NPS Trails Study - Rock Creek Park

The National Park Service's National Capitol Region (NCR) recently released a draft version of its "Paved Trails Study", which serves as a plan for how NCR sees the paved trail network, both within and outside of the parks, developing in the future and as an update to the 1990 plan. In addition to identifying several high priority capital projects, the NPS Paved Trails Study also identifies some lower priority capital projects which it groups by park.

Comments are open until May 19th.

Here are all the paved trail projects identified for Rock Creek Park

Immediate (0-2 years) - these are both high priority projects that were covered in this earlier post. 

1. (R5.1) Evaluate the feasibility of an on or off-road trail facility along Military Road NW from Glover Road NW to 16th Street NW
2. (R5.2) Evaluate the feasibility of an off road trail facility along Oregon Avenue NW from Military Road NW to the D.C./MD line with a connection to Beach Drive and the Rock Creek Park Multi-use Trail

Short term (0-2 Years)

1. (R1.1) Continue to coordinate with DDOT for closure of existing gap along Klingle Valley Parkway at Woodley Road to Piney Branch Parkway. {I'm not sure which gap they're referring to. Is this the trail that is currently underway? BTW, stream restoration along the creek was completed last month - see next post)
2. (R1.2) Develop full-time on-street bike lane/ facility along Glover / Ridge Road NW from Broad Branch Road NW to Military Road NW
3. (R1.3) Develop an off-road trail facility from 16th Street NW to Fort Stevens Park, Fort Slocum Park and to Fort Totten with connection to MBT.
4. (R1.5) Develop an off-road connection to MBT from Bates Road NE to Kansas Avenue NW via Fort Totten Park
5. (R1.6) Develop an off-road connector linking the Fort Circle Park Trail and the Northwest Branch Trail to proposed the New York Avenue Trail, by going from Gallatin Street NE and Eastern Avenue NE along Fort Circle Parks through Barnard Hill Park to the New York Avenue Trail
6. (R1.7) Construct an off-road trail adjacent to 16th Street NW between the Piney Branch Parkway Trail and Meridian Hill Park; connect it to 15th Street NW cycle track per Move DC plan
7. (R1.8) Coordinate for development of on-street facilities on Military Road from Oregon Avenue NW to Nebraska Avenue NW
8. (R4.2) Increase signage, lighting, and improve safety at all at-grade crossings in Rock Creek Park
9. (R4.4) Enhance crossing at Sherrill Drive entrance at 16th Street NW

 MId-Term (5-10 years)

1. (R1.4) Develop an off-road trail from Fort Totten/ MBT via Fort Circle Park to Avondale Park and the Anacostia Trail system
2. (R3.1) Enhance existing trailhead in Montgomery County into a local trailhead standard
3. (R3.2) Develop a local trailhead facility in Fort Totten with connections to Fort Circle Park Trail and Met. Branch Trail. Increase lighting and security measures in park.
4. (R4.3) Implement multi-use EA recommendations on Calvert Street NW between Beach Drive NW and Klingle Road NW

 

Many of the 1990 Trails plan elements are underway or will be very soon, but a few are left out or modified. For example the "northern section" of the Rock Creek Park trail (see below) is still in the 2016 plan, but now along Glover/ Ridge Road, Oregon Avenue and potentially Daniel Road. The dropped ideas include

1. Connect Massachusetts Avenue to the Rock Creek Park Trail by signing and paving "Lovers Lane" and building a new bridge across Rock Creek. Create another paved connector from W Street and 44th to Rock Creek via the Whitehaven Parkway and Dumbarton Oaks Park
2. Encourage the Smithsonian to re-design its security so that the stream side trail through the Zoo can be used 24 hours a day, all year round (and bypass the tunnel). 
3. Build a trail along Broad Branch Road. DDOT did work on a plan three years ago that would have, controversially, added a climbing lane and sidewalk, but I've heard nothing about that since August 2014, when the decision was 60-90 days away. It is in the obligation plan for FY 2019 though. Perhaps the trail is still in play if Broad Branch is closed to automobile traffic Klingle Road-style in the "Save Nature Alternative"
4. Coordinate a DC proposed, on-street bicycle route along Whitehaven Parkway to Wisconsin Avenue. Not sure how useful a "route" is, 

Here again, I'd like to see some thought about Capital Bikeshare in the park. And bike parking. My experience is that when going to any destination in the park, there is basically no bike parking. Maybe that has already changed?

One last thing I might add is a trail along Fenwick Branch, the stream that connects from Rock Creek to the north corner of DC. Fenwick used to be a train station on the Met Branch line, it was located a little north of the Silver Spring station where Fenwick Lane would meet the Met Branch (if it extended that far), and Fenwick Branch ran right up to it. Most of the stream in Maryland has been buried, but a small trail connection from where Fenwick Branch leaves DC to the future Capital Crescent Trail could have some real utility and lay down a marker for a linear park/trail in a redeveloped Summit Hills. It appears that NPS was hinting at it in 1990 (see below)

Comments

[Purple Eagle]

I like the idea of a Fenwick connector. There is an existing dirt/hiking trail connecting the Valley Trail near Boundary Bridge to Grubb Rd. Looks like there is a small strip of park land north of Grubb, which would connect to the Fenwick stream valley. If the connection were made from EW Highway to Grubb, cyclists could use West Beach.

I am impressed by the number of planned connections in the 0-2 year range, but am skeptical that they can all be done in that period of time. And it's surprising that the connection to Avondale Park from Gallatin St, which I have been reading about as a proposal for many years, slips to the 5-10 year plan. I thought this was going to be done as part of the next segment of the Met Branch Trail.

[TJ]

AFAIK, the Broad Branch Road trail idea has not been completely abandoned, but negotiations with some of the foreign land owners along the route have proven difficult. It's time to shake the trees for another update, though.