District of Columbia officials opened the newest section of the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT) today, a 1.5 mile stretch of pavement that connects Brookland (Franklin Street) to NoMa (New York Avenue).
In all, the MBT will run the 8 miles between Union Station and Silver Spring, largely on dedicated bike trails, complimented by murals, solar lighting, new parks, and connecting the National Mall with 7 Metro stations.
"We plan to continue to build trails until we have a complete, interconnected system in the District," said DDOT Director Gabe Klein in a prepared statement. In fact, planners of the trail hold out hope that the trail will be entirely off-street, though current plans still contemplate significant portions of street lanes at several points on the trail. In another step forward, the District has received an easement from WMATA to connect the trail to the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station.
The District broke ground on this section of the trail in May of 2008, after PEPCO donated property along the CSX railroad lines to form the trail. Several portions of the trail have already been completed. In time the trail will connect to the Capital Crescent Trail at Silver Spring; the CCT now ends just east of Rock Creek Park. The MBT will also later add a spur from the Ft. Totten Metro to West Hyattsville.
Still to be resolved are land acquisitions at Ft. Totten Metro and several pedestrian-bike bridges, which those knowledgeable of the trail expect within the next two to three years.
Washington DC transportation news
2 comments:
I've already ridden this trail. It is very nice, and it avoids all the hills one normally encounters between Brookland and Noma.
wow, what a finely rewritten press release.
http://dc.gov/mayor/news/release.asp?id=1894&mon=201005
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