GFCA is a 100% volunteer 501(c)4 organization |
Making Great Falls Better 
Top Stories and
News Briefs
GFCA 2024 Holiday Ornament Sale Continues
The 2024 Holiday ornament has been selected and it is in honor of the 135th Anniversary of the Old Forestville Schoolhouse.
The Forestville School house has been an iconic community landmark since it opened in 1889. For more than a century it has served the local citizens in many different capacities. And its lasting legacy is a testimony to community collaboration.
It was originally constructed as a one room school house to serve an agrarian crossroads village. There was only one teacher to teach grades one through seven. A second room and teacher were added in 1912. In addition to serving as a school house, it was also used extensively for community meetings, a polling place for elections, and at times, a court room.
When a new school was built in 1922, the former school house was converted into a private residence. It was later purchased by the Great Falls Grange and once again became a place for community meetings and a lending library. Later one room was used as the Great Falls post office and the other as a bank.
When the post office moved out in 1981 the property was offered for sale. The Great Falls Citizens Association asked the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to purchase the property to save the school house from demolition. The Supervisors agreed to buy it if the community would raise part of the funds.
Great Falls Heritage Inc. was formed to do the fund raising. After much effort on the part of many volunteers, a substantial contribution was made to the Supervisors and they purchased the property for the Fairfax County Park Authority. The volunteers than went back to work to raise money for necessary renovations to the building. And once again the school house became a site for community meetings.
Please join us in celebrating the 135th anniversary of this historic landmark by purchasing this year’s holiday ornament. The funds raised will be used for interpretive signs to commemorate its history. © Karen Washburn 2024
The ornaments are priced at $20 and available to purchase at local supporting vendors including Great Dogs of Great Falls, the Great Falls Creamery, and the Wine Outlet at Colvin Run.
They will also be sold at special events around Great Falls including during the Arts of Great Falls School, First Friday Art Walk from 6-8 pm; at The Artists' Atelier; and at the Great Falls Studios Holiday ArtFest Dec. 7-8 in the Great Falls Grange.
Walker Road Safety Study Released
(GFCA News 12-4-2024) The recent Walker Road Safety Study report prepared by VDOT consultant, Kimley-Horn, contained some eye-opening statements and conclusions.
While the $95,000 study wasn’t expected to oppose the planned $9 million replacement of the Walker Road Bridge over Piney Run, a questionable conclusion by the consultant is that three rear-end collisions near the bridge during a five-year period were caused by the current one-lane bridge. GFCA previously disputed those suggestions following its review of VDOT's own crash data that revealed speed and reckless driving were contributing factors to those crashes, not queuing at the bridge. Also, the consultant's opinion was that the much larger two-lane structure would not increase vehicle speeds.
The GFCA TRN committee also argued previously that it was hard to believe that removing the current requirements for vehicles to stop for oncoming traffic would not result in faster speeds of vehicles traveling on the new, wider, two-lane bridge. Further, the GFCA cited Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) manuals that reference that wider lanes and roads result in a natural increase in vehicle speeds. FHWA studies also found that narrower lanes and even moving roadside striping closer to the road’s center will slow traffic.
There were many points of agreement between this report and a 2023 Safety Study conducted by GFCA members. The GFCA report identified the inability of large vehicles (trucks) to remain within their own lane at many locations along Walker Road. GFCA cited that this poses the potential for dangerous conflicts with other vehicles. The Kimley-Horn report estimates current Walker Road heavy vehicle traffic at 2%-2.45% of all vehicles. This equates to 95-123 trucks per day.
The GFCA believes that with the replacement bridge removing the current 10-ton weight restriction, Walker Road will naturally attract more truck traffic that was previously unable to legally use the road. The report from the VDOT consultant recommends restricting truck traffic on Walker Road. But, when the truck traffic issue was presented to VDOT engineers by GFCA in June 2023, VDOT promised to study truck usage to include modeling based on truck length. The critical issue involved is the inability of tractor trailers to operate within their own lane while driving northbound at the intersection of Walker Road and Walker Mill Road. No studies have been presented by VDOT.
Several short term improvements recommended by the consultant include removal of low hanging vegetation to improve sight lines, removal of obstructions to road signs, the use of portable dynamic speed feedback signs, and local law enforcement within the corridor. These have all been suggested by the GFCA since 2023.
Intermediate term safety items proposed by the consultant, and previously by the GFCA, include reflective pavement markings, addressing intersection conflicts with warnings, and lane departure and road departure treatments.
Long term solutions from Kimley-Horn include permanent dynamic speed feedback signs, flattening curves and creating wider shoulders, as well as conducting a speed study to evaluate appropriate speeds for all vehicles using Walker Road.
Perhaps the most alarming observation from the VDOT consultant’s study is that these safety issues identified by the GFCA, and now Kimley-Horn, do not rank in the 100 top issues in the VDOT Northern Virginia Region. Accordingly, the study concludes that Walker Road is "...not likely to be prioritized for the near-term safety funding and project implementation."
Late information received by GFCA from VDOT's Northern Virginia District provides that VDOT’s Traffic Engineering Division (TE) will be evaluating the Kimley-Horn short- and mid-term recommendations for implementation. TE anticipates this next effort will take approximately two to three months. Once they have determined which recommendations to move forward with (and have some order of magnitude costs), VDOT will be working with Fairfax County on how to fund the improvements.
Nevertheless, the schedule provided by VDOT confirms GFCA's prior statements that it appears that bridge work will begin before safety improvements are implemented. Fort Myer Construction Corp. won the bid for the bridge replacement and is planning to mobilize on site in mid-December. Work may begin sometime in January 2025 after various shop drawing and other submittals are submitted and reviewed/approved. Lastly, the project is scheduled to be completed by the end of November 2025.
Legislative Town Hall
State Senator Jennifer Boysko and Delegate Rip Sullivan will present updates on legislative initiatives and accomplishments and a preview of the upcoming legislation session on Monday, December 16, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. A Q&A period will follow the update. The event will take place at the McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave, McLean, VA .
Dranesville District Holiday Open House
Supervisor Bierman announced that the Dranesville District Holiday Open House will be held on December 16, 2024, between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. at the Dranesville District Supervisor’s office, 1437 Balls Hill Rd., McLean, VA. The community is invited to attend the event.
FCPS Community Meetings
Fairfax County Public Schools is conducting a comprehensive review of school boundaries for the first time in almost four decades. As a part of this process, FCPS is holding a series of boundary review meetings in each of the six regions. Families, staff, and community members will be able to share their thoughts, ask questions, and learn more about the boundary review process. Registration is not required, but it helps with planning. Interested persons may attend any of the remaining upcoming meetings listed below:
- Monday, December 9, 6:30 - 8 p.m. Register
Mount Vernon High School Cafeteria (Region 3)
- Thursday, December 12, 6:45 - 8:15 p.m. Register
Annandale High School Cafeteria (Region 6)
- Wednesday, December 18, 6:30 - 8 p.m. Register
Madison High School Cafeteria (Region 1)
Upcoming events
|
.png)
Our goal is to preserve the semi-rural character of our community while addressing practical concerns like traffic, zoning, retail, schools, parks and the environment where problems arise and solutions must be found. Since Great Falls is not an incorporated municipality like the Town of Vienna, or City of Falls Church, we lack a town/city government to represent our local interests. The GFCA acts in an unofficial capacity to represent the voices of the citizens of Great Falls on these matters, and works with county, state, and national government to get things done. On Great Falls issues, no other organization has GFCA’s influence with elected leaders at the County and State level, or is as respected by them. Our charter calls for GFCA to "serve as a community organization to promote all aspects of community interest accruing to a common good and, in general, to preserve the historic, low density, semi-rural character of Great Falls and its natural resources."
|
"Bluebells at Riverbend Park" |
|
