A cosmetology business is seeking the Town of Herndon’s permission to open up on Herndon Parkway.
At a meeting on Jan. 22, the Herndon Planning Commission unanimously approved a special exception to move forward with the plan for Rosslyn Cosmetology to open in suite 106 at 299 Herndon Parkway. Specifically, the commission agreed to allow special exceptions for personal services and retail sales uses.
In a report, town staff noted that the zoning ordinance allows flexibility in instances where businesses traditionally located with other commercial service and retail sales have “operational characteristics that make them appropriate to operate in traditional office park developments.”
Rosslyn Cosmetology will be located in a strip of office condominiums that already hosts Fancy Lashes and Beyond, a beauty salon, and multiple spas.
“In this case, the proposed personal services and retail sales uses are consistent with the purpose and intent of the Commercial Office Zoning District and the additional controls that can be implemented through the special exception process,” staff said in the report.
Fadrique Iglesias, a community planner with the Town of Herndon, told the commission that the town previously granted special exceptions for personal services businesses in 2022 and June 2023.
The business currently under consideration will likely include a spa, salon and cosmetic services with up to six people at the business at any time, Iglesias said.
The business will take up roughly 916 square feet of space, if approved for the building.
Image via Google Maps
(Updated at 6:35 p.m.) A driver hit three pedestrians on Herndon Parkway near the Elden Street intersection, police say.
Herndon Parkway’s outer loop is currently closed from Elden Street outside H-Mart to Summerfield Drive in response to the crash, according to the Herndon Police Department.
“One victim transported to an area hospital, 1 victim minor injuries, and 1 pedestrian victim still being tended to on scene,” Herndon police said.
Police were dispatched to the 1100 block of Herndon Parkway around 5:03 p.m. after an SUV driver reportedly went onto the sidewalk and struck a male pedestrian in a gravel parking lot, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.
The three pedestrian victims included a boy who was found unconscious, a man and a woman estimated to be in her mid-20s who got pinned under the vehicle, according to police and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department scanner traffic.
The boy was transported to the emergency room at Inova Fairfax Hospital, an FCFRD responder said on the scanner at 5:13 p.m. A police officer said at 5:25 p.m. that the female pedestrian who had to be extricated from under the vehicle was transported to Reston Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The driver remained at the scene.
The Herndon Police Department said just before 6:30 p.m. that two pedestrians were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, but the circumstances of the crash and the ages of the victims haven’t been confirmed.
INCIDENT ALERT: Herndon Parkway outer loop from Summerfield to H Mart completely closed for a crash involving pedestrians. One victim transported to an area hospital, 1 victim minor injuries, and 1 pedestrian victim still being tended to on scene. Updates as available. pic.twitter.com/sZJ1D9MKXF
— Herndon Police (@HerndonPolice) December 28, 2023
Town of Herndon officials are seeking $1.5 million in federal funds for major improvements along Sterling Road.
At a Herndon Town Council work session on Dec. 5, town staff noted that no local match is required to proceed with the project. The town is also requesting $500,000 for ADA-compliant sidewalk and trails improvements throughout Herndon.
Jaleh Moslehi, a project engineer for the Town of Herndon, said the Sterling Road project will include additional lane capacity improvements at the Herndon Parkway intersection, along with safety measures for pedestrians and bicyclists.
“The objectives for this project are to increase safety, to incorporate cycling and pedestrian improvements, reduce congestion, enhance connectivity and circulation, and also doing all of this, but retaining the residential character of the Sterling Road corridor,” she said.
Once completed, the project would reconfigure Sterling Road from Elden Street to Herndon Parkway in order to “reflect the town’s current plans for traffic management and circulation in residential areas,” according to the town’s budgetary documents.
The project will begin with a concept design and traffic impact analysis, determining whether there is a need for a signalized intersection at Crestview Drive. The study will also determine the feasibilty of a bicycle facility between Elden Street and the town limits.
In the second project, town-wide sidewalk and trail improvements are planned based on Herndon’s Pedestrian Plan and Bicycle Network Master Plan.
Funds for the Sterling Road project would come from a federal Regional Surface Transportation Planning program, while funding for the other improvements is through the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality program. Both projects are administered by Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA).
Councilmember Cesar del Aguila noted that he and others in the community were happy to hear that the Sterling Road project is moving forward.
Anne Curtis, a spokesperson for the Town of Herndon, said the Sterling Road project is on pause, initially as a result of “COVID delays but also due to need for additional funding.”
Herndon Parkway between Cavendish Street and Worcester Street has reopened after an overnight crash closed the road in both directions.
The crash happened around 7:25 p.m. yesterday (Monday), according to the Herndon Police Department. The roadway was reopened at 11:15 p.m.
Two adult patients and one juvenile patient were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Charges are pending against the driver of the striking vehicle, according to Lisa Herndon, a spokesperson for HPD.
Last night, the department’s accident reconstruction unit investigated the incident.
TRAFFIC ALERT: Both sides of Herndon Pkwy are shut down Cavendish and Worcester due to accident response. Expect a lengthy delay and avoid the area. Updates as available. #HerndonPD pic.twitter.com/Ut7z2uYZNE
— Herndon Police (@HerndonPolice) October 31, 2023
Major improvements on Van Buren Street are officially complete.
The Town of Herndon is set to celebrate the completion of the project at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday (Sept. 7) at Halley Smith Park.
The project kicked off in the spring of 2022. It cost $12.4 million, including $4.7 million for improvements to the Herndon Parkway intersection. Roughly $8 million was funded through federal, regional and local grants.
“The projects provide significant enhancement to these primary roads in the town, particularly necessary due to their proximity to the Herndon stop on Metrorail’s Silver Line,” according to the Town of Herndon.
The most significant improvements — two left turn lanes on west bound Herndon Parkway and a right-turn lane to eastbound Herndon Parkway — took place at Herndon Parkway’s intersection with Van Buren Street. A right-turn lane was also built on northbound Van Buren Street.
Upgrades include widening lanes to 15 feet to accommodate bike lanes, the addition of five-foot sidewalks with streetlights, improved pedestrian crosswalks with ADA signals, upgraded storm water management facilities and relocated overhead utility lines.
At Alabama Drive, crosswalks and traffic signals were also added, along with a turn lane for northbound Van Buren Street at Herndon Parkway.
The new year will ring in the beginning of a new construction project in Herndon.
Nearly $23 million in improvements to East Spring Street are slated to begin Tuesday (Jan. 3), according to the Town of Herndon.
The project will widen a quarter-mile of Spring Street from just west of Herndon Parkway to Fairfax County Parkway, creating space for additional through and turn lanes. More turn lanes are also under construction at the Spring Street intersection.
“The project, administered by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), will enhance the safety and efficiency of East Spring Street between the Fairfax County and Herndon parkways,” the town said.
The project will also connect the new Herndon Metro station the Washington & Old Dominion Trail through a sidewalk and eight-foot-wide cycle track along northbound Herndon Parkway.
Periodic lane closures are expected at the 100 block of Spring Street and the 400 block of Herndon Parkway.
A new sidewalk along eastbound Spring Street from Sunset Park Drive to Fairfax County Parkway and enhancements to existing pathways on both sides of spring street are also planned.
The project is expected to wrap up in the fall of 2024.
A project to widen the Herndon Parkway has taken away trees — to the dismay of some community members.
Crews with heavy machinery are still surrounding Haley M. Smith Park, located at the intersection with Van Buren Street, replacing a corridor of trees once along the parkway.
“I want to cry when I drive through that intersection,” one Herndon resident wrote last week on Nextdoor. “There had to be a better way.”
Work on the year-long project began last month. It will widen travel lanes to 11 feet, install on- and off-road bicycle lanes in each direction, and make other modifications intended to improve the overall pedestrian experience in the area.
There are no plans to replant the trees at this time, Herndon spokesperson Anne Curtis said in an email.
The Nextdoor commenter wasn’t the only one dissatisfied. Several people, including children, have noticed the change.
“It’s incredibly sad to see decades old trees taken down within hours,” another person wrote.
Others countered that the project will bring upgrades.
The $5.3 million project also calls for stormwater management improvements, utility relocations, and the addition of a turning lane, part of a broader effort to transform the area for the future opening of the Herndon Metro station.
