News

Three months after it was put on hold, a divided Fairfax City Council has brought the $6 million Pickett Road Connector Trail project back to life.

After Mayor Catherine Read cast the tiebreaker in a 4-3 vote last week, planning will restart on the proposed 1,260-foot trail running south from Fairfax Blvd to Thaiss Memorial Park on the east side of Pickett Road.


News

Plans to redevelop the Courthouse Plaza Shopping Center near Old Town Fairfax were put on hold last week, giving city officials and the developer more time to find compromises on the overall proposal.

“Being good partners requires flexibility not just from the developer, but from the city as well,” Fairfax City Councilmember Anthony Amos said at the July 22 meeting, where council members voted 5-1 to defer final consideration until Oct. 28.


News

A divided Fairfax City Council narrowly approved a major redevelopment plan at its July 22 meeting that will see a century-old home replaced with up to 276 apartment units, plus ground-floor commercial and retail space, on a key parcel in Old Town Fairfax.

The 4-3 vote to support the staff recommendation for redevelopment marked the conclusion of a nearly decade-old process to determine the future of the 2.7-acre site at 4131 Chain Bridge Road.


News

Drivers should expect new travel patterns as the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) enters the second phase of its Rolling Road widening project.

Beginning the week of July 28, traffic shifts are coming as part of the effort to widen 1.5 miles of the road from two lanes to four between Viola Street and Kenwood Avenue in the West Springfield area.


News

A post-Covid boom in international travel has put Dulles International Airport atop a ranking for service to Africa.

The local airport, which sits on the border of Loudoun and Fairfax counties, has now surpassed John F. Kennedy International in New York for the most nonstop destinations to the continent, with eight cities to JFK’s six.


News

Drivers who block bus traffic across Northern Virginia could someday receive fines based on video evidence from cameras mounted on Metrobuses, Fairfax Connector buses and those of other transit systems.

The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) board of directors discussed the possibility of advocating for the General Assembly to lift the state’s existing prohibition on using cameras to enforce bus-only lanes at its meeting last Thursday (July 17).


News

Virginia Railway Express (VRE) now has a road map taking it to mid-century. How many detours and speed bumps there might be along the way remains to be seen.

The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) voted 19-0 on July 17 to support the “VRE System Plan 2050,” replacing a plan adopted in 2014 that looked as far out at 2040.


News

Back-to-office directives and increased enforcement targeting “backtracking” through the airport have led to higher-than-projected use of the Dulles Toll Road in recent months, after a rocky start to the year.

“Not just the money, but the cars going through is improving,” Kate Hanley, a Virginia representative on the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board of directors, said.


Around Town

At Pathway Homes, art is celebrated as an outlet for at-risk local residents facing mental health issues to express themselves. The results can be seen throughout July at the Fairfax County Government Center.

The annual “Summer of the Arts” exhibit, now in its 12th year, features more than 40 pieces in media ranging from watercolors and pastels to poetry and 3D modeling. Works are typically sold for $15 to $75, with 100% of the proceeds going to the artists.


Countywide

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors tapped Celebrate Fairfax on Tuesday (July 15) to manage logistics of the county’s celebration of the nation’s upcoming 250th birthday.

The organization will work with the Fairfax County 250th Commission and community groups to support an “inclusive-community-driven experience,” Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said.


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