If things go as Fairfax County Park Authority officials hope, the Lake Fairfax Park in Reston will undergo a three-phase, $13.5 million renovation, that would add a miniature golf course, a small train for children to ride, more rest rooms, more water slides at the Water Mine and expanded access for people with disabilities.
So far, funding for only the first phase of the project has been earmarked. Phase One improvements, which are expected to cost an estimated $1.6 million, will redevelop the lakefront marina by adding floating docks, a 14-foot boardwalk and fishing pier. Also, playground equipment will be installed near the existing carousel.
Construction of the first phase is scheduled to begin this winter and be completed in early 2005.
"We believe this is going to make Lake Fairfax more friendly to the user," said Jim Duncan, the county Park Authority’s project manager.
Funding for the initial phase of the project was included in a 1998 park bond referendum. Money for the next two phases has yet to be identified, though county Park Authority officials are optimistic some of the money will be put toward the project from a $65 million bond referendum up for vote this November, said Judy Pedersen, the Park Authority’s public information officer.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will decide which projects will receive funding from the proposed referendum in the coming weeks, she said.
LAKE FAIRFAX PARK, which was acquired by Fairfax County in 1966, is one of three lakefront parks in the county. The 476-acre park consists of an 18-acre lake, the Water Mine water park, carousel, campgrounds, picnic areas and ball fields.
The park is the area’s largest site for Fourth of July fireworks and fishing tournaments and is regularly used by campers, kayakers and hikers. The Water Mine and nearby carousel are popular with families and the campgrounds are frequently used by Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts.
The proposed redevelopment is intended to maintain the character of the park while expanding the features visitors use most, said Carl Kirtley, the park’s assistant manager.
"It’s going to be very kid friendly. It’s going to be very family friendly," he said. "The whole theme of the park is Reston families."
If full funding is allocated for the remaining two phases of the project and the Board of Supervisors gives all aspects of the project the green light, the bulk of the redevelopment will be concentrated in the core area of the park — essentially the area where the carousel currently resides.
The miniature golf course would be installed in that area, possibly requiring the carousel to be relocated. The course would wind through existing trees, allowing the park to renovate without cutting down foliage.
The existing picnic pavilion and offices, which were built 30 years ago, would be demolished.
"The whole concept was to try to open up the lakefront," Duncan said.
The existing structure would be replaced by new facilities closer to the parking lot. Because the existing structure is so old, it is neither up to code or accessible to people with disabilities. Incidentally, the building’s roof blew off last weekend during an intense thunderstorm.
THE WATER MINE, the park’s most popular attraction, which draws families from across Fairfax County and from eastern Loudoun County, would also be expanded should full funding be secured.
If approved, the 800-person-capacity water park would receive six new water slides of various heights, a new bathhouse, concessions buildings and an expanded, covered picnic area.
Parents attending the Water Mine Saturday afternoon said they welcome the proposed expansion, but hope it does not make the park too packed.
"If you add too much more, it’s going to get overcrowded," said Greta West, an Ashburn resident who takes her two children to the Water Mine three or four times each summer. "It could become an outing rather than a quick day at the water park."
Adina Au, a Vienna resident who brought her 2-year-old son, Eli, to the water park, said the additions of the children’s train, the miniature golf course and especially the six new water slides sound like a good use of taxpayer dollars.
"We don’t have a beach nearby, so this is our little beach," she said. "This is a great place for [Eli] to play."