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Note from the Editors

Message from Supervisor McKay

Land Use Update

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Note From the Editors

We would like to hear from you!
Please email or call the editors with your thoughts and suggestions, as well as any news items you’d like to include. Sentinel editors are Carrie Wehling Michaud and Jessica Kaplan. You can email us at (Jessica) and (Carrie), call us at 703-765-9448 (Jessica) and 703-768-9723 (Carrie), or drop us a note at 6823 Stoneybrooke Lane (Jessica) and 6820 Lamp Post Lane (Carrie).

Message from Supervisor McKay

The Lee Nights free summer concert series is back! This summer will be the ninth year of these al fresco concerts in the amphitheater of Lee District Park. You can enjoy them every Wednesday evening at 7:30 pm from June 3 to August 26. We’ve got a wide variety of musical acts this year—jazz, folk, bluegrass, swing, ethnic—something for everyone. (And everyone includes your family dogs as long as they are leashed and friendly. Click on http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/lee/ for the full concert schedule.

The amphitheater is a beautiful outdoor setting with bench seating as well as lawn area for picnicking and a handicapped accessible viewing area. The site is outside and surrounded by trees so concerts are canceled in case of rain. If there’s a threat of bad weather, call 703-324-7469 after 6 pm the day of the concert for cancellation updates.

These concerts are not funded by taxpayers—especially important during these difficult economic times. Since the series began 2001, my office has raised funds from local businesses like Springfield Mall and Hilltop Golf Club to name only a few.

A New Way to Celebrate the Fourth of July

For many years, the Fourth of July has featured a fireworks show at Lee District Park. However, County budget cutbacks along with the construction of turf fields funded through the last park bond have made the park off bounds for any fireworks. However, the Fourth of July is a time for families and neighbors to come together and celebrate not only our nation’s birthday but also to strengthen community ties. So—Lee District Park will still host a Fourth of July celebration. This year, there will be a family-friendly musical program in the park amphitheater from 3-5 pm on the afternoon of July 4. Plans are still underway and details will be available shortly at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/lee/ or by calling my office at 703-971-6262.

Transportation Update

It seems like almost all the financial news these days is bad so I am very pleased to have some positive transportation and pedestrian news.

Mulligan Road: Since security concerns closed Woodlawn road from Telegraph Road through Fort Belvoir after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we’ve been without convenient access to Route 1. Early this year, the Federal Highway Administration issued a notice of construction, allowing work to proceed on a new connector road that will run parallel to the north side of Woodlawn Plantation and intersect with Route 1 at Mount Vernon Memorial Highway. The road will be built in two phases and is expected to open in 2012. Plans include bike lanes and a trail from Pole Road to Telegraph Road just south of Hayfield High School.

Telegraph Road: Widening this road has been on the state’s transportation Six Year Plan for as long as I can remember but funding has never been available. One of the advantages of the Mulligan Road construction is that the segment of Telegraph Road that runs from Leaf Road to Beulah Street will be widened to four lanes. However, widening of the rest of Telegraph Road is still unfunded.

South Van Dorn Sidewalk: Roads are important but so are pedestrian and trail connections. As soon as the guard rail is installed, the new sidewalk along the south side of South Van Dorn Street from Greendale Village Drive to Telegraph Road will be opened to the public. Many Lee District residents have asked why the sidewalk wasn’t included at the time that this road was built. The simple answer (and for those who know the history, there’s nothing simple about this road…) is that because this is a sensitive wetland area that feeds into Huntley Meadows Park, construction had to take place in a narrow right-of-way and numerous limitations were imposed by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Road and sidewalk projects are complicated and space limitations preclude a detailed report. If you would like more details, please contact my office at 703-971-6262 or .

Land Use Committee Update

Activities of the Lee District Land Use Committee. Jessica Kaplan, our rep on the land use committee has this report of activities over the past couple of months: Lee District Land Use Committee members approved the following requests in February and March - (1) a special exception for further development of Browne Academy on Telegraph Road; (2) reconfiguration of property owned by Boston Properties behind a GSA warehouse off Loisdale Road, by Springfield Mall; and (3) a planned office building on Loisdale Road. Please contact Jessica Kaplan . if you have any questions or would like additional information about these actions