Fern Street Connector Path
in progressStatus set at City Council Meeting on Jan 13, 2026
Project wiki — a maintained overview, meeting history, and recorded positions.
- Proposed
- Under reviewJan 13, 2026
- Decided
Summary
The Fern Street Connector Path is a City of Falls Church (Virginia) capital infrastructure project that will construct a 10-foot bicycle and pedestrian path within the city right-of-way between the dead-end of Fern Street south of Route 29 and Park Road. The project was identified as an important transportation initiative in the Camp Washington Small Area Plan and received funding (noted as early as July 2024 as having been funded through a grant process). It is managed by multimodal transportation planner Chloe Ritter, with design support from consultant Megan Waring of Kimley-Horn. On January 13, 2026, City Council held a VDOT-required public hearing on the project — the first formal Council-level public hearing — at which staff provided background and a design presentation; no Council action was taken. The Planning Commission had previously flagged the project as a priority in a December 2024 resolution on transportation. Advertisement for construction is anticipated for summer 2026.
Open questions & options on the table
- Advertisement for construction is anticipated for summer 2026 — the specific procurement/award timeline and any Council action required to authorize construction have not yet been recorded.
- No Council action was taken at the January 13, 2026 public hearing; it is not yet recorded whether any subsequent Council action (e.g., contract award or appropriation) is required or scheduled.
What members have said
At the January 12, 2026 work session, Chair Feather's prior comments on the Board and Commissioner Handbook were referenced by staff in the same context as the Fern Street public hearing announcement, but no specific comments by Chair Feather on the Fern Street project itself are recorded in the available material.
Positions as recorded in meeting minutes; votes without recorded comment aren’t summarized.
Discussion time
Minutes of named discussion per transcribed meeting.
Full history
[9] A public hearing on the Fern Street Connector Project was noted as scheduled before City Council on January 13, 2026.
[7a] A VDOT-required public hearing was held. The project will construct a 10-foot bicycle and pedestrian path in the city right-of-way between the dead-end of Fern Street south of Route 29 and Park Road; advertisement for construction is anticipated for summer 2026. No Council action was taken.
Discussed alongside
Topics that come up in the same meetings.