City of Fairfax Old Town Streetscape Plan and Standards &
Main Street Streetscape Design
City of Fairfax, VA
The City of Fairfax, Virginia boasts a historic core that includes a National Register Historic District as well as additional buildings and structures or local historic significance. The primary thoroughfare, Main Street, runs through the heart of the historic district and provides access to local businesses while also providing a direct route for daily commuter traffic.
The purpose of this project was twofold: 1) to create Streetscape Standards for the public realm of the Old Town Historic District which would serve as a companion document to the private Design Guidelines, and 2) to test the applicability of the proposed standards through the
development of 30% complete construction documents for three key blocks on Main Street, between East Street and West Street. Key to the project was the consideration for maintaining the current vehicular traffic flow while improving pedestrian and bicycle safety, comfort, and appeal.Through Working Group engagement, public meetings, and coordination with City staff, the resulting City of Fairfax Historic Overlay District Streetscape Standards outlines new standards and consolidates current policies and practices into a comprehensive document for guiding the preservation, aesthetic enhancement, and improvement of the City of Fairfax’s historic district.
The document address elements such as furnishings, lighting, pavement, plants, and identifiers, and makes specific recommendations for their placement within the streetscape.
“This document reflects an enormous amount of community input, problem solving, and thinking outside of the box, and it is certainly something we will get a lot of use from immediately and into the future.”
Jason Sutphin
Division Chief, Community Development
Community Development and Planning
City of Fairfax