|
|
|
2002 News Archive July | August | September FUTURE MEETINGS: 7:30pm McLean Govt Center,
1437 Balls Hill Rd, McLean. FAIRFAX COUNTY OBTAINS LORTON PRISON SITE: Fairfax County officially took ownership yesterday of the former District prison site at Lorton -- more than2,400 acres planned for parkland and open space, a new high school and middle school, and a residential development called Laurel Hill. The county agreed in April to pay $4.23 million for the property after years of negotiations with the federal government, which oversaw the closing of the prison. A developer already has submitted plans to build 700 townhouses and single-family homes on 237 acres at the site. County officials plan a special ceremony to recognize the transfer. The Lorton site links the (current) southern end of the Cross County Trail with the Occoquan River and future Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. Now that it is in County ownership we are a major step closer to completing the full-length Cross-County Trail and the Ultimate Cross-County Hike. Fairfax Trails and Streams e-newsletter 21July 2002 PARK BOND HEARING JULY 24 About $15 million will be allocated for land acquisition. Criteria for land purchase include availability, whether it is adjacent to existing parkland or stream valley areas, whether site conditions support proposed development and whether parkland is needed in a particular area. Development project criteria include projects that are part of the authority’s capital improvement program orwhether they were part of the 1998 park bond program, and still must be completed. The 7pm meeting is at the Herrity Building, room 106, 12055 Govt Center Parkway, Fairfax VA. Info on registering to speak: 703 324 8662. FTAS's president will testify at the hearing. Numbers count here, and we encourage trail advocates to come speak as well. SIGNIFICANCE FOR PIMMIT RUN TRAIL: Pimmit is in the 1998 bond (thanks in part to testimony by FTAS activists, an event which put our group on the map). Only this year, however, is park staff scheduled to start work on it. Unfortunately, most of its bond funding ($100K) was recently diverted to another project. We need to encourage restoration of these funds. Land acquisition is also a priority; we need to support the Park Authority's prioritization of stream valley land. SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE CROSS-COUNTY TRAIL: The CCT was not explicitly in the earlier bond but its parts are (Difficult/Accotink/Pohick streams). As funding has gotten tight it is important to maintain the momentum for the CCT; advocacy at this hearing will be a key step. Congratulations to the Northern Vienna Trail Network for their $80,000 grant from the Commonwealth Transportation Board. The grant covers a feasibility study for trails linking the neighborhood with the Barns at Wolf Trap, the W&OD andthe CCT. This group participated in FTAS's Ultimate Cross-County Hike last month (see our June e-newsletter). Fairfax Trails and Streams e-newsletter 23 August 2002 Agenda for Next Meeting: Mon. Aug 26, 7:30 pm, McLean Govt Center, 1437 Balls Hill Road, McLean SPEAKER: Tom Johnson, president, Potomac Trail Council, to discuss progress in developing the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail along the river. ISSUES It promises to be a busy fall, after a quiet summer. Many of our activists, including yours truly, were on travel. Time to roll up our sleeves and build some trails! Fairfax Trails andStreams e-newsletter 20 September 2002 Next Meeting: Mon. Sept 23, 7:30 pm, McLean Govt Center, 1437 Balls Hill Road, McLean SPEAKER: Christina Schuler, Fx Co Park Authority, who recently became the Manager for the Pimmit Run Trail. She also manages 3 milesof the Cross-County Trail south of Lake Accotink. Christina hiked most of Pimmit Run with FTAS last weekend and has heard all the key issues. Sept 22 9:30amCross-County Trail Re-Route, Oak Marr (Volunteers Needed!!) About ˝ mile of the CCT willbe rerouted to the far side of the driving range at Oak Marr. The leader is Brian Junkins of MORE. It would be great if a sizable FTAS contingent helps out. Info: brian@foghead.com or (703) 404-0481, or goto http://www.more-mtb.org/ and click on "Trail Work". Directions: I-66 to Rt 123 toward Vienna, after ˝ mile left on Jermantown Rd; Oak Marr is on the right side after about a mile. Mon. Sept 23 1-3 pm Help organize support for
the Nov. 5 Park Bond Paul Gilbert of the No. Va.Conservation
Trust writes: "This November 5th the votersof Virginia will
have the opportunity to vote for the first statepark bond in 10
years. This is a $119 million bond for state parks and natural areas.
We need your help to spread the word and get people turned out to
votefor parks. We would like to invite you to an organizing meeting
on MondaySeptember 23rd from 1:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M. at the Packard
Center in Annandale Virginia. The purpose of this meeting is to
plan one or more media events, coordinate a letter to the editor
campaign, discuss get out the vote efforts,and other issues related
to passing this park bond. Please pass this messagealong to anyone
you know that might be interested. We would love to have parksupporters
from every [No. Va] jurisdiction come and help us organize. Oct. 5 10-4 Fall For Fairfax (Volunteers needed to staff FTAS booth) We can spread our message atthis widely-publicized conference, which has a strong environmental focus. Volunteers are needed; we hope to raise somemuch needed funds by selling our new Pimmit Run Historical Map. We have threevolunteers but could use one or two more; if you can help please email fairfaxTrails@aol.com . Fairfax Co Govt Center, 12055 Govt Center Pkwy, Fairfax, VA. Oct 11 9:30 - 3:30 6th Annual Potomac Trail Caucus Hear the latest news onbuilding the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail along both sides of the river. Rockwood Manor Park, near Great Falls Park in MD. Detailsat http://www.potomactrail.org/events/caucus.html Oct 19 9am Pimmit Run Litter Cleanup (Seven sites) Fairfax Trails and Stream'sFall 2002 cleanup of Pimmit Run will be held on 19 October 2002 in conjunction with the Virginia Department ofConservation and Recreation's "Fall 2002 Virginia's Rivers Renaissance". This cleanup is, also, in support and being supported by "Clean Virginia Waterways" and the "International CoastalCleanup Program". Pimmit Run is one of the principal streams that flows thru McLean going from Tysons Corner to the Potomac River at Old Chain Bridge. Fairfax Trails and Streams adopted Pimmit Run in 1997 under the Virginia Department of Conservation andRecreation's "Adopt a Stream Program" and has held two cleanups of Pimmit Run annually. The cleanup will be on 19 October 2002 from9 - 12 AM with crews meeting and working around the following eight locationson Pimmit Run: 1) Great Falls Streeet near Lemon Road; 2) Westmoreland Streetnear Lemon Road and the Little League; 3) Kent Gardens Elem. School (by woodsin back); 4) Old Dominion Drive at bridge over Pimmit Run at bottom of hillfrom central McLean; 5) Brookhaven Drive where it dead-ends; 6) Brian BranchRoad by the swim club; 7) Colleen Place in Potomac Hills were it dead-ends; 8) Kirby Road at Claibourne Drive at bottom of hill from 123. Significant progress has been made on cleaning up Pimmit Run, but a lot still needs to be done and volunteers are needed. Come out and support your community by helping cleanup Pimmit Run, the Potomac and Cheaspeake Bay. Gloves and garbage bags will be provided at each cleanup sight. Suggust all volunteers wear long pants, long shirts and old shoes as getting to the trash at times is a little tough. New Clarks Run Bridge Links Miles of Potomac HNS Trail The Fairfax County ParkAuthority is nearing completion of this key trail bridge at the northern end of Riverbend Park in Great Falls. The bridge is now useable. Robin Rentsch last week became the first to cross it (pictureswill soon be available on our website, www.fairfaxtrails.org ). Kudos to the Great Falls Trailblazers, who have been advocating this project for many years. Status Report of CCT(August 27 meeting of
CCT Planning Team) Jenny Pate of the FCPA announced thefollowing
status of CCT segments: FTAS visits Lorton site(ex-prison, future park) Several trail advocatesincluding Bill Niedringhaus from FTAS, toured the new Laurel Hill facility andmuch of the planned route of the Laurel Hill Greenway, which will link thecurrent southern terminus of the CCT with a pedestrian bridge across the Occoquan River into the Town of Occoquan. Much of theGreenway will also become part of the Potomac Heritage National ScenicTrail. FTAS would like to complete the 4th and final leg of the Ultimate Cross-County Hike (the first three legs were completed National Trails Day this year); to enable this would require (1)brush removal along the old railroad right of way; (2) completion of thenorthernmost section (proffered by Pulte Corp., but volunteers might build aninterim route), and (3) determining safe road crossings. A key issue for the PHNST is how to connect Pulte's Laurel Hill trail network west of I-95 to the Lorton Town Center trail network east of I-95 proffered by KSI Corp(including a trail underpass of I-95 and the CSX Railroad; this proffer issubject to certain conditions). A successful linkage here would be a huge step forward for the PHSNT. Fairfax Trails andStreams e-newsletter 29 September 2002 In today's (Sunday Sept 29) Washington Post, on the front page of Metro, is a long and enthusiastic article about Pimmit Run. It focuses on Steve Dryden and the historical map, with a picture of Steve at the mouth of Pimmit, and a map of the trail. Title: "Mapping a Run Through History: Fairfax Creek's Past, Present meet in Effort to Boost Trail Network" Events |
