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TextGreat Parks, Great Communities: Vienna Planning District
- Supervisory District(s): Hunter Mill and Providence
- Maintenance Area(s): 6, 7
- Watersheds: Difficult Run and Accotink Creek
- Major Trails and other connections: Cross County Trail, Countywide Trail, W&OD Regional Trail
-
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Existing Conditions Report
Park System Plan
The Vienna Planning District is located in the north central portion of Fairfax County, with the independent Town of Vienna located in the center of the district.
Most of the district is made up of residential neighborhoods with single-family dwellings. Three special mixed-use planning areas fall partly within the district; the Vienna Transit Station area in the southwest, the Merrifield Suburban Center in the southeast, and a portion of the Tysons Corner Urban Center along the eastern edge of the district.
Park System Summary
Map 1 depicts the public parkland in the
Vienna Planning District. There are 43 public parks with a total of
about 990 acres in the district. These parks make up about 8.2 percent
of the total acreage of the district. About 70% of all the public park
acreage in the district is owned by the Park Authority and is within
Park Authority Maintenance Areas 6 and 7. The rest is owned by other
providers, primarily the Town of Vienna and the Northern Virginia
Regional Park Authority (NVRPA).
The great majority of County-owned parkland in the Vienna Planning District is concentrated in local-serving parks. These provide playgrounds, athletic courts, trails, open play areas, and picnic areas in close proximity to residences. The Town of Vienna's parks are also local-serving. Nottoway Park is a heavily-used district park with athletic fields, sport courts, picnic areas, playground, garden plots and historic sites.
The Difficult Run Stream Valley Park and Clarks Crossing Park, both at the northwestern corner of the district, provide natural areas that serve as a wildlife corridor and protect stream quality. The 41-mile Cross County Trail traverses the Vienna District along the Difficult Run Stream Valley.
The Ashgrove Historic Site and Old Courthouse Spring Branch Stream Valley Park at the northeastern edge of the district provide the majority of public parkland within the mostly developed Tysons Corner Urban Center. Opportunities to add to the park system in the Vienna Planning District exist in Tysons Corner as it redevelops with higher density mixed uses. Opportunities to add to existing parkland elsewhere in Vienna are limited. Map 2 identifies parkland and areas that contain regulatory or other protections including public park ownership, conservation easements, and Chesapeake Bay Ordinance designated Resource Protection Areas (RPA).
Map 1: Public Parks by Class in the Vienna District Map 2: Protected Land in the Vienna District
Park Classification
In June 2005, a new Park Classification System was adopted and
incorporated into the Park and Recreation chapter of the Countywide
Comprehensive Policy Plan. The Park Classification System is a general
framework intended to guide open space and public facilities planning
by grouping parks according to certain common typical characteristics.
The park classification gives an indication of the intended use,
general park size range, typical facility types, and the general
experience a user may expect at a park:
Local Parks serve surrounding neighborhoods and communities and offer a variety of local-serving recreation opportunities, such as playgrounds, trails, athletic facilities, picnic areas and natural areas. Typically these parks are designed to serve up to a 3 mile radius depending on the facilities and can range from 2 to 50 acres in size.
Local parks may be urban or suburban in character. Urban parks (including pocket parks, civic plazas and common greens) are a type of local-serving park that are generally more compact and located within an urban or transit-oriented setting. These parks generally consist of high quality design and construction, are well integrated into surrounding development, uses and the public realm and primarily serve to define local urban character, support outdoor enjoyment, social gatherings, recreation needs and special events. These parks may be privately or publicly owned and are usually privately maintained.
District Parks are larger parks that serve greater geographic areas of the County (3 to 6 miles) and provide a wide variety of indoor and outdoor recreation facilities and park experiences. Generally, these parks are more than 50 acres in size. These parks typically accommodate visits of up to a half day, longer operational hours and a larger number of users. Many district parks also have extensive natural areas.
Countywide Parks are larger parks that serve the whole County and provide a variety of larger-scale indoor or outdoor recreation facilities, or both, and facilities or resources that are unique within the County. Typically, these parks are greater than 150 acres and provide opportunities for passive and active recreation to a wide range of simultaneous users for experiences of up to a day in length.
Resource-Based Parks have significant cultural and natural resources. These parks support nature, horticulture and history programs, gardening, nature watching and appreciation of local, regional, state and national history. Extensive stream valley parks are part of the resource-based parks network. Typically, trails and interpretative features and facilities are the primary uses. Some resource parks may have separate areas designated for recreation purposes.
Regional Parks are lands and/or facilities administered by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA). These parks have region-wide significance that supplement and enhance the County and municipal park systems.
While some parks are Resource-Based, note that all park types may include areas designated for natural and/or cultural resource protection. In addition, many state and federal parks augment local and regional parks and also serve to protect natural and cultural resources within the County. Table 1 lists and classifies the parks in the Vienna district according to the County parks classification system or by state or federal ownership. Table 1 also includes information about whether and when parks were master planned and if a master planning action (new master plan development or plan update) is needed.
Table 1Table 1: Parks in the Vienna Planning District
|
Park Name |
Acres |
Supervisor District |
Park Classification |
Approved Master Plan Date |
Master Plan Action Needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Armistead |
10.96 |
PR |
Resource-Based |
|
|
|
Ashgrove Historic Site |
14.33 |
HM |
Resource-Based |
1981 |
|
|
Ashlawn |
16.24 |
PR |
Local |
1979 |
X |
|
Branch Road |
4.00 |
PR |
Town of Vienna |
* |
|
|
Briarcliff |
5.52 |
PR |
Local |
|
X |
|
Briarwood |
2.65 |
PR |
Local |
* |
|
|
Clarks Crossing |
143.80 |
HM |
District |
1981 |
|
|
Cunningham |
10.79 |
HM |
Local |
1965 |
|
|
Difficult Run S.V.1 |
900.68+ |
HM, DR |
Resource-Based |
|
|
|
Dunn Loring |
15.68 |
PR |
Local |
1971 |
X |
|
East Blake Lane |
17.39 |
PR |
Local |
|
|
|
Eudora |
14.02 |
HM |
Local |
1979 |
|
|
Fox Hunters |
1.23 |
HM |
Local |
|
|
|
Foxstone |
14.42 |
HM |
Local |
* |
|
|
Freedom Hill |
7.85 |
HM |
Resource-Based |
1974 |
|
|
Glyndon |
11.50 |
|
Town of Vienna |
|
|
|
Heritage Resource |
1.83 |
PR |
Resource-Based |
* |
|
|
Hideaway |
6.34 |
PR |
Local |
1968 |
|
|
Kemper |
26.93 |
HM |
Local |
1969 |
|
|
Lahey Lost Valley |
23.59 |
HM |
Resource-Based |
|
|
|
Lawyers Road Park |
13.60 |
HM |
Local |
2006 |
|
|
Meadow Lane |
3.50 |
|
Town of Vienna |
|
|
|
Meadowlark Gardens |
96.00 |
|
Regional |
|
|
|
Mercer |
0.75 |
|
Town of Vienna |
|
|
|
Moorefield |
10.00 |
|
Town of Vienna |
|
|
|
Northside |
40.00 |
|
Town of Vienna |
|
|
|
Nottoway |
90.86 |
PR |
District |
2004 |
|
|
Oakton Community |
9.81 |
PR |
Local |
2005 |
|
|
Old Courthouse Spring Branch S.V.1 |
33.16 |
HM |
Resource-Based |
|
|
|
Peterson Lane |
5.42 |
HM |
Local |
1983 |
|
|
Raglan Road |
10.64 |
HM |
Local |
|
X |
|
South Railroad Street |
2.06 |
PR |
Local |
2006 |
|
|
South Side |
30.00 |
|
Town of Vienna |
|
|
|
Symphony Hills |
5.96 |
HM |
Local |
|
|
|
Towers |
15.98 |
PR |
Local |
2002 |
|
|
Tysons Woods |
4.95 |
PR |
Local |
1990 |
|
|
Vienna Community Center |
2.50 |
|
Town of Vienna |
|
|
|
Villa Lee |
5.37 |
PR |
Local |
|
|
|
Washington & Old Dominion Trail |
172.00+ |
|
Regional |
|
|
|
Waverly |
16.95 |
HM |
Local |
1968 |
|
|
Wolf Trails |
11.06 |
HM |
Local |
1988 |
|
|
Wolf Trap Farm Park |
147.00+ |
|
National Park |
|
|
|
Wolftrap S.V.1 |
41.24+ |
DR |
Resource-Based |
|
|
1. Resource-Based Stream Valley parks by practice do not have Master
Plans.
* This park was dedicated by a private developer and may be subject
to a Conceptual Development Plan associated with an approved rezoning
that takes the place of a park master plan.
+ A portion of this park lies outside of the Vienna district.
Acreages for non-FCPA parks are estimates derived from GIS.
Park Master Plans
A park master plan is a general guide for appropriate park uses and
their approximate location within a specific park site. The plan serves
as a long-range vision (10-20 year timeframe) for future development
and programming. Issues typically addressed include planned park
elements, natural and cultural resource management, and general design
concerns. The plan is conceptual in nature and not intended to address
detailed issues related to engineered site design or park operations.
The plan is just one of many steps in the process that leads to the
development of a public park. An archive of park master plans is
available.
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