West End Park Transformation Underway
By Stephen Siegel
Falls Church Times Staff
February 8, 2015
West End Park, a small playlot hidden behind the Washington & Old Dominion Trail’s Broad Street bridge, is getting a massive makeover.
The tiny park, located between Grove and Falls avenues, is accessible only from Falls and a former stretch of Railroad Avenue that runs parallel to, and below, the bridge.
But under a $555,000 contract approved last year, the park is going to be much bigger, more accessible, and also contain a skate park, among other new amenities.
The architect’s plans show the park being expanded to the existing property’s western border adjacent to the Sonic Soft Car Wash at 1050 W. Broad Street, where a new paved path will be constructed.
That path will lead northeast toward the skateboard amenities, and then split to go north to the park’s far end and south toward the existing facilities. The northbound path appears to be concrete, but the southbound path apparently will be crushed gravel.
Open play areas will be created north of the skate park, as will a landscaped circle. There appears to be no trail going out to Falls Avenue, although the architect’s plans suggest one could be added in the future.
That northbound path then changes to a crushed gravel surface after the landscaped circle, and the trail then heads east to a picnic area. The trail then turns south and connects with an existing crushed gravel trail, the plans show.
The park is currently fenced off as the expansion and redesign is being constructed. It is scheduled to reopen sometime this spring.
The redesign will make the park much more visible from Broad Street. Prior to the reconstruction, drivers and pedestrians on the busy four lane thoroughfare saw only a big and thick stand of trees next to the car wash.
Those have been taken down to visually open up the park, and many new trees will be planted throughout the facility.
The new park’s entrance will be graced by an impressive, 13 foot high sign that will be 20 feet wide.
By Stephen Siegel
February 8, 2015
Falls Church in the News
Thanks for this detailed description, Stephen! Wondering where the entrance will be?
Now we just need some skateboard classes through the Community Center! I know they have them in Montgomery County….
Thanks for this article. We were wondering what was happening with all that digging. Now we know. Hopefully something can also be done about the bits of masking tape currently littering the area from the car wash place….
Thank you, Stephen, for highlighting the West End Park improvements project. We’re all looking forward to enjoying the new park when it opens this spring, assuming everything is on schedule.
There’s more information about the project on the City’s website, but one big difference everyone will see is, well, the park! Right now if you’re driving down Broad Street, you can’t see West End Park. This project will create an entrance off of Broad Street with a new park sign.
The skateboard feature is actually a relatively small portion of the park-that is, West End Park isn’t becoming a skateboard-only park; rather, it will be a lovely, neighborhood park with picnic tables, benches, room to play and relax, and it will include a skateboard feature.
We’ll keep providing updates as the improvement progress, and I’ll be sure to let you know when there is new info and photos, Stephen.
If you’re interested in learning about other park projects underway, visit http://www.fallschurchva.gov/1509/Recreation-Parks-Projects. Also, visit http://www.fallschurchva.gov/CapitalProjects to learn about capital projects (of which the parks are a part).
Thanks, Susan!
skateparks are great. Will the the city have a special insure policy on this skateboard park?