Fairfax City holds design public hearing on Fern Street connector; staff says $350,000 funds largely covered

City staff and the project's consultant presented intermediate design plans for the Fern Street connector at a design public hearing on Jan. 13.

Chloe Ritter, multimodal transportation planner, introduced the item and said the project — a roughly 200‑foot, 10‑foot‑wide shared path linking Fern Street and Park Road near the Fairfax Junction shopping center — was developed from the Camp Washington small area plan adopted in 2022 and advanced in the two‑year transportation program. "This is a design public hearing for the intermediate design plans this evening," Ritter said, adding the public comment record would remain open through Jan. 23 for one more week of online comments.

Consultant Megan Waring (Kimberley Horn) described the alignment, two sidewalk tie‑ins, and amenities similar to the Hill Street connector: trash receptacles, solar path lighting, benches and native plantings. Waring said the entrance at the shopping center will be upgraded to meet ADA standards and that the path includes a new crosswalk across Park Road. "This path is about 200 feet long," she said, and described typical grading and amenity treatments.

Ritter reported the project budget at about $350,000 in Transportation Alternatives funds, approximately 80% federal with a 20% local match from the city's CNI fund; staff said the current budget as presented would fully fund the intermediate design as shown. Council members asked technical questions about the ratio of engineering to construction costs on small projects and the timing for incorporation of public comments; staff said comments from the funding application stage were already included and that tweaks based on the current comment period would be incorporated into the 100% plans before construction procurement later this year.

Three residents spoke in person: Douglas Stewart and Beth Iannetta both voiced support and praised outreach and community collaboration; a resident identified as Romy and Joe, directly adjacent to the path alignment, sought clarification about fence heights, security cameras and tenant impacts during construction. Staff said they would follow up directly with residents to address specific concerns. The council took no formal action on the Fern Street connector at the meeting and closed the public hearing.