Category: Weather

Good evening.  I wanted to get a couple more items out to everyone.  Updates will be coming from Joe or Art as the event unfolds as I’m not on the ground there…

1.  Vehicle Parking.  Reminder to everyone – please pull your vehicles in to the curb in your assigned spaces to allow maximum width for the snow plows to operate.  We have tried to keep the No Parking Zones to a minimum.  That relies on you keeping your vehicle as far from the travel lanes as possible until this event is concluded.

2.  Salting Tonight.  No salting will occur tonight for this storm.  The current environment does not make it reasonable (low temperatures, little traffic on our roads).  If we had salted the material will be non-performant due to temperature then plowed away by the first plow pass-through.  Salting will be applied when needed and as appropriate.

3.  Conditions will deteriorate as we go through the evening – please refrain from travel unless critical until we get through the storm cleanout actions.  By delaying your travel your are reducing the timeline to a functional community for all residents.

Stay safe, stay warm, and be prepared.

Mark

Good evening. Here are several more items for your awareness…

I wanted to get a few items out to everyone.  Updates will be coming from Joe or Art as the event unfolds as I’m not on the ground there…

1.  Snow Emergency No Parking Zones.  Treasure Court had a miss-mark of No Parking Zones.  This was remedied this evening.  The No Parking Zones on Treasure Court are the 3 curb spaces on the right as you enter the court and two individual curb spaces on the island.  For the two vehicles parked in those individual spaces, please remove your vehicles as soon as possible or they will be relocated.

2.  Temperatures are going to be frigid for at least a week.  For rooms bordering outside walls especially, recommend you open cabinet doors or doors to rooms that have pipes in them to prevent the pipes from freezing in the upcoming weather.  They need to be wide enough to let air flow through but do not have to be fully open.  You and potentially your neighbor will be grateful to not be paying to repair your and potentially your neighbor’s major water damage once the pipes melt.

3.  There are several collections of information that may be useful for you.  Recommend looking at them to see if you’ve missed anything in your preparation.

3A.  Fairfax County information:  https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/snow/

3B.  Virginia Emergency Management:  https://www.vaemergency.gov/threats/winter-weather

Stay safe and be prepared.

Mark

Good evening. I wanted to get a few items out to everyone.  Updates will be coming from Joe or Art as the event unfolds as I’m not on the ground there…

1.  Snow Emergency No Parking Zones have been marked.  They include the three white-painted curbs on Gainsborough Drive, a section of curb parking on Treasure Court, and a section of curb parking on upper Carriagepark Road.  These are critical areas based on the amount of snow we are expecting.

2.  Towing commenced as of 1800 today Thursday, Thursday, January 22, 2026.  The Pool Parking Lot is open as of 1700 today.

3.  Recommend you get any trash you have out for pickup tomorrow as both the Tuesday trash and Wednesday recycling pickups may not occur if the roads are not passable for the trucks.

Stay safe and be prepared.

Mark

Good morning.

The PWCA has declared a Snow Emergency based on the projected snow totals for the upcoming winter event.  While projections remain divergent between the tools; the Apple weather app current lists between 22 and 30 inches from Saturday evening through early Monday morning.

Regardless of the actual snowfall amounts – this is a major storm and we need to be prepared.

Association Snow Lead:  Joe Underwood with Art Gile as the main supporting Association support lead.

The following is in effect:

1.  All white-painted curbs on Gainsborough Drive are No Parking Zones as of today, Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 6:00PM.  ANY vehicle parked in No Parking Zones after this time is subject to towing at owner expense.  Additional curbs may be deemed NO PARKING areas today.  They will be marked with signs and marking tape/poles if so identified.

2.  The pool parking lot is opened for parking effective today, Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 5:00PM.  Vehicles may park in the pool parking lot with valid permits during this event.  Please remove your vehicles once the event is complete.  Further notice will be provided for when open parking is terminated at the pool parking lot.

3.  Please review the 2025-2026 Snow Removal Policy.

3A.  Request you clear any sidewalks and/or paver walkways in front and to the rear (if appropriate) of your home.

3B.  If the snow totals are sufficient, please consider removing snow around your mailboxes and fire hydrants.

3C.  Please DO NOT expect to be able to drive through our community for days after this event should that kind of snowfall occurs.  The first priority will be to open an emergency access lane throughout the community.  Crews will return later to widen the lanes for resident travel.

3D.  DO NOT place snow you shovel in the street.  That will make the street clearing much harder and take much longer to complete – you are creating danger for yourself and other residents in our community.  In the past we have stopped work in such non-compliant areas to concentrate assets on other areas of the community that followed the rules.

3E.  Please do not direct snow removal crews.  They are operating under direction from the contractor and the Association.  If you have concerns please contact the event lead or email Snow@ParkWestCommunity.org.

4.  The Snow Emergency will be in effect until canceled via email blast for the specific Gainsborough Drive snow emergency zones and any additional identified NO PARKING zones.  Message board notices will be removed once all snow emergency no parking zones are cleared after the snow event.

5.  Appreciate your help – the goal is to be prepared.  See the November 2025 newsletter for our Cold Weather Preparation article.  Please use today to get your home and vehicles ready for this winter event.

Stay safe and be prepared.

Mark