Women’s soccer league concerned about losing Saturday access to Pine Ridge Park

Women who’ve enjoyed playing soccer at Pine Ridge Park for 20 years are worried they might not be able to play there on Saturdays any more. That’s because the soccer fields are scheduled to be refurbished with synthetic turf this summer, and Fairfax County’s Department of Community and Recreation Services, which allocates athletic fields, has a policy giving youth groups priority for synthetic fields from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Pine Ridge Park is located off Woodburn Drive in Annandale near the hospital.

Several members of the Fairfax Women’s Soccer Association (FWSA) spoke about their concerns at a Mason District “listening forum” with Fairfax County Park Authority Director John Dargle Jr., Thursday evening at the historic Clark House.

• Friends of Green Spring Gardens (FROGS) is seeking guidance on how the county can help the group renovate an old garage on the property so it can be used for classroom space. The group has already raised $100,000 in private donations. Dargle conceded there is no county funding to complete the project, but suggested having the Park Authority staff prepare a concept plan that will give FROGS an idea of how much additional money they will need to raise.
• One local resident urged the Park Authority to improve the parking situation and provide more trash cans at Peace Valley Park near Jeb Stuart High School. Mason Supervisor Penny Gross said a blighted property next to the park is expected to be torn down.
• Gross also mentioned there might be some trail work at Poe Terrace Park (on Little River Turnpike and Hillbrook Drive next to George Mason Regional Library) to improve access to the stonework remains of the Manassas Gap Railroad. That section of the railroad was under construction when the Civil War broke out and was never completed.
• Another resident expressed concern about a series of thefts from cars at Wakefield Park. According to the Park Authority, security cameras installed inside all the recreation centers have resulted in half a dozen arrests in the past six months.
• Dargle said the Park Authority is seeking public input on what to do with the six-acre Hogge property at 3139 Glen Carlyn Road in the Baileys Crossroads area. A master plan for the new Boyd A. and Charlotte M. Hogge Park is expected to be published for review this fall.
• Gross offered an appreciation of Bo White, who passed away last month. As the Mason representative on the Park Authority Board, White was responsible for saving the Clark House from demolition, having it moved to its current location just off Columbia Pike, and having it restored for community and private use.