The City of Fairfax has an urgent need to identify permanent and secure parking for buses owned by Fairfax County Public Schools. The new facility will replace the current bus parking lot at the former Eleven Oaks Elementary School site.

The selected facility must accommodate at least fifty (50) full-size school buses as well as parking for personally owned vehicles belonging to the drivers. A location within the City is preferred though not required. The City will install lighting, fencing, and individual engine block warmers at the selected site.

Please join us for an informal discussion on Tuesday, June 29, 2010, at 7 o’clock in the evening at the Veterans Amphitheater at City Hall, 10455 Armstrong Street, Fairfax, Virginia.

Rain location: Sidney Lanier Middle School, 3801 Jermantown Road

RSVP: 703-385-7850

Thank you for your support of our City.


The City of Fairfax Mayor and Council

Robert F. Lederer
Joan W. Cross
Daniel F. Drummond
Jeffrey C. Greenfield
David L. Meyer
Eleanor D. Schmidt
Steven C. Stombres

and

The City of Fairfax School Board

Jon A. Buttram
Janice B. Miller
Carolyn S. Pitches
Tobin M. Sorensen
Mitch A. Sutterfield

Woodson HS has already been selected as the location for the new parking lot. Tessie Wilson and Dean Tisdadt briefed the Woodson PTSO and neighborhood reps last night. They may not like it, but the decision has been made.

This information is completely wrong. For correct information, call the City Manager's Office at City Hall, 703-385-7850.

Chris Wrote:
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> This information is completely wrong. For correct
> information, call the City Manager's Office at
> City Hall, 703-385-7850.


The information to which I was referring was the "informal meeting" date. There is no informal meeting on this topic at that time/date/location.

Here is the correct information:

Tuesday, June 29, 2010, at 7 pm at the Veterans Amphitheater at City Hall, 10455 Armstrong Street, Fairfax, is a brief ceremony to swear in the new council and board. Open to the public and free light refreshments will be served.

It appears that people are using the opportunity to assemble and express their concerns, and to gather information from those making the decisions. They hope there will be newspeople there to pick up the story.

Apparently the Woodson community is very upset. They feel that Fairfax City is obligated to both provide and pay for the land as part of their contract to take over the Eleven Oaks site, and that FCPS is giving up the land and doing the design work for the City for free. Plus they don't want the bus lot to take away any green space and trees at Woodson.

The City Manager's Office is sponsoring the ceremony and wants to know how many people might attend. They have nothing to do with the "informal meeting" and whether it takes place at the same time.

Haven't been by this location in quite awhile but didn't the city of Fairfax tear down an old elementary school in last year or so? Westmore elementary I think was name. Whats happening with that land?
And why not put it on the land at the old Green Acres elementary school sort of stick back to George Mason University for all its willy nilly housing development without really consulting fairfax city

i don't know why people get upset by this, there are as much as 1500 + school buses in Fairfax County. we are developinig county.

Catherine Wrote:
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> Here is the correct information:
>
> Tuesday, June 29, 2010, at 7 pm at the Veterans
> Amphitheater at City Hall, 10455 Armstrong Street,
> Fairfax, is a brief ceremony to swear in the new
> council and board. Open to the public and free
> light refreshments will be served.
>
> It appears that people are using the opportunity
> to assemble and express their concerns, and to
> gather information from those making the
> decisions. They hope there will be newspeople
> there to pick up the story.
>
> Apparently the Woodson community is very upset.
> They feel that Fairfax City is obligated to both
> provide and pay for the land as part of their
> contract to take over the Eleven Oaks site, and
> that FCPS is giving up the land and doing the
> design work for the City for free. Plus they
> don't want the bus lot to take away any green
> space and trees at Woodson.
>
> The City Manager's Office is sponsoring the
> ceremony and wants to know how many people might
> attend. They have nothing to do with the
> "informal meeting" and whether it takes place at
> the same time.

Of course they miss the fact that the City sold them the Eleven Oaks School for a dollar back when they originally transferred it to the County for their use. The City had to buy it back for what, $4M? There's some irony.

George Mason owns some nice property at the corner of Waples Mill and Braddock Rd that would be perfect for a site like that, and it is zoned for NO SEWER which means you could only develop property on it with a forced/pressurized sewer system. On the other hand, a large parking lot with some work facilities would be perfect. Also, Mason is getting use of some of the Eleven Oaks property to put up townhomes/condos for faculty use. As much as I like Woodson and that area, I think they need to go back with a push for either George Mason University or the County to come up with a better solution. The City has paid more than enough for the buses.

If you can’t model the past, where you know the answer pretty well, how can you model the future? - William Happer Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics Princeton University



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2010 01:04PM by Registered Voter.

What's wrong with Woodson? The site of the proposed lot is actually at the corner of 236 & Pickett, which is down the hill, and some distance from the school. Just grass there now (few or no trees). No pristine beauty there to destroy, just some very ugly County shop buildings and a fuel station.

Plus, IMO, school buses sort of go with the scenery at a school!

The row of mature oak trees along 236 would come down.

There is a green buffer across the entire front of Woodson, except for the "historic" (another subject) farm houses. It then continues across Pickett Road where there is a green area on that side of 236.

Dean Tisdadt said that the Waples/Braddock corner did look good, but Mason is not interested in selling it.

There is also some land out that way that is unbuildable due to natural asbestos that would make a good site.

The trees and natural area along 236 are referred to as a "transitional screening and barrier." FCPS will need a waiver from the county before they can disturb that area.

I'm wondering what would happen to the "historic" farm houses if this lot becomes a reality. Any information?

Perched Wrote:
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> I'm wondering what would happen to the "historic"
> farm houses if this lot becomes a reality. Any
> information?

I went to school in this area and was in and around Woodson quite a bit when I was in school - nothing there that I can remember is so historic that it can't be moved. And they will either have trees to screen the lot, or else build a tall fence most likely.

If you can’t model the past, where you know the answer pretty well, how can you model the future? - William Happer Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics Princeton University



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2010 05:34PM by Registered Voter.

Registered Voter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Perched Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I'm wondering what would happen to the
> "historic"
> > farm houses if this lot becomes a reality. Any
> > information?
>
> I went to school in this area and was in and
> around Woodson quite a bit when I was in school -
> nothing there that I can remember is so historic
> that it can't be moved. And they will either have
> trees to screen the lot, or else build a tall
> fence most likely.

The historic farm buildings will stay.

There is not enough room between the proposed lot and route 236 to plant trees. It will be a chain link fence.

In fact, space is so tight at the proposed Woodson location that they expect the bus drivers to back out their buses and then park their cars where their bus was parked. Just a matter of time before a bus squishes a car.

I drove past there the other day - the grassy lot west of those buildings is plenty big to put in spaces for fifty buses. And those "historic" buildings are no longer much in the way of historic what with all the added porches and ramps, and other signage. About the only thing historic about them is the tin roof. The old parking lot at Eleven Oaks was barely as large as that space if that.

If you can’t model the past, where you know the answer pretty well, how can you model the future? - William Happer Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics Princeton University

There is a wetlands drainage issue that prevents them from paving the entire area at Woodson.

The Eleven Oaks property is still being used for bus parking. Before school let out one of the Woodson moms went out there at 5 am, took pictures, and talked with the some drivers. The drivers complained that there is not enough room there for both the buses and their own cars. And when a service truck is needed the entire lot becomes impassable.

If they thought the proposed Woodson lot could hold more than 50 buses then they would have designed it to hold more. In fact, one of Tisdadt's staff said it was nearly impossible for him to come up with a design to squeeze 50 buses at Woodson due to fire lane requirements.

There is now a plan to tear down the old white house "Woodson House" from the old farm. Anyone else think this is a terrible idea? It's over 50 years old!

Why not let drivers park their buses at home like in the old days?

That's what Mrs. Heath did. Her husband built a huge driveway off Hunt Road and there she parked her bus.

There is still plenty of room at the end of Pickett near Frost.

Drivers could also park at one of the many elementary schools.

No additional parking areas are needed.

GMU Hokie Wrote:
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> Why not let drivers park their buses at home like
> in the old days?
>
> That's what Mrs. Heath did. Her husband built a
> huge driveway off Hunt Road and there she parked
> her bus.
>
> There is still plenty of room at the end of
> Pickett near Frost.
>
> Drivers could also park at one of the many
> elementary schools.
>
> No additional parking areas are needed.


A small number of drivers do park their at home, but it has to be a non-subdivision home. The pre-trip is just too noisy, with blowing the horn,pumping the brake, and back-up beepers. In dense developments, the neighbors would flip.
Plus, many drivers do not live in the County and no way they're going to buy the fuel for buses to go home to Fredericksburg and beyond.

Lots of buses do park at schools (I do). But the principals don't like it and the buses all have to park elsewhere everytime there is a function at the school. Plus, there's LOTS of vandalism on buses parked at schools.

Easy for you to say - NIMBY