Falls Church City Sidewalk Widening Plan—March 2026
As part of its West Broad Street Multimodal Improvements project and overall vision of a more walkable city, the City of Falls Church plans to widen the sidewalks on our side of Broad Street from Virginia Avenue to West Street. Visit their website at https://fallschurchva.gov/2077/West-Broad-St-Multimodal-Improvements for more information.
Below are some specifics of the widening impacts for the parish and school.
- Generally, the sidewalks will be widened from 5-feet to 10-feet, with some exceptions.
- The City is compensating Saint James for taking a strip of our land for the sidewalk widening in front of our Guest House, Teachers’ Lot, School, Convent, and Rocket Field.
- To make room for the wider sidewalk, some structures on our property will need to be relocated permanently, including the Teachers’ Lot fence, the School LED sign (possibly), and the stone wall in front of the Convent.
- These displacements have been factored into the compensation which the City is providing to Saint James.
The streets involved will include
- Virginia Avenue
- Lee Street
- Oak Street
- Spring Street
- West Street
Construction is likely to take at least two years and might begin as early as the second half of 2026. In an effort to minimize disruptions to the Saint James campus, the parish remains in ongoing communication with the City of Falls Church regarding the construction timeline and other project details that may affect our community.
We will share updates as they become available in the bulletin as well as on the parish and school websites.