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A proposed bicycle and pedestrian path linking Route 7 with the West Falls Church Metro station could depend on Falls Church and Fairfax County securing up to $15 million in regional transportation funding.
The Falls Church City Council is expected to formally authorize the joint funding request at its July 14 meeting. The application must reach the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority by Aug. 1 to qualify for its fiscal 2030-2031 funding cycle.
If approved, the project could enter its design phase as early as fiscal 2027, which begins July 1, 2026.
Plans call for a 10-foot-wide shared-use path along the east side of Haycock Road, stretching from Route 7, also known as West Broad Street, to Falls Church Drive near the Metro station. The route would connect pedestrians and cyclists with the station as well as the Meridian High School and Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School campus.
The separated path would be developed in coordination with the Virginia Department of Transportation. Officials say it could be built without removing any travel lanes.
Fairfax County prepared the initial concepts but currently lacks money to advance the project. Falls Church estimates that completing the design alone will cost about $400,000.
County officials have indicated they could continue managing the project if funding becomes available, an arrangement supported by Falls Church.
“We would envision we would keep the partnership with Fairfax,” City Manager Wyatt Shields said during a July 7 work session.
More transportation changes near Metro
The Haycock Road path is one of several transportation improvements planned around the West Falls Church Metro station, including projects connected with nearby redevelopment.
Fairfax County also plans to build a shared-use path and make other upgrades along Shreve Road near Route 7. That work will be coordinated with the Haycock Road project but is expected to move forward first.
Design work on the Shreve Road segment is already underway with $6.9 million in previously approved NVTA funding.
Annandale Road request could reach $20 million
Falls Church is preparing a separate request for as much as $20 million for multimodal improvements along Annandale Road near Route 29, where the city connects with Fairfax County’s West Falls Church area.
That proposal covers the area around the Annandale Road intersections with Hillwood Avenue and South Washington Street. Planned work includes wider sidewalks, bicycle facilities, revised intersection layouts, crosswalks, accessible ramps, signal upgrades and the relocation or undergrounding of utilities.
The changes are intended to shorten pedestrian crossings, reduce conflicts with vehicles, slow traffic through tighter intersection geometry and narrower lanes, improve accessibility and modernize aging signal infrastructure.
Because the Haycock Road path would serve students traveling to the nearby school campus, city officials plan to give that application priority.
“That makes sense to me,” Councilmember Laura Downs said during the work session.
Shields emphasized that prioritizing Haycock Road would not diminish the city’s push for the Annandale Road improvements.
“We’re going to fight for both of them,” he said.