News

(Updated at 5:25 p.m.) McLean Central Park is getting a new playground, but the exact design will depend on whether a group of local moms can raise nearly $400,000 by the end of this year.

Ideally, the facility will have a rubberized surface to cushion the ground, tot lot fencing, additional seating and plenty of shiny, modern equipment, including an adaptive tandem swing and other elements accessible to people with disabilities.


News

A $28 million baseball and softball complex in Fairfax officially opened this past weekend, marking the county’s first foray into sports tourism.

The ribbon-cutting for Patriot Park North was held Saturday morning (April 15) with local officials, a Washington Nationals representative, and Little Leaguers all in attendance.


News

Lake Accotink Park’s playground has seen better days, not unlike the lake itself.

The Fairfax County Park Authority closed the playground at the popular Springfield park in November after an inspector determined the rusting equipment was “unsafe for use,” Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw said at a Board of Supervisors meeting yesterday (Tuesday).


Around Town

Several county-run farmers markets are returning for the spring season this month with the remainder opening soon after.

The Fairfax County Park Authority operates 10 farmers markets across the county where residents can pick up fresh veggies, fruit, meat, and other locally produced goodies.


News

Work has begun on a new urban, three-quarter-acre park in downtown Annandale that’s expected to be completed later this year.

The long-planned Annandale Civic Space project is converting an underused parking lot at the former Annandale Elementary School into a “unique hybrid park.”


Countywide

The Fairfax County Park Authority is going to need a bigger budget to handle its running bamboo.

The agency has requested an additional $500,000 and a new, full-time staff position for an ecologist to help manage bamboo removal projects now that the county requires property owners to contain the species.


News

Several parks in the county will get a funding boost for renovation work through a matching fund grant approved by the Fairfax County Park Authority earlier this month.

The grant program, Mastenbook Volunteer Matching Fund Grant, will power community-led restoration projects at three parks and the batting facility at Chantilly Park.


News

Work has begin on a new pedestrian bridge at Sugarland Run Stream Valley Park, according to the Fairfax County Park Authority.

Slated to be completed by the end of the summer, the bridge replaces a span that was removed 15 years ago between Heather Down Drive and Eddyspark Drive.


News

The McLean Citizens Association (MCA) wants Fairfax County to reconsider its embrace of synthetic turf for athletic fields, as a decision nears on whether to replace the grass baseball diamond at Linway Terrace Park (6246 Linway Terrace).

The organization, which represents residents of the greater McLean area, has called for a review of the county’s practices regarding synthetic turf, particularly the potential health and environmental risks posed by crumb rubber — bits of recycled tire commonly used for artificial fields.


News

The Fairfax County Park Authority has some new financial muscle behind its efforts to clear invasive plants from Blake Lane Park in Oakton.

A $20,000 grant from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation will enable the agency to clear an additional 1.2 acres of land and replant it with native shrubs and trees, the FCPA announced last week.


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