Countywide

The “kiss and ride” pick-up and drop-off sections at many Fairfax County Public Schools are overextended to the point of becoming the school system’s “most significant operational concern districtwide,” a new staff report found.

The results of a Safe Routes to Schools assessment conducted over the past year and a half were presented to the Fairfax County School Board yesterday (Sept. 8) as part of a discussion of pedestrian and traffic safety around schools, just one week after a student was hit by a car while walking to South Lakes High School in Reston.


News

Seven Fairfax County playgrounds will get a glow-up this fall, as the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) updates the areas to improve accessibility and provide new amenities.

The playgrounds getting updates are located in Borge Street Neighborhood Park in Oakton, Bren Mar Park and Lincolnia Park in Lincolnia, Cub Run Stream Valley Park in Centreville, and Loisdale Park in Springfield, according to a press release from the FCPA.


News

Fairfax County has ambitious plans to renovate the Centreville Regional Library and combine it with a new affordable housing development.

But before that project can move forward through a public-private partnership, the county needs to transfer ownership of the property itself: from the Board of Supervisors to the county’s Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA).


News

When students walked to West Springfield High School on Monday morning (Aug. 31), they found a new tool to get the attention of rush-hour commuters along Rolling Road and Grigsby Drive, thanks to concerned community members.

On Sunday, Aug. 30, a small group of West Springfield parents and students had gathered to install small buckets on traffic signs. Those buckets hold large orange flags that pedestrians can carry while crossing Rolling Road.


Countywide

Crossing guard services at 10 Fairfax County public high schools will be temporarily reinstated as the county supervisors assess solutions for pedestrian safety issues, the Fairfax County Police Department says.

“In the interim, Fairfax County Police officers and crossing guards will provide traffic and crossing support at 11 high school crossing locations previously staffed,” a spokesperson for the FCPD wrote to FFXnow this morning (Wednesday) in an email.


News

South Lakes High School parents’ worst fears around the well-documented traffic problems at the Reston school came true this morning (Sept. 1) after a teen was struck by a car.

Around 7:54 a.m., parents called 911 to report the crash. According to social media posts from multiple witnesses, the force of the collision sent the youth into the air before he landed. Scanner traffic indicates his foot may have been injured.


Countywide

Within the next few years, all middle school age students who qualify for advanced academic programs in Fairfax County Public Schools will have the opportunity to take those courses without leaving their neighborhood schools.

Under a plan approved by the school board on a 10-1 vote last Thursday (Aug. 27), FCPS will transition over several years from a model that let many students opt out of their assigned local school to join other students at one with an established advanced academic program, or AAP, center.


Countywide

Some Fairfax Connector riders may now be able to ride free, thanks to help from new state funding, the county bus system announced last Thursday (Aug. 27).

The Connector will offer a new Transit Ridership Incentive Program, called TRIP100, offering 100% off fares to eligible riders, up from the 50% discount previously provided.


News

A man convicted as a teen in a Fairfax County court for allegedly shooting a person in the face during a drug deal had his conviction reversed this summer due to violations of his right to a speedy trial.

Virginia’s Court of Appeals reversed the young man’s 2023 conviction for unlawful wounding on July 14 after finding that a deadline extension granted for the trial didn’t qualify for an exception specifically allowed by the state’s speedy trial law.


News

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis suggested today (Aug. 26) that the man who last month apparently tried to grab an officer’s gun during a mental health crisis may have been attempting “suicide by police.”

Davis’ remarks came at a press conference during which the Fairfax County Police Department released roughly three minutes of body camera footage depicting the officer searching for and ultimately shooting the man, who had fled into the woods near Americana Drive in Annandale on July 28.


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