As many of you know, the Fairfax City Council held two important votes Tuesday evening of this week on the disposition of the proposed George Snyder Trail.
1️⃣ The first was to proceed with a supplemental appropriation to fund the construction contract (3-3 vote with nays by Hall, McQuillen, and Peterson; motion by Hardy Chandler, FAILED).
2️⃣ The second, with City Attorney guidance, was to cancel the project (4-2 vote in favor of cancellation by Bates, Hall, McQuillen, and Peterson; motion by Peterson, PASSED).
This highly controversial project is now cancelled.
My decision not to proceed with an appropriation and to join a majority of the Council to cancel was based on:
✅ Review and evaluation of troves of City and community based information as well as additional fact-finding on my part (based on years of professional experience on transportation, economics, and environment issues).
✅ Years of strong, broad based community concern coupled with unmet requests for consideration of alternative trail alignments and design.
✅ My commitment as an elected official to listen in earnest to citizens and act on their behalf.
As my meeting statement indicates, after years of turmoil, it is my judgment that it is time to move on to more popular and effective choices, and to approach projects in a more collaborative and informed manner.
As a postscript I have added my favorite cartoon from business school 😃on why it is so important for people to work together and respect “What the Customer Wanted!!!”
The rope swing on the bottom right of the graphic is equivalent to the gravel foot path 🌳originally proposed and embraced by the community at a cost of $250,000 (in contrast to the most recent paved and graded byway at $25.2 million).
Let’s learn constructively from this chapter in our City’s history and move ahead. A great example would be the proposed Fern Street Connector Path which we reviewed in our same meeting and is likely headed for rapid approval.
[image courtesy of Council Member Thomas D. “Tom” Peterson]
