Yes, Fall is approaching and that means Oktoberfest is coming up!

Please save-the-day for Sunday, October 26, 3:00 – 5:30 for food, games, fun, and friends!

And, Oktoberfest Chair, Lisa Mayr, is seeking volunteers to help with planning. Oktoberfest planning is so much fun and is a great way to get involved with the neighborhood! No special skills needed!

Please respond Lisa directly at mayrmejia if you are interested in helping out this year.

Thank you!

CWCA Board

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Good evening –

A couple of months ago there was an exchange on the listserv about potentially dangerous conditions for cars and pedestrians on part of Forest Lane, especially around the blind curve between Woodley and Oakdale. Since then a group of us has been discussing possible solutions. We have progress to report.

The concerns we’ve talked about are cars and trucks that take the blind curve too fast and/or not on their side of the road, as well as the difficulties that vehicles parked on that part of the Forest create. Complicating the problem is increased traffic in recent years from delivery trucks, construction vehicles, and more passenger vehicle trips. We are also very concerned about the left turn from Forest onto Oakdale, where many drivers cut the turn – some close by the left curb – and don’t slow down (or don’t slow down enough).

We’ve met with Brian Hungarter, FCPD’s traffic control officer for the McLean District, and a traffic engineer from VDOT. With their help, we’ll get some new signage and warnings this fall to emphasize the need for caution. There are further measures we can think about in the months to follow.

First, the existing situation. The speed limit (though not posted now) is 25 mph. There are black-on-yellow signs advising 15 mph at the intersections, but those aren’t enforceable (i.e., you won’t get a ticket for not observing them). There are no parking restrictions apart from the default prohibitions on parking too close to an intersection or near a fire hydrant. There aren’t a lot of options for enforcement. Very few drivers go through fast enough to get a speeding ticket. Drivers who run stop signs at Woodley and Oakdale, not stopping until they’re in the roadway on Forest, can be ticketed. While doing that would address a significant safety risk, it’s not the main problem.

In about 2-3 months (everything takes time!), new traffic signs will go up. There will be a 25 mph speed limit sign. That does not reflect a determination that 25 mph is a safe speed. It’s just the lowest limit that VDOT can post, but having it there it will give FCPD more options. There will also be signs advising a lower speed through the blind curve. (You’d think they’d have a “BLIND CURVE” sign that they could post, but you’d be wrong.) After that, we’ll get FCPD to post a temporary sign that shows “YOUR SPEED,” like the one on Chesterbrook now. That will not only tell drivers how fast they’re going but will also record all the data it captures, giving us information about how many cars are using the road and how fast they’re going.

We talked to both VDOT and FCPD about the possibility of adding lane markings on Forest. There would be significant downsides to doing that. VDOT would use double-yellow striping, not broken white lines. The practical effect would be to make on-street parking illegal since there isn’t anywhere to park except in the lane of travel. That would greatly inconvenience the people who live there, and it would also drive parking for all the service vehicles and landscaping contractors onto Woodley and Oakdale near the intersections with Forest. There is no plan now to add lane striping.

Several people like the idea of adding convex mirrors. That’s not something that VDOT does, and we’re looking into whether the County would be involved if we wanted to do that. However, VDOT recommends against using mirrors. They cite research indicating that convex mirrors can lead to more frequent accidents because drivers can be confused by reflections they see. That’s still something we can discuss further.

Another option that may be open to us is to have the speed limit lowered on part of Forest to 15 or 20 mph. There is a relatively new state law that allows that to be done with involvement by Fairfax County. Depending in part on whether the new signage helps enough, that may be worth looking into. We’ll reach out to the right people in the County to learn more about the process.

Speed bumps may be something we want to consider at some point, though those have downsides too. Due to the nature of Forest Lane and restrictions built into the process for getting speed bumps approved, they may not be an option unless the speed limit is lowered first.

In any case, the steps that need to be followed usually take at least a year if everything goes smoothly; it’s not something to look to for a quick fix.

We’re planning to discuss all of this at this fall’s CWCA meeting. We’ll invite Officer Hungarter from FCPD to join us.

In the meantime, we can get yellow "SLOW DOWN" yard signs from FCPD.

If you’re concerned about fast traffic along your street and would like one of these, please send me (Dave Fitzgerald) an email (DF) and I’ll arrange to get one for you.

Finally, as you’ve probably figured out from everything above, there is no way we can make people drive safely. Limiting the risk is up to all of us who use the roads, especially along the stretch of Forest leading out to Chesterbrook but also throughout the neighborhood,

PLEASE drive carefully and patiently, and anticipate that there will be other drivers who won’t.

We’ve been fortunate not to have a serious accident in the neighborhood, and we’d all like that to remain the case for many years to come.

Dave Fitzgerald

Working Group for Forest Lane

Traffic Committee Chair

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All,

This is to inform you that there was a suspicious incident near the corner of Oakdale Road and Crestwood Lane yesterday.

A contractor was parked in his car when a Brown Nissan Altima with MD tags pulled up next to it with suspicious passengers who were possibly going to break in the car. The contractor had tinted windows and turned on his car, the suspects fled the area.

A police report has been filed and Officer Goldman said they will step up their patrols of our neighborhood. Please remember to lock all of your doors and windows, remind your contractors to do the same, and don’t leave valuables in the car. Please report any suspicious activity to the FCPD at 703-691-2131.

Best,

Cabell Fooshe
CWCA Security Director
703-850-6039

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Dear Chesterbrook Woods Residents,

If you’ve been thinking about planting a native shade tree to boost your home’s property value, reduce stormwater runoff and utility bills, remove pollution, sequester carbon, provide habitat for wildlife or just to help cool off during these hot summer days, now is the time to act!

You can place an order through the CWCA 2025 Tree Champions Purchase Program through August 19th. Act now to purchase a sizeable black gum, elm, red oak, white oak, pin oak, swamp oak, or willow oak, have it delivered and planted for only $195 per tree. That’s less than half what you would pay at a local nursery. And, the process is easy! Click on the green link below and let us know your tree preference(s). We’ll schedule a site visit and then we’ll do the rest including ordering and planting the tree(s) for you in the fall.

Check out this gorgeous white oak tree we planted!

Click on the blue links below to get details on the seven tree choices:

BLACK GUMAlso known as a tupelo tree, this beauty boasts glossy dark green leaves that turn a brilliant 
red, with orange, yellow, and purple sometimes mixed in, in autumn.

AMERICAN ELMNew disease-resistant varieties mean that we can bring back this beautiful American favorite.

PIN OAKMore pyramidal in shape than other oaks, with branches that begin fairly close to the ground, 
this popular tree grows quickly.

NORTHERN RED OAKDespite its name, this tree is native to our area. It’s a fast grower with beautiful fall color.

SWAMP WHITE OAK This relatively fast grower, is as its name suggests, tolerant of wet soil. It grows into a handsome pyramidal form in its youth, then the canopy broadens as it matures.

WHITE OAK A majestic oak, with a broad, well-branched canopy that is also most beneficial to wildlife.

WILLOW OAKNotable for its slender willow-like leaves, this fast grower is well-suited to McLean’s poor soil.

CLICK HERE TO START THE ORDERING PROCESS

Once we receive your order, we’ll schedule a site visit and after the site visit, will provide details on how to pay McLean Trees Foundation. Email questions to cwcatrees.

Best Regards,
Chesterbrook Woods Environmental Committee

p.s. Don’t delay. Orders need to be placed by Aug 19th and site visit needs to be completed by August 29th.

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Dear Neighbors:

Given the number of large trees that have fallen down in Chesterbrook Woods in the past year or so — some of which took out power lines — we thought it would be useful to send out a brief message regarding the importance of tree maintenance, including periodic visits by a licensed tree expert. This is not meant to suggest that any particular recent incident could readily have been prevented with greater attention to tree maintenance. Rather, this is meant as a gentle reminder that the giant trees that add so much to Chesterbrook Woods require care and attention, in order to help preserve the beauty and safety of our neighborhood, for the benefit of us all. This is especially true now that we appear to be facing more severe storms each year.

We hope that everyone is managing to stay cool despite the massive heat wave that we have been living through.

The CWCA Board

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Good morning,

We wanted to make folks aware of an email we received yesterday about a beehive on the Pimmit Run Trail, especially since people can be highly alergic to bee stings. Please see below:

"My dog and I were bitten a few times while walking the trail yesterday. The ground hive is just after crossing the large footbridge while walking downstream. There are two very large logs which have been there for a long time. The hive is about three feet above the first log and about three feet from the beginning. I think the hive is new as we walk the path often and usually walk above the log. When we came back we stayed below the log and though we saw the bees actively flying around the hive we passed on the low side without difficulty. "

Thank you so much for the heads up Arthur! I hope you and your dog have healed from the bee stings.

Have a good weekend,

CWCA Board

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CWCA Neighbors – In light of the recent storms and multiple power outages in Chesterbrook Woods, many of you have expressed interest in revisiting the Dominion Energy’s Strategic Underground Project that was being considered in 2022.

To pursue Dominion power undergrounding for the CWCA neighborhood or parts of the neighborhood, a task-force is needed, started and Chaired by a volunteer Chair or Co-chairs. That task force (TF) should have a sponsor from the CWCA board (which could probably be our VP, Richard Elliott). That Chair would be able to enlist other volunteers for Task Force needs, and the Task Force would engage with Dominion and – probably – Bierman’s office or our State Rep – to explore existing options and how to lobby for other options if existing options aren’t adequate.

For those who don’t yet know: there are a few areas in CW that have had undergrounding in the past 5-ish years. The Task Force could talk to neighbors from those blocks to glean insights into both successes and challenges with an undergrounding project. For example, some neighbors found a challenge with the 15-ft wide easements required to install the transformer boxes.

Please contact the CWCA board if you’d like to Volunteer to be the Chair of such a Task Force. (Email chesterbrookwoods)

Thank you!

CWCA Board

This message was sent to from Chesterbrook Woods Citizens Association. To unsubscribe from this list, click here. If you would like to manage your subscriptions, please visit https://cwca.membershiptoolkit.com/user_subscriptions

CWCA Neighbors – In light of the recent storms and multiple power outages in Chesterbrook Woods, many of you have expressed interest in revisiting the Dominion Energy’s Strategic Underground Project that was being considered in 2022.

To pursue Dominion power undergrounding for the CWCA neighborhood or parts of the neighborhood, a task-force is needed, started and Chaired by a volunteer Chair or Co-chairs. That task force (TF) should have a sponsor from the CWCA board (which could probably be our VP, Richard Clements). That Chair would be able to enlist other volunteers for Task Force needs, and the Task Force would engage with Dominion and – probably – Bierman’s office or our State Rep – to explore existing options and how to lobby for other options if existing options aren’t adequate.

For those who don’t yet know: there are a few areas in CW that have had undergrounding in the past 5-ish years. The Task Force could talk to neighbors from those blocks to glean insights into both successes and challenges with an undergrounding project. For example, some neighbors found a challenge with the 15-ft wide easements required to install the transformer boxes.

Please contact the CWCA board if you’d like to Volunteer to be the Chair of such a Task Force. (Email chesterbrookwoods)

Thank you!

CWCA Board

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CWCA’s Environmental Committee Tree Planting Program

Dear Chesterbrook Woods Residents,

Hot weather got you down? Our Tree Planting Program can give you some much needed shade for your yard.

Now, in its third year, the CWCA Tree Champions program enables you to purchase a sizeable elm, oak or black gum tree for only $195 per tree (including planting)! That’s less than half what you would pay at a local nursery.

The trees are as substantial as the savings, standing 7-10 feet tall and ready to grow a foot or more every year. All are native trees, especially beneficial to birds and other wildlife, and come in 15-gallon containers. It’s not only the birds, bees and other wildlife which will benefit! A tree in your yard can boost your home’s property value. Its shade will cool you in summer, help reduce storm water runoff, help reduce utility bills, cleanse the air and sequester carbon. Over the last two years, the Tree Champions program has planted 59 trees in Chesterbrook Woods, and we’ve had a number of repeat customers!

1) Click on the tree name below to see more info:

BLACK GUMAlso known as a tupelo tree, this beauty boasts glossy dark green leaves that turn a brilliant 
red, with orange, yellow, and purple sometimes mixed in, in autumn.

AMERICAN ELMNew disease-resistant varieties mean that we can bring back this beautiful American favorite.

PIN OAKMore pyramidal in shape than other oaks, with branches that begin fairly close to the ground, 
this popular tree grows quickly.

NORTHERN RED OAK Despite its name, this tree is native to our area. It’s a fast grower with better fall color than most oaks.

SWAMP WHITE OAK This relatively fast grower, is as its name suggests, tolerant of wet soil. It grows into a handsome pyramidal form in its youth, then the canopy broadens as it matures.

WHITE OAK A majestic oak, with a broad, well-branched canopy that is very beneficial to wildlife.

WILLOW OAKNotable for its slender willow-like leaves, this fast grower is well-suited to McLean’s poor soil.

2) CLICK HERE TO START THE ORDERING PROCESS

After we receive your order, we’ll schedule a site visit. Payments are made in August to the McLean Trees Foundation. And, trees will be planted at the end of Oct/early Nov. Questions? Email cwcatreeplanting.

Best Regards,
Chesterbrook Woods Environmental Committee

p.s. Want to get this checked off your list this weekend? We’ve got some spots open for site visits on Sun, July 6th between 12-2 pm (but need to hear from you by Sat afternoon to arrange a visit for this weekend). The site visit takes about 15 minutes — a little longer if you want to purchase more than one tree.

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