A memorial service will be held on May 17th for Warren Morris, the driving force behind the creation of the WB&A Trail.
Morris's wife, Marge and his family will be holding a Memorial Service on Sat. May 17, 2008 at 2:00 PM at the Ivy Hill Cemetery 8103 Old Sandy Spring Rd. in Laurel, Md. (Just north of Route #198). A Reception is to follow after the cemetery service at the Warren Bowie Homestead for folks from the DC Area to stop by and pay their respects and remember Morris. Morris was well known and respected and did great work to advance Bike/Ped Travel in the DC Area.
His key interest was the enhancement of the burgeoning hiker/biker trails system both in and around Bowie. He was instrumental in the location of a key segment of the East Coast Greenway and the American Discovery Trail through the center of Bowie and Crofton. His staunch advocacy for completion of the WB&A trail in both Prince Georges and Anne Arundel Counties made these links possible. The Bowie link was dedicated to Morris by the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
Speaking of the WB&A, I checked out the recently completed Phase II of the trail in Anne Arundel County. The trail now runs south from Odenton's Babington Green to Conway Road.
There is a second older portion of th trail in PG County but the two are separated by the Patuxent and some reluctant landowners. The gap between the two pieces is a little more than mile. The gap needs to be closed soon. There aren't many places to cross the Patuxent River. From North Crain Highway (I'm not even sure if this is a legal or safe road for cyclists to use) to Brock Bridge Road is nearly 10 miles as the crow flies (I don't think Meyers Station Road actually has a river crossing, despite what Google Maps says) - making for a sizable barrier. In addition to giving a much needed safe river crossing, the two trails once combined will make for one 11 mile long trail.
The WB&A needs a better PR department. Trail additions go unreported in the MSM and even the sites dedicated to the trail(s) don't really keep up with it. Though the Friends of AA trails does mention that work on the South Shore trail (from Odenton to Annapolis) will begin soon.
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