With Chairman Jeffrey McKay, Dranesville District Supervisor James Bierman and Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik

Background: 

The Washington and Old Dominion Trail — better known to all as the W&OD — is named after the railroad that traveled along its path, originally connecting Alexandria’s seaport to Falls Church, Vienna, Reston, Herndon, Sterling, Leesburg and Purcellville.

Almost immediately after the railroad stopped operations in 1968, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority began to study the feasibility of turning the railroad tracks into a trail with the W&OD eventually becoming one of the first rails-to-trails routes in the nation.

At just 100-feet wide, the trail is one of the skinniest parks in the Commonwealth of Virginia, but it’s also one of the longest. It began as a 1.5-mile-long asphalt path in the City of Falls Church, eventually becoming what it is today — a continuous 45-mile trail from Shirlington in Arlington County to Purcellville in Loudon County.

On September 7th, NOVA Parks will celebrate the trail’s 50th anniversary, marking the first documented ride on the trail on that day in 1974.

During the past 50 years, the trail has transformed from a weekend recreational resource to an important transportation network for more than 2 million people a year, spanning the Dranesville, Hunter Mill and Providence Districts in Fairfax County. As such, NOVA Parks has been continuously working to improve this vital and beloved carbon-free transportation option. With 70 road intersections along the W&OD Trail, safety has been a primary concern, and in recent years, NOVA Parks has been working to separate trail users from road traffic.

To provide a safer trail crossing over Wiehle Avenue, the Fairfax County Department of Transportation worked with NOVA Parks to install a bridge over this road, offering walkers, runners and bikers a safe way to cross over this busy street. NOVA Parks has called this bridge its biggest trail improvement for this year, and last week this eagerly awaited bridge finally opened to the great excitement of many residents and trail users. I also want to thank the county’s Department of Transportation for its work on this important infrastructure project that will benefit many for the years to come.

Motion: 

Therefore, Mr. Chairman, we would ask without objection that a resolution be prepared to celebrate the W&OD Trail’s 50th anniversary to be presented out of the Board room in conjunction with the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Wiehle Avenue bridge planned for later this fall. Further, I ask that the Fairfax County Department of Transportation coordinate this ribbon cutting ceremony with NOVA Parks, regional elected officials and appropriate community stakeholders, including bicycling and running advocacy organizations.