Save Blake Lane Park

Building a new school is meaningful, but keeping this Park is more meaningful. Blake Lane Park is such an integral part of the recreational life of those who live around it. Please save the Park.

We already have 2 elementary schools in our neighborhood (Oakton, Flinthill ES), let alone Providence ES down further Jermantown Rd. This green area is much needed for our area and children.

This will damage the tranquility of our neighborhood. There will be increased traffic and a dramatic loss of the parkland that is used by many soccer groups, neighbors and pets. What kind of studies were done prior to the decision to plop a school on this green space? WHat kind of alternatives were considered?

1. This little park is literally our lungs -- is the fresh air worth the sacrifice? The current Blake Lane Park site isn't large, so if it were developed into a school, most of it would be paved or built over, greatly reducing the amount of green space we currently have. Have you every noticed how much cooler and fresher the air is when you walk by the field? 2. It will most definitely negatively affect the traffic volume in the Blake Lane/Bushman Drive corner -- congestion, more exhaust, erratic traffic pattern of parents picking up the kids from the Kiss and Ride lane ( which I assume would be either on Blake lane or Bushman). 3. Sure, a new school is great for other neighborhoods but don't we already have enough population density in our area? Most of us live in townhouses or apartments -- we can go into our backyards for grass and trees -- this park is one of very, very few parks in our neighborhood. It's just wrong to deprive us, our kids and our pets of this space or make us spend the next few years suffering construction dust and noise! I honestly don't get what the advantages are for us folks who live in the area? If you want your kids to walk to school, why not start now? Oakton Elementary is a 15-20 minute walk from us (that includes traffic lights on Chain Bridge). Come on, we can surely walk that far, can't we?

I cannot believe that someone is attempting to take the only open field and dog park we have here, while increasing traffic, to make it into an elementary school. This is an outrage! There is another elementary school less than a mile from here on Chain Bridge, not even to mention Flit Hill a few hundred feet away. The additional school will make my commute unbearable while it is already not pleasant. I also would like to mention that Oakton High is less than a mile from here as well. This will congest the roads, the noise level will go up and we won't even have a place to enjoy a nice field, pet or no pet. I have a dog so that is yet another minus for me. I've lived here over a decade and would have never even imagined that someone would convert this green space into anything but a better version of itself. I see organized sports teams and just regular folks utilizing the field all of the time. There are not many places within walking distance to have that experience here. Please stop and desist any efforts to make this gorgeous and preserved slice of land into a yet another concrete parking lot for kid pick-ups and drop-offs. This community deserves to remain with this open space.

We purchased our home across the street from Blake Lane Park in part because of the green space, and are extremely concerned about the plan to build a school there. Certainly the recent expansion of Oakton Elementary School should be adequate. There does not appear to be enough space to build a new school with sufficient parking and a playground at Blake Lane Park.

Must we pave every piece of green in Oakton? Fairfax County must leave the dog park and open park area as is. There is no other place for children to enjoy nature or participate in sporting events, and Blake Lane itself cannot handle any more traffic in the mornings and evenings. I implore you to stop with this project NOW.

We already have too much traffic and I can’t imagine after the school is functional.

Save the trees!

I will be contacting city, county and state officials to protest this ill-considered plan.

The area needs this green space and Blake Lane already has too much traffic, and can get very backed up during the school year in the morning and afternoon. More traffic at those times would be a nightmare.

Blake Lane Park is not only a sanctuary for humans, but offers diverse habitats for the variety of wildlife which live there. While walking through the green meadows and forested paths, I have seen foxes, rabbits, deer, squirrels, moles, diverse birdlife, and a host of pollinators and other important insects. Wildlife is already endangered in this area due to our close proximity to the highway and the continuing development of surrounding neighborhoods. Blake Lane Park is the last remaining natural habitat for much of the animal and plant life in this area. Plus, the Blake Lane area is already in the close vicinity of both Oakton and Mosby Woods elementary, which could possibly be expanded instead of creating an entirely new school. Schools can be built almost anywhere, but wild areas like Blake Lane Park take many years to grow and diversify and harbor an array of wildlife. Please save this great green space.

Keep the park there are plenty of houses

This area can’t handle anymore Traffic. Can we have some green space? Kids play soccer here. People live here.

Please safe the park, there is a lot of wildlife living there, and we enjoy hanging out in the green space in the summer, and there is even a little sledding slope in the winter. Traffic is already really bad during rush hours, adding school traffic would only extend the congestion we already see on Blake lane with drop-offs at Oakton High School. Please try to find an alternative to a new school, maybe an expansion of the existing elementary schools?

This project would cause even more traffic than we already have, especially with 3 schools already in our immediate vicinity (Oakton elem, & 2 at Flint Hill).

We adamantently oppose the construction of a school on Blake Lane. The added traffic congestion only adds to already dangerous road conditions. The space is not large enough to hold an elementary school, especially one that’s built for 800 students. The proximity to Oakton HS will be a logistical traffic nightmare.

Green open spaces are what make Fairfax special.

That green space is the anchor of this community. A school In that location will bring way too much traffic to the area. Blake is already congested during morning rush because of traffic headed towards the Metro and Oakton HS.

Thank you so much for your input! We would like to talk with you, please reach out to us. [email protected]