Last August, DC finished design work on the section of trail from the DC line to Piney Branch Road. It's only about 400 feet, but for trail users it will be nice to not have the trail end midblock. The 10' wide trail will replace the existing sidewalk and curbside lane of unregulated street parking.
This will also require moving or replace some lighting, catch-basins, wires and signals as well as cutting down a handful of trees. In addition to the trail, the block will get ADA compliant curb ramps and signal buttons, a planting strip between the trail and road that will include a bio-retention facility, new traffic calming curb extensions on the north side sidewalk and the replacement of the concrete street pavement with composite. The trail will be made of permeable material for better draining.
Pepco is currently working on the Takoma to Sligo Underground project here and this work will be coordinated with that, which should wrap up this spring.
Meanwhile, work on Phase A (John McCormack to Bates Road) of the Fort Totten Section is scheduled to resume in April. Work started last June, but was paused for weather (?) on January 15th. Work on Phases B-D are still scheduled to start this month with all work done by Spring 2020. The final design contract to connect the Fort Totten and Eastern Avenue sections is anticipated for award this spring.
On the PG County connector side, some very small progress is being made. Last year NPS completed a report on formalizing the desire path between Galloway Street & Gallatin Street, NE in the Fort Totten area. The plan is to build a 10 feet wide, 320 feet long paved path between the two with lighting
Demolition work is underway south of that on Bryant Street project at the Rhode Island Avenue Shopping Center site. That project will rebuild and realign the Met Branch Trail next to it and create a pedestrian plaza entrance to the trail.
Farther south, we got updated plans for Phase II of the Washington Gateway project between Florida and New York Avenues last summer and those were approved in January, but that approval was then appealed by activist "neighbors" in February. This is the same group "United Market Neighbors" who protested the Rhode Island Avenue Shopping Center project and got the size reduced by 200 units. This new building will be adjacent to the Met Branch Trail and will include a bicycle lobby (of probably normal power) to connect the trail to the Gateway and Florida Avenue.
Lastly, there was another robbery and beating on the trail this week.
A man was robbed and beaten at gunpoint late Saturday night as he walked home on the Metropolitan Branch Trail in Northeast Washington, the D.C. police said.
The attack occurred as rain was beginning about 11:30 p.m. near the 300 block of R Street NE,a police report said. An early account indicated that as many as 10 youths may have been involved.
Breaks my heart hearing that. IDK the solution other then have more trail rangers.
Posted by: Pepper Burly | March 18, 2019 at 08:39 AM