Lake Anne Revitalization, Reston Plan Amendment Status Update: Alcorn

RESTON, VA — Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn briefed reporters Monday on the status of some of the big issues affecting residents in his district.

Most of the big issues he discussed involved transportation improvements, the status of the Reston Comprehensive Review Amendment, and

Speed Cameras and Transportation Improvements

Fairfax County will be finalizing a contract in January to run a speed camera pilot program to go into effect early next year. With each camera costing $3,000 a month to operate, the county has allocated $3.8 million a year for the pilot.

The Virginia General Assembly gave the county authority to run the pilot program and assess fines for people caught exceeding the posted speed limit.

During the first round of the pilot, 10 cameras will be distributed around the county. Cameras will be placed in one school zone in each of nine magisterial districts. An additional speed camera will be installed at one of the big work zones on county roads, according to Alcorn

Fifty speed cameras will be installed around the county in the second round and another 80 will be added after that.

"The idea is in a school zone people will be coming from different directions, so there might be two or three cameras for that zone," Alcorn said.

The county is also in the process of acquiring more speed signs with flashing lights to assist in slowing traffic on side streets.

"Those have a really helpful impact bringing speeds down for some period of time," Alcorn said. "What tends to happen if they stay up permanently, people just start ignoring them. But, at least for some period of time, they're very useful. So, that's another thing that's under development."

As part of the Access Fairfax program, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has dedicated $100 million to improve crosswalk safety, repair inadequate sidewalks, and create links between existing county trails to promote multiple modes of mobility.

"In Reston Town Center, we're seeing more use of the scooters," Alcorn said. "We already have a pretty big commitment on the Capital Bikeshare program for bicycles. I expect over time we're just going to see more innovation for how to get around in a very localized way without a car."

Reston Comprehensive Plan Amendment Update

Alcorn expects that the draft Reston Comprehensive Plan Amendment will have public hearings before the Fairfax County Planning Commission and board of supervisors in April and May 2023.

"My expectation is is that the planning commission will host at least one, maybe more than one, workshop on the comp plan update," he said.

The board's land-use policy committee recently directed county staff to take the equity and community health elements introduced by the draft amendment and make them part of its policy plan for the entire county.

"That kind of frees up the Reston portion of the comprehensive plan to focus on the application of those items in Reston. ... That is a great starting point," Alcorn said. "Once again, Reston is leading the county on those social issues, which certainly we've seen before. But, we're very pleased that we're going to be seeing those elements going into the policy plan. But, it does mean a little bit of rewriting of those pieces for more specifically the application of those concepts in Reston."

Staff from the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning are tweaking the language on the draft plan before it goes to the planning commission for public hearings.

"What I'm hoping for is any additional improvements to the plan language, where there might things that either need tightening up or maybe need additional attention," Alcorn said. "It is a long document. It would be nice. There may be some repetition in there that needs to be cleaned up a little bit."

With 58 task force meetings, the plan update has already had a high level of public engagement, according to Alcorn. He expects that level of discussion to continue going forward.

"Even though we have had a lot of discussion, certainly at the task force there was some good community outreach done, it's not done," he said. "This is still something that is subject to public hearings."

Lake Anne Revitalization Moving Forward

Alcorn confirmed that the economic visioning study for Lake Anne revitalization area is moving forward.

"Probably in January, the consultant is going to get started on that, talking with various stakeholders in Lake Anne about what they think the long-term economic vision of Lake Anne should be and what ideas they have," he said. "Ultimately, it's going to be a matter of matching the local interests and desires for Lake Anne long-term, with what is possible, and what market potential might exist out there."

The economic visioning study is a "30,000 foot level" view of what needs to be done in the Lake Anne revitalization area, according to Alcorn. It does not address the $37 million in building repairs that the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services identified in 2021.

"I'm hopeful that this process will help focus everybody, all of us, on the future of Lake Anne, looking forward to building on Lake Anne as the heart of Reston, traditionally. It really is a jewel for the region and there's so much of Reston that is embodied in Lake Anne."