The W&OD trail ends in Shirlington, but the railroad went all the way to the Potomac Yard railyard in Alexandria. The last bit of it makes up the SW edge of the Oakville Triangle. The owner of that industrial triangle is planning to redevelop it, which is where an opportunity comes in.
But before it gets started, Alexandria has decided to replan the area over the next year. The first meeting of the nine-member community advisory group is scheduled for Tuesday.
The advisory group work plan includes land use, open space, connectivity, transportation and community amenities, illustrative principles and building design and massing.
“It’s finally getting some attention,” Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille said last month. “Property owners/developers are eager to redevelop this Oakville Triangle portion, but rather than coming in and saying ‘Here’s what we want to do,’ staff is suggesting that we put together a comprehensive civic advisory group.”
It's hard to see it, but there is a railroad berm right here, and a rail bridge used to cross Route 1 at this point. By building a new bike ped bridge in this location and replacing the Mt. Jefferson Park Trail along the old berm, Alexandria could make a safer connection between the development, the bike lanes on Commonwealth Avenue and the trails built as part of Potomac Yards.
When I first moved to this area in Alexandria almost 40 years ago, the concrete support (is that the right term?) at the berm was still intact on the west side of Rte 1. A similar one is still present on the west side of Russell Rd, just south of West Glebe, where the W&OD tracks once crossed Russell Rd.
Posted by: Walsh44 | April 29, 2014 at 04:16 PM