Fairfax County Considers $300K In Funding For New Playground At Lake Accotink Park

SPRINGFIELD, VA — Fairfax County officials are exploring options for a new playground at Lake Accotink Park after the existing playground was forced to close last November due to unsafe conditions.

The Fairfax County Park Authority had hoped to upgrade the playground, which had seen its share of wear and tear since it was built in the mid-1990s.

Lake Accotink Park receives hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, with the playground, located near the park's marina, as one of its central amenities, Supervisor James Walkinshaw said at the April 11 meeting of the Board of Supervisors.

But the vendor that provided the equipment for the playground is no longer in business and the park authority was unable to find replacement parts for the playground equipment, Walkinshaw said.

The only option left for the reopening of a safe playground, according to Walkinshaw, was a full replacement of the playground, which would cost an estimated $300,000.

The cost of a new playground at Lake Accotink Park was not included in the park authority’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal.

At the April 11 meeting of the Board of Supervisors, Walkinshaw proposed allocating $300,000 for the playground replacement and adding the proposal to the list of items for the board's third-quarter budget review. Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey McKay indicated at the meeting that no vote was necessary and that the proposed funding of a new playground would be added to the budget items for consideration for the third-quarter, which ends June 30.

If the funding gets approved, the new playground at Lake Accotink Park will be different from what is currently installed. While there may be some common features, it will be an updated design and composition, Fairfax County Park Authority spokesman Benjamin Boxer said.

Once the final project design is determined, the park authority will have a more concrete idea of the final playground concept, Boxer said. The updated playground will be in the same location as the existing playground area.

The final outcome of the project design is dependent upon funding approval from the Board of Supervisors. The funding will then guide the purchase of needed materials and any necessary permitting requirements, Boxer said.

A timeline for the new playground project at Lake Accotink Park will be available once the equipment decisions are made and potential delivery of the materials can be arranged, he said.

The Fairfax County Park Authority will move forward with a new playground even if the Board of Supervisors decides not to dredge Lake Accotink.

Fairfax County staff have recommended that Lake Accotink not be dredged due to the costs and the community and environmental impacts. County staff proposed that the lake instead be allowed to fill up and be turned into a wetland.

The Board of Supervisors will receive an update and briefing on the status of the project, including the results of a recent public comment period, at a meeting of the board's Environmental Committee on April 25, according to Walkinshaw.

Lake Accotink Park includes 482 acres of natural resources, trails, picnic areas, and waterfront activities. The 55-acre Lake Accotink is a man-made reservoir built by the U.S. Army in 1943.

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