Accotink Creek
Accotink Creek is a waterway in the City of Fairfax area subject to multiple overlapping environmental and infrastructure initiatives. 6 separate matters touch this place; each has its own status.
Asian Festival on Main
The Asian Festival on Main is an annual outdoor festival held in Old Town Fairfax's historic downtown, organized by the Old Town Fairfax Business Association (OTFBA) and rooted in an initiative co-founded in 2021 by Wendy Wong of the Standard Barbershop. Attendance has grown each year, making it one of the largest Asian festivals in the DMV region.
- Feb 12, 2026Parks and Recreation Advisory Board · item 5hCommunity Member Updates
Diana Gibson and her students at the New School are continuing to monitor salt and nitrate levels in Accotink Creek.
George Snyder Trail
The George Snyder Trail (GST) was a VDOT-funded shared-use trail project (UPC 112816) intended to provide multimodal connectivity through Fairfax. The project received approximately $20.6 million in Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Concession Funding, with a remaining $16 million budget at the time construction bids were sought.
- Jan 13, 2026City Council · item 7ePublic Hearing and Council Action on a Grant Supplemental Appropriation Resolution – $4,600,000 from Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Concession Funding for the George Snyder Trail
Accotink Creek was referenced in public testimony from a representative of Friends of Accotink Creek opposing the George Snyder Trail project.
failedApprove the supplemental appropriation resolution in the amount of $4,600,000 from Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Concession Funding for the George Snyder Trail✓ Amos✓ Bates✕ Hall✓ Hardy-Chandler✕ McQuillen✕ Peterson
Thaiss Park
Thaiss Park is a City of Fairfax park undergoing full redevelopment. On October 8, 2024, City Council unanimously approved (5-0, Greenfield absent) a $7,725,650 construction contract with Bright Masonry, Inc., moving the project into the construction phase.
- Dec 11, 2025Parks and Recreation Advisory Board · item 5hCommunity Member Updates
Diana Gibson reported that citizen science data from Salt Watch shows road salt is already reaching unhealthy levels at Accotink Creek at the Thaiss Park/Pickett Rd Underpass.
The City of Fairfax's Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) 5-Year Update is a long-term planning document covering a twenty-year horizon, required by Virginia state code to be updated every five years; the previous update was completed in 2021. Work on the update was underway by at least July 2025, led by Environmental Sustainability Specialist Melissa McDonald and consultant team RRS (including Helen Lee and Olivia Polamini).
- Dec 11, 2025Parks and Recreation Advisory Board · item 5hCommunity Member Updates
Diana Gibson reported that citizen science data from Salt Watch shows road salt is already reaching unhealthy levels at Accotink Creek at the Thaiss Park/Pickett Rd Underpass.
The Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan is one of four Activity Center Small Area Plans in the City of Fairfax, developed beginning in Spring 2023. It was the last of the four to be completed.
- Jun 12, 2025Parks and Recreation Advisory Board · item 4aFuture Stream Restoration Projects – Satoshi Eto, Storm Water Manager
Assessment identified erosion issues along Accotink Creek and its tributaries; segment north of Fairfax Boulevard was among community-prioritized sites, and the corridor from Fairfax Blvd to Pickett Rd was recommended for conceptual engineering.
- Sep 10, 2024City Council · item 8dMOA on Sediment TMDL Compliance Strategy – Difficult Run and Accotink Creek Watersheds
Accotink Creek watershed is a subject area of the approved sediment TMDL compliance MOA.
- Jun 11, 2026Parks and Recreation Advisory Board · item 5hCommunity Member Updates
Friends of Accotink Creek is proceeding with the vernal pool project plan at Kutner Park.
In full
In September 2024, the City Council unanimously approved (4-0) a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on a Sediment Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Compliance Strategy covering both the Difficult Run and Accotink Creek watersheds. In June 2025, Storm Water Manager Satoshi Eto presented a stream assessment to PRAB covering 128 segments along Accotink Creek and its tributaries, identifying erosion issues and recommending preliminary engineering for Daniels Run Park (segment 2) and conceptual engineering and phasing for the corridor from Fairfax Blvd to Pickett Rd (segments 5 and 6). Citizen science monitoring through the Salt Watch program has documented road salt reaching unhealthy levels at the Thaiss Park/Pickett Rd Underpass location on the creek, with Diana Gibson and her students at the New School continuing to track salt and nitrate levels as of February 2026.
The community group Friends of Accotink Creek has also been active, opposing the George Snyder Trail project (a $4.6M supplemental appropriation that ultimately failed 3-3 in January 2026) and advancing a proposal to expand the vernal pool at Kutner Park, which was reported to be proceeding as of June 2026.