On Monday, Officials from Maryland, DC and the federal government had a ceremeny at River Terrace Park to unveil the final design of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Segment of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail (ART). Work on the 4 mile section will be advertised this year with work to begin in the spring and complete in 2014.
The new trail segment will create a desperately needed connection between DC and western Prince George's County - John Porcari called it a "golden spike moment". This is the key connection between the Maryland and DC segments of the 60 mile Anacostia Trail system that stretches to Wheaton, Greenbelt and College Park. Because of the river; three railroad lines; and highways 50, 201 and 295, the area is currently impossible to navigate safely on foot or bicycle - requiring major detours.
This $15 million trail project is jointly funded by: a $10 million U.S. Department of Transportation 2012 TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant, $3.5 million from the District of Columbia and $1.5 million from Maryland’s Cycle Maryland Bikeways Program.
This segment represents half of the unfinished mileage of the planned 20 mile system, and brings the system much closer to "completion". The planned system still has a gap in that on the west side of the river there is no way to get from Benning Road in DC to Colmar Manor in Maryland without crossing the river or using bike-unfriendly Bladensburg Road, but one can hope that the completion of these segments will place pressure on the Arboretum to allow for such a trail.
The trail would pass through Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, hugging the river and bringing users close to the water. It would include a very long boardwalk under the New York Avenue and Amtrak bridges along the DC-Maryland boundary.
This also creates a major missing piece in a "Bicycle Beltway" that would almost entirely encircle DC. When the Capital Crescent Trail, Met Branch Trail, Prince George's County Connector and South Capitol Street Trails are completed one can ride a complete off-road loop using those trails, the Wilson and Key Bridges and the Mt. Vernon Trail.
And of course, it's a local amenity for Ward 7 residents.
Ironically, the National Park Service ownership along the Anacostia effectively "walls off" the river for communities like Mayfair Mansions and Kenilworth-Parkside. The new trail will provide new access routes into the park lands from the communities that surround them. Residents who have suffered living along a polluted Anacostia should certainly be among the first to reap the rewards of a clean river.
To fully capture the value of this investment, a few more connections across DC-295 are needed, as well as "Section 8" - the bridge across the Anacostia at M Street NE.
According to City Paper this is being pitched as 30 minute reduction in travel time - and I could buy that if someone were going from Mayfair to Bladensburg by bike, though most users will probably save less time. Still, I might use it to commute, even though it means crossing the Anacostia three times each way.
WTOP starts out with an incredible statement
Bicyclists one day will be able to ride from Georgetown to College Park.
Yes. One day. But not now. Can't be done.
More coverage here and
There's a movie about the ceremony below the jump
was there any discussion of flooding?
Posted by: charlie | October 18, 2012 at 08:06 AM
The trail segment near 50 and the RR tracks looks very dramatic.
Is a bridge across the Anacostia at M St in the official plans? I thought they were planning a bridge that would "land" at the boundary between Langston golf course and the Arboretum (it's still on the map)?
Posted by: Purple Eagle | October 18, 2012 at 08:40 AM
Yeah what about flooding? I'm worried we will get a great trail that's washed away in the next monster storm.
Posted by: turtleshell | October 18, 2012 at 09:14 AM
A trail along the west side of the river north of the golf course is very unlikely for at least the next few decades.
Fifteen years ago the Anacostia trails extended south from College Park and Forest Glenn to about 1/2 of a mile from the DC line. But instead of exending that trail to Fort Lincoln at modest cost, M-NCPPC built a bridge over the river at Bladensburg, and more recently extended the trail to within about 1/3 of a mile of the DC line on the East side. Why? Because the National Arboretum's "never" was convincing.
Having made the investment to run the trail along the East side, I doubt M-NCPPC will want to spend the resources on a west-side trail.
It is far more important to connect Cheverly to the trail via Beaverdam Creek most likely, and some steps are being taken in that direction.
Posted by: Jim T | October 18, 2012 at 09:27 AM
Don't call it a boardwalk. Boardwalk's are for play and toys. Call it a causeway. Causeways are for utility and purpose.
Posted by: Brendan | October 18, 2012 at 09:35 AM
I think they're talking about a concrete "board"walk in the tidal zones. Of course, storm surge flooding from a hurricane could flood it, but it probably wouldn't be damaged unless there were also battering waves. I doubt that downriver fresh water flooding would be very common in the tidal zone, but would stand corrected if others know better.
The Great Allegheny passage trail near Pittsburgh has a lot of non-wood "boardwalk" sections that seem really durable (and ride nicely -- grippier and smoother than weathered wood)
Posted by: Greenbelt | October 18, 2012 at 10:30 AM
Purple Eagle, that's what I meant when I mentioned M Street. I suppose it's a little north of M though.
Posted by: washcycle | October 18, 2012 at 11:30 AM
@WC, I guess you are right that the bridge would pretty much line up with M St. I got thrown off by that description because (1) M does not go all the way to the river and (2) for some reason I was thinking of Massachusetts.
Posted by: Purple Eagle | October 19, 2012 at 08:38 AM
@Jim T- Can you provide more info re the steps that are being taken to connect Cheverly to the trail? Thanks
Posted by: todd | October 19, 2012 at 10:01 AM
@todd: I hope to have a relatively complete story on that in a few weeks. MNCPPC has been studying trail connections from Cheverly to the Anacostia for two years or so. Elected officials from Cheverly have been pushing M-NCPPC for the connection lately.
I've been pushing to connect the WB&A to the Anacostia trails because the lack of a trail to the east is the most obvious gap in the regional trail network.
FYI: There is a also a low volume WB&A list serve that sometimes has stuff before it makes it into a blog. You can send an email to to join the WB&A Trail list-serve.
Posted by: Jim T | October 19, 2012 at 03:48 PM