TheWashCycle

Trails and Transit access get funding in 2018 TLC Program grants

Last May, the MWCOG approved 9 projects as part of their Transportation Land-use Connections (TLC) Program. The TLC Program provides short-term consultant services to local jurisdictions for small planning projects that promote mixed-use walkable communities and support a variety of transportation alternatives. Some of these nine projects have, or likely will include, elements to improve biking. Those include:

District of Columbia – Barry Farm-Metro Access Feasibility Analysis - This project will determine the feasibility of a new transportation connection across Suitland Parkway between the Barry Farm public housing complex redevelopment and the Anacostia Metro Station. Since DC is already doing a feasibility study of a trail along the Shepherd Branch railroad corridor, and since that is one ideal location for a crossing - grade-separated or otherwise - this study may aid that effort. 

Prince George’s County - Cheverly Metrorail Station Bike/Ped Access Study - This project will provide planning and design assistance for improving bicycle and pedestrian access to the Cheverly Metro station. Currently, non-motorized access to the station is extremely limited (WC: This is true) because of missing or fragmented pedestrian and bicycle facilities. The master plan recommends trails and bikeways designed to enhance pedestrian safety and provide better access to the station. Improvements may include sidewalk retrofits, trail connections, and on-road bicycle improvements. This project will provide planning assistance to refine these alternatives. Such improvements will increase the comfort and convenience of walking and biking, and establish a foundation for multimodal transportation to the Cheverly Metro and surrounding communities. 

Prince George's County – Eastover and Forest Heights Trail Improvements - This project will provide planning assistance for several trails and sidewalks in the Eastover and Forest Heights area. These communities have fragmented sidewalk networks and few on-road bicycle facilities. In addition, MD 210 is a barrier to east-west pedestrian movement and trail connections are lacking to Oxon Run Trail in Oxon Cove Park (Oxon Run Trail is in DC, Oxon Creek Trail is in MD, but whatevs). The Prince George’s Master Plan of Transportation recommends a series of improvements to enhance pedestrian safety and provide better access to the region's trails and bicycle network. This project will help to implement the vision outlined in that master plan as well as in the Eastover/Forest Heights/Glassmanor Sector Plan. It will also assist with trail improvements to Oxon Cove, and provide regional connectivity per the National Park Service Paved Trails Plan.

Fairfax County - Laurel Hill-Lorton VRE Connector Trail Feasibility Study - The Laurel Hill-Lorton VRE Connector Trail would provide a link to the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail and adjacent communities on the west side of I-95 with the Lorton VRE Station and neighboring communities on the east side of I-95. The trail would enhance connectivity within Fairfax County for pedestrians and bicyclists, specifically connecting new developments in Laurel Hill with direct access to the Lorton VRE Station. This feasibility study would examine the engineering challenges related to this trail project, such as crossing Pohick Creek, and crossing the current/future CSX Railroad bridges and VDOT I-95 bridges. The TLC feasibility study would also develop preliminary cost estimates and provide guidance for prioritizing future funding for engineering design, right-of-way acquisition, and project construction. 

Several other projects were declined funding, these include:

Scott & Veirs Drive Shared Use Path Design in Rockville

Capital Bikeshare Equity User Survey in Arlington - "We seek technical assistance to design and execute a survey of
current and potential future Capital Bikeshare users, for a better picture of the barriers and opportunities to better serve low-income and minority communities, non-English speakers, and casual (nonmember) users in particular"

Long Bridge Trail Action Analysis in Arlington - Arlington County seeks help advocating for improved bicycle and pedestrian connectivity in the vicinity of Long Bridge. Specifically, Arlington proposes building a direct link between Long Bridge Park, a future new Long Bridge, and the Mt. Vernon Trail. This link can best be realized in the context of the once-per-century opportunity presented by a new Potomac River crossing

City of Fairfax Transportation Demand Management Program

Complete Streets Network Connectivity Plan in College Park

Development of Mixed-Use Zoning Regulations to Support Multi-Modal Travel and Connectivity in Small Area Plans in Prince William County

 

 

CWL 2018 #2 Forest Heights to Brandywine

The 3rd of 4 lines that cross inside the Beltway in Prince George's County, the line between Forest Heights and Brandywine ends about 2000 feet from the DC boundary and a little more than a football field away from the Oxon Hill Farm Trail in Oxon Hill National Park. 

I recall when the Wilson Bridge Trail opened, I was told that the original plan for connecting the Wilson Bridge to DC was to use the power line ROW from the OHF trail to the Bald Eagle Road Bridge over the Beltway, but that it had run into opposition. It's still the best option. A small connection (purple) from the trail to the end of the ROW would connect the two as well as the Forest Heights neighborhood at Seneca Drive.

Getting through the interchange would be extremely difficult, but skipping over that, a separate trail could be built on the ROW from Carson Park in Oxon Hill to Cherry Tree Crossing Road in the Cheltenham area of Brandywine. In fact a section south of Piscataway Road already has a trail, the Green Trail, on it as part of the Cosca Regional Park trail system.

Along the way, such a trail would intersect with the Henson Creek Trail at Tucker Road, and with other power line ROWs elsewhere at Tucker Road, at Burches Hill and then on the east terminus. Those ROWs could connect to Capital Heights, the Nice Bridge, White Plains and all the way to Germantown in Montgomery County and Dunn Loring, VA.

There would be some tough crossings for this trail - especially at Branch Avenue and Crain Highway - but altogether the ROW could be used to create a relatively painless pair of trails about 14 miles long.

Oxon Run Trails are complete

This isn't really news, since they had the ribbon cutting and a 5K last month, but the improved and expanded Oxon Run Trails are now complete and open. 

The new trail is wider with a smoother and repaired surface. It is straighter and south of Atlantic, where it used to only be on one side of the stream, it is on both. It also connects along South Capitol Street to the Maryland boundary where someday it will connect via a new trail to the Oxon Creek Trail. The street crossings have been improved and with new trail crossing and wider curb ramps (before and after)

The new trail now has a nice wide, smooth surface with wider areas at the turns, signage and new landscaping. In contrast to it's old appearance (I can't compare this below section to the old trail, because this is a new section that runs from Atlantic to South Capitol along the west bank). 

The trail ends at 13th Street with a sidewalk connection to Southern Avenue. Someday I hope it continues along at least one bank of Oxon Run through the NPS land to the Naylor Run Metro Station.

This is the new crossing at Atlantic Street, trail users in the past had to cross at Livingston Road and then go back across Oxon Run on the narrow bridge sidewalk to connect to the trail again. 

On the west bank, the north end of the trail deadends at 13th Street. Some kind of better transition is needed here, whether it be to the street and a bike lane, or to a continued sidepath along Mississippi to 15th Where the sidewalk picks up.

On the south end, the trail crosses South Capitol and then becomes a wide sidewalk/sidepath until it gets to Maryland at the Winkle Doodle Bridge over Barnaby Branch.

The 2010 Concept Plan (image below, north is to the right) had trails continuing south along the east bank of Oxon Run and then crossing into Maryland and over Barnaby Run onto trails that connected to the existing Oxon Creek Trail, but that was not included in this project, not was the trail from Joliet to Success Avenue.  I don't know if those are on hold or totally dead.

The two images below give some idea how the trails were expanded and moved. The old map is on top.

They're much nicer now. They will be even better if they're expanded to the south and the north, but that needs coordination with NPS and PG County.

 

Say Goodbye to the "Big Stinky": DDOT to Begin Metropolitan Branch Trail Extension

On October 31, 2017, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) issued the Potomac Construction Company a Notice to Proceed for the design-build construction of the next phase of the Metropolitan Branch Trail. The new trail will connect the existing trail from John McCormack Drive in Brookland to the Fort Totten Metro Station. This is the next major milestone toward the completion of the Metropolitan Branch Trail.

The new trail segment will provide a direct off-street route for bicyclists and pedestrians traveling through the Fort Totten area. It will include LED lighting, security cameras, and way-finding signage, and permeable pavement, along with bio retention facilities, which are similar to rain gardens.

Using a design-build process for construction of the Metropolitan Branch Trail streamlines the final design process and construction, which is expected to be conducted, weather permitting, within the next 18 months.

DDOT recently completed another upgrade to the Oxon Run Trail in Ward 8. The Oxon Run Trail project created new connections to Oxon Run Park and surrounding neighborhoods and included installation of new benches, tables, bicycle racks, and LED lighting. The project also uses porous pavement and additional green infrastructure to improve water quality in Oxon Run.

DC's year of trails

Ever since the 2005 Bicycle Master plan, there have been about 7 bike trail projects out there either making no progress (Rock Creek) or very slow progress (Met Branch) - as well as a couple others, like Watts Branch and the Anacostia trails, that have progressed nicely. I kept saying that this was going to be the year (well the fiscal year at least) that the logjam breaks and so it seems to be.

A review:

In late September, work began on the federal government's portion of the Rock Creek Park Trail as part of the rehab of Beach Drive. And in a rare turn of events, part of that trail rehabilitation was moved up on the schedule, not back.

The first segment was originally supposed to re-open this spring, but Barnum said it will take two more months to finish the work. Once crews started ripping things up, project managers decided to fix the walking and biking trail now instead of later.

“But in the long run, we are preventing future inconveniences down the road, so to speak, by taking care of the trail work now, rather than delaying it into the future, having to come back and re-close the road that’s already been rehabilitated,” Barnum said.

Phase I will wrap up this summer, but the whole project will last into 2019.

A few weeks later, in early October, work began on the rehabilitation and expansion of the Oxon Run Trail. That project will modernize the section of trail from South Capitol Street, S.E. to 13^th Street, S.E. and add something around a half mile of new trail sections. 

The Oxon Run Trail runs through a Districtowned park in Southeast, Washington, DC. The project is designed to improve access within Oxon Run Park and the non-motorized network connections to surrounding destinations by rehabilitating the existing trail, as well as extending the trail network. The project will also be installing new trail lights, wheelchair and bicycle ramps, benches, tables and bicycle racks

The four phase project is now into phase 3 and it's expected to complete around mid-July. 

And that project now has its own website. Hooray!

By the end of October 2016, the Anacostia Trail's Kenilworth section was opened. 

In addition to Oxon Run and phase I of the Rock Creek Park Trail rehab, this summer will likely see the opening of the Klingle Valley Trail (a little behind schedule). 

And, if that isn't enough, it looks like work on the Metropolitan Branch Trail's next section could begin this year. 

That's five major projects that either started, ended or will run their course in a 12 month period. That's a pretty big year for trails in DC. 

NPS Trail Maintenance Project at Oxon Cove

The Earth Conservation Corps has organized a pair of Trail Maintenance days at Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm in Maryland. One was last Friday, but the other is this upcoming Friday, March 31, 2017 from 9:00am to 3:00pm. 6411 Oxon Hill Road, Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Contact Nate Ogle, [email protected]

Progress on the Oxon Run Trail

On my inaugural ride back on the bicycle after getting the cast off, I went to check out the Oxon Run Trail, which is currently being  rebuilt, improved and expanded. Last time I went there, in late November, only the section south of Atlantic was being worked on, but now they've expanded the work all the way to 4th Street SE and a little beyond it.

The concrete work is farther along then the asphalt is. So the wide sidewalk portion of the trail along South Capitol from Oxon Run to Winkle Doodle Branch and the Maryland boundary is mostly finished.

 Farther north, more sidewalks are complete, but the trail sections have only one layer of asphalt down at this point.

Just past 4th Street a lone piece of construction equipment has started removing turf in preparation for a new section of trail.

Then I also swung by St. Elizabeths to check out the "pedestrian walkway" built in 2013 and connecting 11th Place SE with the Pavilion. It's clearly intended for the primary use of pedestrians, but I see no reason why a careful cyclist couldn't use it as a shortcut. Unfortunately on this day there was a pretty good reason why I couldn't use it - it was closed for construction. I'm not sure what construction was going on or why it was running long.

I kind of wonder who uses this walkway, it stops short of both the Congress Heights Metro and the Homeland Security facility.

Oxon Run Trail Rehabilitation has begun

Perhaps I missed the press release* but in the last few months, DDOT began work on the Oxon Run Trail Rehabilitation Project in Ward 8.

Oxon Run is a Potomac River tributary that starts in District Heights, MD, crosses into DC just north of the Southern Avenue Metro, runs through southern DC, then back into Prince Georges Count at 1st Street SW and finally empties into Oxon Cove. There is a system of trails on both sides of the stream through much of DC, and that system is being rebuilt, improved and expanded.

Map of the current trail system

It appears that the rehabilitation is being done in phases and that the phase currently underway extends from the Winkle Doodle bridge at South Capitol and Southern to Atlantic Street, SE. 

The trail was in terrible condition. Though I don't have any photos of the section being rebuilt now, I did get photos of the trail sections north of Atlantic which are indicative of the state of the trail south.

The existing trail is being removed and replaced with a wider trail, routed along lines that make more sense and with more connections to the nearby streets. It will also be extended from its current terminus at South Capitol along South Capitol to Southern. Along South Capitol the trail will become a sidepath, which will replace the sidewalk and be set farther from the road.

Plan for trail along South Capitol

Trail under construction along South Capitol

The Concept Plan recommended extending the trail south along the east side of Oxon Run, crossing Barnaby Run in Maryland just before it meets the Run and then meeting up with, and repaving, the existing "trail" at Audrey Lane in Maryland. It also recommended a trail connection from MLK Avenue and Joliet Street to DC Village, but it doesn't appear that those sections are being built at this time, if they ever will.

The Concept Plan also recommended a separate trail bridge over Oxon Run at South Capitol, but instead the trail will utilize the narrow sidewalk.

Concept plan for Oxon Run Trail at South Capitol

Paving Plan for  Oxon Run Trail at South Capitol

North of South Capitol the trail will be greatly improved both from a state or repair standpoint and for its utility. 

North of 13th Street, the Concept Plan called for the trail to connect to Southern Avenue - and thus Maryland - via side paths and bike lanes, but the Paving plan does not extend beyond 13th. 

DDOT is doing most of what it can to improve this forgotten trail. But the trail's value will reach full potential once it extends south to the Oxon Cove trail (and thus to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge) and north to the Naylor Road Metro and an extended Suitland Parkway Trail. But all of that depends on Prince Georges County making some progress on those efforts.  

Another future project that could improve the trail is the restoration of Oxon Run itself. About 40% of Oxon Run and its tributaries within the Oxon Run watershed have been relegated to either pipe or concrete-lined channel (like the Los Angeles River).

As a result of this reduction in natural channel and the high percentage of impervious surface in the watershed, the stream tends to witness flashy, intense flows.

Most of the unnatural portions are in DC. Seeing the stream restored and daylighted would make the trail more pleasant while bringing many environmental benefits as well. DC would like to do so, but it won't be easy.

The concrete lined portion of Oxon Run, running between South Capitol and 13th Streets, SE, a 7,920 foot long stretch, is perhaps the most difficult section to restore.

Stream restoration of Oxon Run to help accommodate the urban hydrology regime is extremely ambitious. Yet, as already mentioned, stream restoration may be the only way to meet the spirit, if not the rule, of the Clean Water Act. Restoring Oxon Run, and in the process Oxon Run Park, would improve the both the environmental and social aspects of the stream corridor. Stream restoration, would allow for the reestablishment of benthic communities in the stream. It would also provide a tremendous educational, recreational, and ecological resource for the communities of South East DC. Stream restoration would be a capstone to the long positive trend of redevelopment in this once forgotten, but still underserved area. The monetary costs associated with this project, however, will be high. The USFWS, in 2004, estimated that stream restoration in the DC portion of Oxon Run would cost $6,888,888 and stormwater treatment wetlands would cost an additional $1,094,000. This is a rough estimate and may be low, the rising cost of materials, and the technical difficulty of this project will likely inflate the cost.

*The project website also makes no note that work has begun, but they were putting the project out to bid this summer. Perhaps people noticed that work had begun while on the 50 States Ride.

NPS moves forward on new 1 mile recreational trail in Ward 8

NPS is proposing a new multi-use trail (or a "multi-use biker trail" as NPS calls it) in the Blue Plains area of DC and Maryland that will connect the existing trail through Oxon Hill Farm National Park to Shepherd Parkway SW. At a midpoint along the trail there would be a bike rack and a 370-foot-long elevated wooden ramp that traverses the steep decline down to the water and a 20-foot by 20-foot observation deck above Oxon Cove. It won't serve much of a transportation purpose, but will be a nice recreational trail.

 

The trail would be built on top of a capped landfill, so steps will be taken to avoid excavating contaminated soil. The project would require the removal of about 260 young, mostly invasive trees. The only other alternative being considered is No Action. 

The South Capitol Street Trail, as last proposed, will also connect to Shepherd Parkway SW.

The Environmental Assessment has been completed, and is available for comment for 1 more week.

NPS Trails Study - National Capital Parks East

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 the National Capital Parks East. The NPS study is about paved trails, which it defines as asphalt or concrete trails that serve pedestrians and cyclists of all abilities. While the C&O Canal Towpath and the Fort Circle Hiker Biker Trail are not paved, NPS has included them in this study due to their regional significance. 

1. (E1.1) Develop an on-street connection between Shepherd Parkway along Blue Plains Drive SW and DC Village Lane to Oxon Hill Farm Trail - this is a high priority project and was covered in this earlier post. 
2. (E1.2) Improve connection from Audrey Lane and Forest Heights Elementary School to Oxon Run Park and Oxon Hill Farm Trail 
3. (E1.3) The South Capitol Street Trail 
4. (E1.4) Construct an off-road connector from the Suitland Parkway Trail to the Fort Circle Hiker-Biker Trail
5. (E1.5) Develop an off-road trail along Fort Davis Drive SE and Fort Dupont Drive SE with a connection to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail under I-295
6. (E1.6) Connection from the Fort Circle Hiker-Biker Trail to the Minnesota Avenue Metro Station
7. (E1.7) Connection from the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail to the Minnesota Avenue Metro Station
8. (E1.8) Develop an on-street facility from Oxon Hill Farm Trail across 495 to Oxon Hill Road and Harborview Avenue (in Prince George's Co.); improve signage and crossings; connect to the POHE - this is a high priority project and was covered in this earlier post. 
9. (E1.9) Develop an on-street trail (along 13th SE and Dogwood Street) to connect the improved Oxon Run Trail to the Suitland Parkway Trail through Saint Elizabeth's  with a link to Metro.
10. (E3.1) Develop a regional trailhead facility with bikeshare at Oxon Hill Farm
11. (E3.2) Develop a regional trailhead facility with bikeshare at Poplar Point Park
12. (E3.3) Develop a local/NPS trailhead facility at Fort Dupont Park
13. (E5.1) Conduct a feasibility study to establish an offroad trail facility along Oxon Run extending through D.C. and MD linking to Pennsylvania Avenue, SE and the Congress Heights Metro Station
14. (E5.2) Conduct a feasibility study for extending the Suitland Parkway Trail from the D.C./MD line to the Henson Creek Trail, and to also address upgrades to the D.C. portion of the trail - this is a high priority project and was covered in this earlier post. Interestingly, the Henson Creek Trail doesn't extend to the Suitland Parkway, so this shoud really be an added part of this project.
15. (E5.3) Work with Prince George's County to explore the feasibility of a trail along the Baltimore Washington Parkway (or other nearby corridor) to connect Washington to Baltimore

A few things I'd like this to pull forward from the 1990 plan are

• Extend the Fort Lincoln Trail to the Anacostia and take it across the river either on or underneath the US-50 (New York Avenue) Bridge
• Extend the Kenilworth Park trails east along Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue to the Mavin Gaye Park Trail
• Building a trail from Buzzards Point along the shoreline of Fort McNair (I know, fat chance, but in 1990 they thought it was possible) to the SW waterfront
• Urge appropriate agencies to implement long-standing open space plans by opening up the Potomac shoreline to trail use from Oxon Cove/Wilson Bridge to the Douglas Bridge through Blue Plains, NRC and JB Anacostia-Bolling. [Again, fat chance. But interesting that this seemed to be the policy at the time, and so how it was that a direct connection from DC to the Wison Bridge was missed remains mysterious]

Then, of course, there is the EOTR Fantasy map. Key among them:

• A trail along the abandoned railroad to Blue Plains