Trails and Sidewalks can be initiated by citizens, Home Owners Associations, Civic Associations, or a Transportation Committee. The walkway request should be submitted to the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services, Planning and Design Division, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 449, Fairfax, Virginia 22035 Attention: Ahmed Rayyan. Or the request may be e-mailed to Ahmed Rayyan. The request should include the following information: name, phone number, address of applicant, justification for request, street location of requested walkway, nearby public facilities, and location of nearest existing walkways.

County staff from the Planning and Design Division of the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services shall investigate the walkway request and prepare a cost analysis to construct the proposed walkway. This information will be forwarded to the appropriate Trails and Sidewalks Committee member for future funding consideration.

The Trails and Sidewalks Committee representatives work with their respective District Supervisor's office to compile all walkway request and cost information. The walkway requests are prioritized according to safety and project need.

Trails and Sidewalks are funded and built by three main mechanisms:

1. New residential or commercial development projects which must install a trail across their property to meet the criteria in the Countywide Trails Plan.
2. The Board of Supervisors, which approves the County Budget on an annual basis, appropriates funding to the General Fund to construct walkway projects. The funding is divided up evenly between the nine magisterial Districts and the County At-Large District. The top walkway requests from each District are then constructed with available funds from each District's appropriated walkway fund.
3. The Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21) provides Federal Funding for qualified pedestrian and bicycle projects. The Virginia Department of Transportation administers this program. Qualified projects must be transportation oriented; those that are solely recreational are not eligible for funding. The Board of Supervisors must also endorse project grant applications. Several recent projects have received funding under this program to benefit various types of walkway projects in Fairfax County. To obtain more information on this program call the Transportation Enhancement Program Staff at 1-800-444-7832, or contact your Trails and Sidewalks Committee representative.

Once a walkway request is approved for funding the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services is responsible for implementing the project. The main steps in a walkway project consist of 1) survey; 2) design; 3) citizen coordination; 4) easement acquisition, and 5) construction.

• Walkway Requests - Ahmed Rayyan, Planning and Design Division, 703-324-5983
• Countywide Trails Plan- Sheng Leu, Planning and Zoning, 703-324-1200