In Fairfax County’s Hybla Valley, some help for the west side of Route 1 but residents want more

It’s no secret that some parts of Fairfax County are richer than others. Hybla Valley, along Route 1 in the Alexandria area of southeast Fairfax County, has long been part of the “others,” with more low-income housing and fewer high-end shopping and eating options. Even within Hybla Valley, there’s an economic divide between the east side of Route 1, with Gum Springs and Fort Hunt, and the west side, with the Audubon Estates trailer park and Murray Gate apartments. But the folks in Audubon Estates, which has 711 homes without yards, have begun organizing and with the help of VOICE, an interfaith community organizing group, they are making progress in bringing long-needed recreational facilities to their part of Fairfax. The Audubon residents have formed a partnership with churches and high school booster groups on the other side of Route 1 to help raise money for artificial turf fields at West Potomac and Mount Vernon high schools, and to get much needed repair to Muddy Hole Farm Park on their own side of Route 1.