You can watch the press conference with Attorney General Mark Herring, Supervisor Dan Storck and Delegate Paul Krizek here:
River Farm Press Conference With Attorney General Mark Herring
News Coverage About River Farm
Several media outlets covered Attorney General Herring's investigation of River Farm. Some of the top stories are highlighted below:
Surovell: Let’s Work Together to Solve GW Parkway’s Traffic Problem, Fort Hunt Herald (July 15, 2019)
‘Parkway Problems Will Get Worse’, Mt. Vernon Gazette, (May 24, 2017)
The NPS has been engaged in an ongoing safety study to come with solutions, held two public meetings and solicited comments. In July of 2019, I wrote comments to the National Park Service with my ideas for how to improve the Parkway. After receiving comments from the community, I sent an updates letter. Both of those letters are posted below.
The NPS just released their proposed safety improvements today. You can read the full report here:
NPS: GW Parkway Traffic And Safety Context Sensitive Solution Assessment
NPS GW Parkway Study Appendices
Last week, I met with Supervisor Dan Storck, Senator Adam Ebbin, Delegate Paul Krizek, representatives from the offices of Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, Congressman Don Beyer, and the Fairfax County, the National Park Service (NPS), and Northern Virginia Regional Park Authorities (NVRPA), and the Mount Vernon Ladies Association (MVLA). The purpose was to discuss a strategy to preserve River Farm.
The NPS owns a conservation easement on the front two acres of the property closest to East Boulevard Drive. The American Horticultural Society (AHS) donated a conservation easement of seven acres along the river to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. The remainder of the property appears to be unencumbered. We have not been able to determine whether Ms. Haupt's gift to AHS contained a condition to keep the property open to the public, but if she did, such a restriction was not recorded in land records.
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| Stone Bridge on G.W. Parkway carrying Alexandria Avenue |
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| Stone Bridge on G.W. Parkway at Alexandria Avenue |
Thanks to Congressman Don Beyer, the National Park Service is now taking official public comments on safety solutions for the George Washington Memorial Parkway from July 11 to August, 21, 2019.
On July 11, over 150 people attended a National Park Service (NPS) meeting to share comments on NPS’s safety study and the future of the southern section of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Delegate Paul Krizek, Congressman Don Beyer and I have been asking for a safety study for four years and so far NPS has produced excellent information.
I have lived about two blocks from the Parkway most of my life and significant changes have occurred. The Defense Department moved 15,000 new employees to Fort Belvoir after 2005 has proven to be a real tipping point. More specifically, many people who live in Maryland and worked at Walter Reed Medical Center now come across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and take the Parkway south to the Walker Gate. In the evening rush hour, they race north and switch to Fort Hunt Road to access I-495 gridlocking Fort Hunt Road.
We Need Answers
On November 17, 2017, coming home from work around 10:00 p.m., I saw police lights at the end of Alexandria Avenue where it intersects with Fort Hunt Road in the Mount Vernon area near my home. I assumed there was an accident.
The next morning, I learned that an accountant from McLean, Bijan Ghaisar, had been shot by two U.S. Park Police officers after he drove away after being rear-ended by an Uber driver on the George Washington Memorial Parkway near Slater’s Lane. Very little about the Park Police’s official story made sense to me the next morning.
About two weeks later, I sent a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) asking a series of questions. I received a cursory response.
About two months after the incident, the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) released a dash cam video of the incident starting near Dyke Overlook on the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The video showed Ghaisar driving down the Parkway slightly over the speed limit trailed by two U.S. Park Police cruisers. Anyone who drives the Parkway knows that without adequate shoulders there are few places to pull over.
Invasive species are really starting to clog up right of ways and county land in our area. The last few times I've hiked through Paul Spring, it's been a mess. It was much clearer when I was a kid. Parts of the County's Paul Spring property along Fort Hunt Road is also cloaked with invasives. The George Washington Memorial Parkway is also getting especially bad (see picture at right) and with the Federal Government budget situation, it is not going to get any better.
