Critical Anacostia Riverwalk Trail section takes another step forward

NPS and DDOT have begun the public scoping period on the proposal to construct a portion of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail through Kenilworth Park. This is the third, and perhaps most important, portion of the trail.

Since 2008, Section 2 of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail (West bank, from 11th Street Bridge to Benning Road Bridge has been completed. Section 1, East bank from South Capitol Street bridge to Benning Road is currently under construction

I say most important, because this is the section that will connect DC's Anacostia Riverwalk Trail (ART) to PG County's Anacostia Tributary Trail System (ATTS). It will mean a cyclist or pedestrian will be able to travel from the South Capitol Street Bridge all the way to Hyattsville, MD without a single at-grade crossing.  Furthermore, once the ATTS is connected to the MBT it will mean that all the major trails north of the Potomac (CCT, MBT, ATTS, ART, Rock Creek, C&O Canal, etc...) will be connected into one network. 

The trail will be built in two phases, which you can see on the map below.

Phase I of the proposed realignment would connect the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail sections in the southern portions of Anacostia Park with Kenilworth Park and surrounding neighborhoods, the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens’ River Trail, and the Bladensburg Trail in Maryland. Upon completion of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) activities at Kenilworth Park (a former landfill), Phase II of the proposed trail would follow a more park-based alignment along the Anacostia River and would include the new trail bridge over the Anacostia River in Kenilworth Park.

The new river crossing means that it will close a large gap between Benning Road and Bladensburg Park where there is currently nowhere for a cyclist or pedestrian to cross.

The public scoping is a precursor to the Environmental Assessment process, so there is still a way to go. If you'd like to comment during the public scoping (to tell NPS what should be in the EA) you can do so here.

I look forward to commuting on this trail some day (take that Bladensburg Road).

Update: Looking at this again, it will be a shame if they don't build the connection from south of the RR tracks to the north end of Anacostia Ave NE (the northernmost section of all yellow line). That piece would connect Deanwood to the trail directly. Without it, a user in that neighborhood will have to go south to catch the trail, even if they're going north.

Thanks to Roy for pointing this out in the comments yesterday.

Comments

[Michael]

That area between the yellow and green lines looks just like a boot print.

[washcycle]

That's the old race track. I wish they had found a way to go through that development instead of around it. But I'm very excited about Phase II of this - which is basically new from the previous alignment.

[Purple Eagle]

I would not be surprised if trail users cut through that development instead of following the trail all the way around. I don't know how easy that will be on a bike, due to curbs and turns, but on foot it seems it will almost definately happen.

Is it your understanding that they have abandoned the yellow route? That's how I am reading it, but I am not sure if that's correct.

CERCLA is more commonly knowns as "Superfund". I wonder if the cleanup there has already started, or if we will need to wait for a long, protracted remediation before getting the more direct connection.

[washcycle]

I think they're abandoning the yellow route. As I understand it (based on rumor and my memory) the green route is what DDOT originally wanted, but NPS said no. But then, in this round, they actually decided that it would be less disruptive, so DDOT got the alignment they wanted.

Yeah, I think we have to wait for the superfund site to be cleaned up.

[Roy]

Nice write up. I didn't see the map before.

[Purple Eagle]

I am not sure if this is where WC found it, but you can get to the map if you poke around the website that had the press release - go to the Park and Planning website (which is a central page for all NPS projects, nationwide), and then the documents section. There was a single page Word doc with this image file on it, no additional explanation that I could find.