Controversial George Snyder Trail Project Delayed

FAIRFAX, VA — Fairfax City Council voted unanimously during its Tuesday meeting on a motion not to advertise the controversial George Snyder Trail Project in its present form.

The motion, which was introduced by Councilmember Tom Peterson, also directed city staff to explore possible modifications to the project.

Opponents of the trail said that the city would lose more than 7 to 8 acres of wooded habitat, which would cause erosion and lead to more stormwater runoff. With the removal of more than 1,200 mature trees, carbon levels in the air would also increase significantly.

The Virginia Department of Transportation had given the city a deadline of Dec. 31, 2024 to submit a project plan. If that deadline were missed, the city could lose state funding for the project.

The vote came after acting City Manager Brian Foster asked for authorization of the project, so that the city could begin the bidding process.

Once the council approved Peterson's motion concerning the George Snyder Trail, Councilmember Stacy Hall introduced a motion to cancel the Country Club Hills Connector Trail Project.

"This trail will connect neighborhoods and commercial destinations south of Fairfax Blvd (Route 50) and west of Lion Run to Fairfax Boulevard, the George Snyder Trail, the I-66 trail, the Vienna Metrorail station, numerous retail and employment destinations and regional bus routes," according to the city website. "Without this connection, it is a circuitous distance of 1.4 miles to reach the same location as there is no existing path between these two areas. This trail will encourage non-vehicular local trips."

The city had been awarded $5.1 million in VDOT SmartScale funds for the Country Club Commons trail, with the money becoming available in 2026. The city already developed a general concept plan, with construction scheduled to begin in 2029.

Even though Councilmember Billy Bates agreed with the idea of canceling the project, he said that more discussion was needed. He suggested that the discussion be added to the agenda of a future council work session.

Mayor Catherine Read agreed, adding that canceling the project would mean that the city would be returning $8 million in grant money it had received from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.

"Giving back $8 million is not something we should do lightly, not just because we submitted that project, were awarded the project and given money to complete the project," Read said. "But the future award of contracts to an unreliable partner might be something we want to consider as well."

In the end, the council voted to pause any additional staff activity on trail projects — independent of roadway projects currently in progress — to include the Country Club Hills Trail and Pickett Road Trail.