A New Bus Lot at Woodson?
A Matter that Concerns the Entire Woodson Community

Property on the southwest corner of Little River Turnpike and Pickett Road (near Woodson and Frost) is under consideration to be a new bus lot, with a complement of approximately 60 buses. Following are the background information and points all of us should consider.

After you have had a chance to read and consider this information, you are welcome to peruse our campus-comparison. We have constructed it in order to help demonstrate that the Woodson campus already has more than its share of FCPS-support facilities. Please click here.

You are also welcome to review some Documents of Interest relating to the substitution of "the Existing Eleven Oaks Property Bus Parking Lot with a Proposed Bus Parking Lot at Woodson High School (Corner of Pickett and Main Street)." Please peruse them if you get a chance.
  1. Background
    1. On June 1, 2007, the Fairfax County School Board sold the 6+ acre "Eleven Oaks property" (just to the north of George Mason University) to the City of Fairfax for $4 million.
    2. The deal included the requirement for the City to find and pay all costs for "acquiring, leasing, planning, developing, constructing, and equipping" a New Parking Area (NPA) for the approximately 60 buses that were parked on the Eleven Oaks site.
      1. The school buses will remain at Eleven Oaks until and unless an NPA is found.
      2. The NPA must be acceptable to the school system.
      3. The NPA must be located within 2.5 miles of the Eleven Oaks site. The reason for this is unstated in the sale document, but a more distant location would increase fuel usage, driver time, traffic congestion, and air pollution.
      4. Two smaller NPAs could be created if they were within 5 miles of each other.
    3. Since that time, City and school system staff have reportedly considered several potential sites for the NPA, but each site was decreed to be unacceptable or was unavailable.
    4. Although it is the City's responsibility to locate and pay for an NPA, FCPS staff has offered 1.7 acres of the Woodson Complex at no cost to the City.
    5. Recent timeline:
      1. The proposal was briefed to the Woodson PTSO President on 24 March 2010; the PTSO was briefed at its regular meeting on 13 April.
      2. On 19 April FCPS submitted a "Minor Site Plan" for the NPA to Fairfax County (6489-MSP-006-1).
      3. The Woodson PTSO discussed the proposal in more depth at its 11 May meeting, and some members began to question certain elements of it.
      4. On 7 June the County's Urban Forester conditionally approved the proposed Transitional Screening and Barrier Waiver/Modification Plan (006489-WTSW-002-1) "contingent on the approval of the required 2232. Any changes to the plan due to the 2232 process that affect the transitional screening will void this waiver." [A 2232 "provides for a review by the Planning Commission of public facility and utility proposals to determine if their general or approximate location, character and extent are substantially in accord with the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan."]
      5. Braddock School Board member Tessie Wilson and FCPS Chief Operating Officer Dean Tistadt discussed the proposal at the 15 June PTSO meeting, which was also attended by dozens of Starlit Ponds neighbors.
      6. On 25 June the County Planning staff disapproved the "Minor Site Plan" application and returned it to FCPS with comments for revision.
      7. At this time the "Minor Site Plan" has not been formally accepted by the County for processing. No site plan will be approved before the required 2232 Public Hearing before the Planning Commission. No activity may take place on the site without site plan approval.
      8. The Planning Commission Public Hearing has been scheduled for 28 October 2010.
  2. Proposal
    1. The 1.7 acres of land of grass and trees at the intersection of Pickett and Route 236 could house about 46 school buses plus the private vehicles of the drivers.
    2. FCPS Transportation and Facilities staff indicates the NPA would have minimal impact on the school and surrounding community. Details of the planned visual and acoustic screening are not yet available.
    3. The City of Fairfax will, as part of the original Eleven Oaks contract, install or pay for security fencing and electricity to keep the engine blocks warm in the winter.
    4. Vehicles would access the NPA from the service road in front of Woodson High School to Pickett.
    5. Many buses are parked in the general vicinity of where they drop off their last student in the evening or their first student the next morning. Thus not all of the buses in the NPA will be used to transport Frost/Woodson students. Similarly, not all Frost/Woodson buses would be parked in this NPA.
  3. Concerns
    1. Appearance. The trees and natural area along 236 are a transitional screening barrier. NPA plans indicate the row of mature trees along 236 near the Pickett intersection would come down. There is just not enough room for a significant green barrier around the proposed NPA. The entrance to Woodson, and for that matter the entrance to Fairfax City, would be an industrial zone, filled with buses, County shop buildings, and a fuel station. In contrast, most of the eight FCPS high schools that currently host buses have them tucked out of site. The only FCPS high school that currently parks buses in front is South County, and it would be reasonable to expect that situation to be alleviated after the new middle school is built. Even at South County, there is no fenced security compound in front of the school that would make it resemble the prison that used to be there.
    2. Congestion. While the Woodson complex has the most land area of all the FCPS high schools, it already has by far the most congestion. In addition to educational facilities (Woodson High School, Frost Middle School, associated sports facilities and parking, and the new financial education building), in front of the school (next to the proposed NPA) are three outbuildings housing the FCPS External Diploma Program, truant officers, and social workers. On the west side of the school, sharing a wing with Adult Education and Community Education, is a large storage and maintenance facility for the Department of Information Technology (DIT) and next to it, adjoining the school, is a DIT fenced and locked lot for 130 vehicles. On the other side, next to the Starlit Ponds neighborhood, are a large food warehouse, a fuel station for public vehicles, vehicle maintenance, facilities maintenance, grounds operations and sand lot. Many in the community feel the site is already over-congested.
    3. Security. FCPS indicates it will be pleased to have the City of Fairfax build this lot in large part because the City will pay for fencing and other security features. It is a concern to the Woodson community that a feature that requires such security would even be considered for the Woodson Complex.
    4. Payment. The Eleven Oaks contract requires Fairfax City both to find and to pay for land for the NPA. However, FCPS is not charging the City either for this land (worth perhaps $1 million - $2.5 million) or for the design work. It is noted that Marshall, the high school that currently houses the most school buses (about 40), has both an LED sign and two artificial turf fields. Why does Woodson receive no similar consideration?
    5. Traffic
      1. Reportedly most of the additional traffic generated by the proposed NPA will occur before morning rush hour and then intermittently during the day until the last bus returns after sports activities that use the buses.
      2. Buses would access 236 from Pickett and would be prohibited from cutting through the Starlit Ponds neighborhood.
    6. Noise. Buses create noise, especially in the morning when they test their brakes and horns. FCPS indicates the distance to the nearest house is sufficient to dampen noise above the ambient level of 236 traffic.
    7. Size. There is some uncertainly that this corner is large enough to house 46 buses plus the private vehicles of the drivers. When a service truck is needed, the entire lot may become impassable.
    8. Environment. Wetlands concerns reportedly can be mitigated by building drainage controls under the lowest edge of the lot next to Pickett.
    9. Maintenance costs and responsibilities. It is unclear who will plow the lot and otherwise maintain it.
    10. Other. At this point unaddressed is to which building the drivers will have access for restroom facilities and to wait in bad weather.
Thank you for reading this information. If you have not yet checked out our campus-comparison, you are welcome to do so now. We have constructed it in order to help demonstrate that the Woodson campus already has more than its share of FCPS-support facilities. Please click here.