100+ volunteers clean up Americana Drive
Americana Drive in Annandale is a whole lot cleaner thanks to the 102 volunteers who collected litter and large items from the roadway last Saturday.
The volunteers removed an estimated 1.5 tons of debris, including 163 bags of trash, 53 tires, a stroller, a bumper, a swing set, two mattresses, a bathroom sink, eight rolls of carpeting and padding, and much more, reports organizer Amy Gould.
Gould thanks the Vistas of Annandale apartments, Sally Kidalov from Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw’s office, Del. Vivian Watts, VDOT, Fairfax County’s Solid Waste Management staff, and Ruth Dickey-Chasins from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for their support.
Volunteers from the Tzu Chi Academy, Team Rubicon, Scout Troops 829 and 702, and the Appalachian Mountain Team participated, along with many individuals.
“You have our heartfelt thanks for working so hard on a hot day,” Gould says.
It’s a beautiful area and the only way to get to the pedestrian bridge for a bunch of Annandale, it is such a shame and I really don’t understand why it’s been like this for so long. There are many similar roads in the area that have lots of work vans parking overnight that don’t get really gross like Americana. There must be some reason the cops don’t patrol there or the apartments can’t hire security or put up cameras, I’d love to know what it is.
Either way, cheers and thank you to all the volunteers, looking forward to helping out next time when it’ll hopefully be a little cooler with less poison ivy!
Thanks, Charlie… The next clean ups are on Veteran’s Day & Patriot’s Day. I agree with you that it is crazy that we can’t get resolution to these problems on Americana Drive. I’ve been working on it since 2008 and you can see how effective I’ve been. There are jurisdictional issues with VDOT owning the easement. When they widened 495 they thinned the trees to put in the soundwalls, pushed the tree line back from 3 to 10 ft and now that has allowed parking on top of the curb and crushing storm drains and the above the curb parking disturbs the soil that runs right into Accotink Creek . And the tree thinning allowed for the dumping. And BTW, we are all paying to restore Accotink Creek from the top down. VDOT will not allow us to put up cameras, the police don’t like enforcing anything in a VDOT easement or that doesn’t have signage addressing a specific issue like No Parking Above the Curb. VDOT doesn’t have the signage we need in their inventory. Then in 2008 there was a real estate crisis so now there are adults living in every bedroom with cars. If you look at county historical maps there was never this kind of parking before this occurred. So we are here now and are hoping to make some incremental improvements. And for the record many of the volunteers live in this community so we did have a great turnout and thank everyone for their support for such a great event. We will continue to try to get some changes made to improve quality of life for all the residents.
Wow thank you for the thorough explanation, Amy! I can certainly appreciate the challenge of accommodating more vehicles, but not excuse the dumping. I imagine most residents along Americana would appreciate the area being cleaner but have mixed feelings about enforcement of a “no parking above the curb” sign, especially if it limited available parking spaces. I also imagine the VDOT easement complicates the possibility of widening Americana to better accommodate street parking, pedestrians and better lighting at night. While it’s understandably complex and potentially thorny, the resulting long-standing situation is simply inexcusable. Are there any local, community or state leaders I can write to that could have some sway on this issue?
I also understand protecting the one asset you might own and agree the roadway is not large enough for parking on both sides. Delegate Watts, Senator Marsden, Supervisor Walkinshaw are all fully aware of the challenges. It is a shame illegal dumping isn’t an environmental crime in this state. On the other hand I see how difficult it is for contractors to drive out to West Ox Road or down to the Lorton Landfill at the end of their work day and those facilities close early. Having an area locally — like the transfer station in Merrifield for example — to bring it would be helpful for contractors who don’t own a tipping truck on the eastern side of the county.
Thank you for your volunteerism! Once a month, my wife and I spend a few hours picking up trash off of Ravensworth Road and Little River Turnpike near Annandale Smiles. Let me know if you want to coordinate local monthly or biweekly clean-ups!
Kudos to volunteers – but the fact that dumping continues is evidence of terrible political leadership at all levels. This and the illegal boarding houses in traditionally SFH neighborhoods show the “not my job” not my lane” approach of local leaders like Jimenez