County
Parks Authority States Metro West Should Be Redesigned
The current shortage of parkland, ball fields and other recreational
space around the Vienna Metro station has been documented by the County
and is well-known to residents. The Fairfax County Parks
Authority (FCPA) has not once, but twice, warned that the available
parkland and recreational facilities near the proposed Metro West
development were not adequate for current needs, much less for a new
high-density development.
In a July 19, 2004 memo to County planners, FCPA staff declared that
existing facilities were already "at or beyond their service
capcities," and that thousands of additional residents in the area
would "further exacerbate
the service level deficiencies at existing park facilities."
Click here for the full 2004 memo (see page 2).
On February 9, 2005, the FCPA noted that the developer should provide
“at least five acres of usable land for active recreation (playing
fields/diamonds).” The FCPA continued:
"The development needs to provide
significant park and recreational opportunities on site for the
residents. The 5,227 residents generated by this development result in the need for tens of acres of
active recreation and passive area parkland as well as numerous
facilities. The development should be redesigned to accommodate
sufficient park and recreational areas and facilities." (Emphasis
added.)
Click here for the full 2005 document (see pages 7
- 8).
Numerous residents had brought up concerns with inadequate park
facilities at various points in the process. However, despite
these concerns and the warnings of the Fairfax County Parks Authority,
there are no indications that adequate on-site or off-site park or
recreational space is being provided. The FCPA is quite correct
that the development should be redesigned to reflect these
shortcomings.
County officials have correctly asserted that transit-oriented
developments should
"allow
people to live, work, shop and play in their
neighborhoods" (emphasis added).
The Fairfax County Parks Authority knows that this situation does not
apply to Metro West.
Transit-oriented development is based upon the principle of reducing
the need to drive. If there is inadequate parkland and other
recreational space within walking distance of a development, residents
will have to drive to reach other parks and recreational
facilities. This is demonstrably the case with Metro West as
currently proposed, and defeats the very purpose of transit-oriented
development.