Mary Read Memorial could be relocated

The Mary Read Memorial has deteriorated due to flooding. [Braddock Buzz]

The Fairfax County Park Authority wants to relocate or redesign the Mary Read Memorial in Canterbury Woods Park, the Braddock Buzz reports.

The memorial honors Mary Read, a 2006 Annandale High School graduate who was one of 32 people killed during the shooting at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. At the time, the Virginia Tech massacre was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

The memorial, consisting of a plaque, stone bench, and plantings, is near the intersection of Braddock Road and Wakefield Chapel Road in Annandale. The site is often flooded, leaving the memorial in poor condition.

“Concerned citizens have approached the Park Authority and the Braddock District supervisor’s office advocating changes to the memorial to enhance its appearance and improve its sustainability,” Ed Richardson, of the Park Authority, told Braddock Buzz.

According to Richardson, possibilities under discussion include improving drainage on the site, changing some of the elements of the memorial, relocating it within Canterbury Woods Park, and moving it to another park near Mary Read’s childhood home.

Related story: We remember Virginia Tech

Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw’s office provided a list of new locations under consideration: two other sites in Canterbury Woods Park, Kings Park, Rutherford Park, Wakefield Park (three potential relocation sites), and Americana Park.

The original construction of the memorial was overseen by the Park Authority, with the understanding that it would be maintained by private individuals, Braddock Buzz states. This arrangement will continue if the memorial is moved or redesigned, and a group of citizens has come forward to express interest in maintaining the revamped site, said Walkinshaw’s communications director, Brian Garcia.

Garcia noted that Walkinshaw has been in communication with the Read family about plans for the memorial.

“The most important thing is that the Read family, since they’re still living in the area, are kept in the loop and that we have their blessing,” he said. “We want to see a nice location where the Read family and those from the community who loved her can come and pay their respects and have something that’s worthy of her legacy.”