restaurant Week.

The week is co-sponsored by the Fairfax City Economic Development Authority, the Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce and the Old Town Fairfax Business Association.

“Together, they have consistently expanded the event, establishing Fairfax City as a premier dining destination and fostering a strong sense of community among restaurant operators,” Fairfax City Economic Development President and CEO Christopher Bruno said.

Fairfax County is seeking public input on a new name and brand for Original Mount Vernon High School ahead of its redevelopment.

The county’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services recently launched a survey that asks community members to consider feelings evoked by a new name, inspirations for the new name and themed word pairings.

The survey is available in English, Spanish and Arabic, and responses will be accepted until this Sunday, Feb. 11.

Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck says the Board of Supervisors doesn’t have any names in mind for the former school, which is being turned into a community facility, so the survey will help inform the decision-making process.

“[People] can think a bit more focused about the building itself and what its plans are,” Storck said. “We’re truly looking for input…The only name we have is one nobody wants to keep.”

Built in 1939, the Original Mount Vernon High School is listed as a historic place on both the state and national registers, but Fairfax County started exploring options to reuse the building at 8333 Richmond Highway once the long-term lease was vacated in 2016.

Following a master plan finalized in 2019, the county is turning the 84-year-old building into an accessible public facility with teen and senior centers, a gym and early childhood programs as well as educational programs to support workforce development, business incubation spaces, visual/performing arts programs and event spaces.

According to the county’s webpage for the project, the survey is intended to “ensure the new name and brand reflect the vibrancy of the community.”

“Your responses will help [the county] understand the priorities, values and preferences of [the] community and help us develop a new brand identity and name that are appealing to the entire community,” the project webpage reads.

Storck encouraged everyone in the county to take the survey.

“The county overall is funding [the project],” Storck said. “There are lots of folks who used to live in the district who have connections and still visit here.”

Rendering via Fairfax County