More work on Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail and Little Paint Branch Trail to start soon

College Park is going to start work on the trail gap near the Metro Station. 

The City of College Park, Maryland requests sealed bid proposals for the construction of a hiker/biker trail in the right-of-way along Rhode Island Avenue between Paint Branch Parkway and Calvert Road in College Park, Maryland, for a distance of one-third (1/3) mile.

Bids are due on March 15. This gap isn't too dire, since you can easily ride on Rhode Island Avenue, but it should be nice for peds. 

Meanwhile, not very far away, the Little Paint Branch Trail extension will begin design this year. 

A new two mile segment of the Little Paint Branch Trail will begin design in 2012. The new trail extension will connect the existing trail at the Beltsville Community Center to the Paint Branch Trail that currently ends at Cherry Hill Road in College Park. The new trail will parallel Cherry Hill and Sellman Roads. With the new trail segment, you will be able to bicycle or walk from the Beltsville Community Center to the Bladensburg Waterfront Park on a continuous 10-mile trail. 

Comments

[Ron Alford]

It's disappointing that BARC didn't budge on the Paint Branch trail extension. Greenbelt had to arm wrestle the BARC director to get weekend pedestrian and bike access restored along Research Road.

[Greenbelt]

Great news for Beltsville area. This creates another viable beltway crossing in addition to Cherrywood Lane in our area. Will be great for tourists using that huge RV park just outside the Beltway -- they could bike/hike on trails to get to College Park Metro or, eventually, to DC starting on the Paint Branch trail.

Ron, I don't know the issue you cite about BARC -- did they force a rerouting of this trail around their property?

Next steps in the area? How about extension of the Indian Creek trail across Greenbelt Road, through parts of the Metro south core project area, and alongside Indian Creek to near the intersection of Cherrywood Lane and Spring Hill lane? Or at least to Breezewood? This would bypass the Beltway Plaza chaos intersection/bus stop area by the Giant entrance/back area behind Chipotle.

[Greenbelt]

Re above, I should have said viable crossing in addition to Cherrywood Lane and Rhode Island Ave.

[Purple Eagle]

Green belt, I think Ron is talking about the fact that the most direct way to connect the segments of the Paint Branch Trail would have been to take the trail under the Beltway behind Ikea and then follow the stream valley through the BARC land that lies between Route 1 and Cherry Hill. I know a couple of Greenbelt residents who work for BARC and were involved with disuccions with management about this route. But clearly they did not go for it, based on this map.

[Greenbelt]

Thanks PE!

[Ron Alford]

@Greenbelt: Yes, I'm referring to routing the trail along the Paint Branch stream.

The issue with BARC and the Greenbelt City Council was the gate along Research Rd. Placed there back in the 80s, it is closed in the evenings and on weekends and holidays. It was meant to stop cars and the director specifically welcomed cyclists and walkers.

Last year, the current director replaced the gate and banned walkers and cyclists, and it took a fair bit of mobilization to get them to go back to the former policy.

So... it took a hundred or more upset citizens and the city council to get them to open a hole in their fence for pedestrian use on an existing road where the harm to their security was zero. This is not an organization that is responsive to local issues.