The George Snyder Trail was planned as a critical missing link connecting the Vienna Metro station area to downtown Fairfax City. For more than a decade it was treated as a routine regional transportation project—until it reached the neighborhoods where it actually needed to be built.
Despite years of planning, engineering, and approvals, the project was cancelled at the final stage after intense opposition from a small group of homeowners near the proposed alignment.
Arguments shifted repeatedly—from concerns about parking, to exaggerated claims about environmental impact, to procedural complaints about “process.” Meanwhile, the broader public who would benefit from the connection—commuters, students, renters, and transit riders—were largely absent from the conversation.
NIMBYism Disguised as Environmentalism
Suddenly a modest transportation project was portrayed as ecological destruction. Yet similar standards are rarely applied to road widenings, parking expansions, or private development.
Wasted Taxpayer Money
Years of design work and millions in regional funding were effectively thrown away. Cancelling a nearly‑funded project at the finish line is the opposite of fiscal responsibility.
More Traffic, Not Less
By blocking a non‑car alternative, the vote guaranteed more vehicle trips, more congestion, and more idling on already crowded streets.
Equity Ignored
The decision favored a small number of adjacent property owners over the mobility needs of the wider community.
The Snyder Trail fight became a symbol of a larger problem in Fairfax City: the ability of a few well‑organized voices to veto projects that benefit everyone else.
If Fairfax cannot complete even a modest, funded trail connection, it will struggle to solve far bigger challenges like housing affordability, tax relief, and climate resilience.
Fairfax Forward PAC supports revisiting and rebuilding true transportation connections, making decisions based on facts rather than fear, and ensuring that regional mobility projects serve the entire city—not just the loudest block.