County to invest more in revitalization districts

John Marr Drive in Annandale.

Fairfax County has increased its investment in maintaining publicly owned properties in five Commercial Revitalization Districts (CRDs): Annandale, Bailey’s Crossroads/Seven Corners, McLean, the Richmond Highway Corridor, and Springfield.

Two new full-time positions were created in the Department of Public Works and Environmental Service’s CRD maintenance program to focus on the infrastructure in CRDs, including such elements as landscaping and brick pavers, with the goal of improving appearance, functionality, and public safety.

The windmill at the Route 7/Columbia Pike intersection in Bailey’s Crossroads was repaired.

In 2016, the Board of Supervisors adopted an infrastructure reinvestment strategy that dedicates a portion of carryover funds – $1.3 million over five years – to support critical infrastructure replacement and upgrades.

The CRD program receives $900,000 annually, but it’s now responsible for maintaining areas previously under the jurisdiction of VDOT. As a result, the CRD program’s responsibility has grown from 800,000 to 4.1 million square feet.

A six-month study by a consultant hired by the CRD program inventoried and assessed the condition of 28,000 features within the CRDs, including benches, bike racks, trees and bushes, bus shelters, bus stop signs, curb ramps, street and traffic signs, streetlights, trash cans, utility poles, handrails, fences, retaining walls, sidewalks, crosswalks, planting beds, tree grates, hardscape, and brick pavers.

The CRD program is responsible for slightly more than half of those features, with the other half maintained by utilities or the private sector.

Much of this work is already being done. Approximately 5,000 trip hazards will be removed by July. Nearly six and a-half tons of debris was collected during the first cycle of sidewalk sweeping.

The pedestrian bridge over Arlington Boulevard in Seven Corners that was being used as a toilet was cleaned up and plans are underway to alter the space to discourage this activity in the future.

Some curbs and gutters have been repaired, a crosswalk has been restriped, and missing or damaged bus shelter panels have been replaced. The program is also helping identify streetlight outages during monthly inspections within CRDs.

Landscaping accounts for 95 percent of the maintenance in CRDs. This includes mowing, edging, mulching, and replacing trees and shrubbery.

The hope is that the enhanced maintenance levels will increase civic pride among residents and business owners and draw more redevelopment proposals.