inbrief

County may limit truck parking

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is considering banning commercial vehicles from parking in all residential neighborhoods in the county.

Proposed restrictions include trucks more than 21 feet long, more than 8 feet high (including attachments such as ladder racks), more than 102 inches wide or having a gross vehicle of 12,000 pounds or more.

The ordinance would also prohibit vehicles towing a trailer or semi-trailer, except camping and boat trailers, and those carrying commercial freight in plain view. There are proposed exemptions for special cases, such as moving vehicles.

Some board members said that they are concerned about the effects that could have on small businesses and that the county needs to offer alternative places to park.

"We're changing the rules on thousands of people across Fairfax County, and we're not giving them an option," Supervisor Michael Frey (R-Sully) said. "It seems to me we have to offer at least some kind of option."

Others said that they have seen few negative effects when community parking districts were implemented in their districts and that residents adapt.

"People have now begun to put the vehicles that are a problem in the places where they should have been to begin with," Supervisor Gerald Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) said.

The board will vote Nov. 16 on whether to move the proposal to a public hearing. If the board approves the changes after a December public hearing, the ordinance could take effect Feb. 1. A one-month warning period has been proposed before police begin issuing parking tickets.

Woodson High renovation done

After nearly three years and $87 million, the renovations and additions to W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax are complete. A dedication ceremony is scheduled for Saturday.

While being renovated, the school used 44 trailers for classes and storage. According to Woodson school staff, those trailers are now at Edison High School, which is to begin a renovation next year.

Woodson High School, named after former superintendent Wilbert Tucker Woodson, opened in 1962. It was the first Fairfax County high school to have a full planetarium.

Now the school has a science wing, which includes a large multipurpose room that can be divided into three rooms; a renovated library with a new computer lab, which has enough computers for two classes; a weight room, dance studio and state-of-the-art scoreboards in the gym and stadium; a performing and visual arts wing, including a student art gallery and new auditorium; a television studio; and a new entrance.