Update on the Trolley Line Trail - What Shall We Name the Trail?

Someday -- assuming continued good efforts from our elected officials and local enthusiasts -- you'll be able to get on your bike and casually ride down to Franklin's, or Busboys & Poets, or up to College Park Bike Shop -- or anywhere else between Ch. Armentrout Rd in Hyattsville and MOM's and REI in North College Park -- on the Trolley Line Bike Trail. Here's a picture of the trail -- now a dirt path -- leaving Town Center headed north towards the Cafritz Property. Envision in its place a nice, wide, well-lit (and hopefully still green!) paved surface ferrying commuters, shoppers, students and folks just out for a stroll or ride between Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, University Park, College Park, and the UMd Campus, as well as to and from the Metro and MARC stations.



Here's a link to a Google Map of the entire route of the proposed hiker-biker trail: Map of Riverdale Park MD Trolley Hiker-Biker Trail; see more hiker-biker links, below.


Wheels of Fortune

Riverdale Park is extremely fortunate, being right on the Northeast Branch Trail of the Anacostia Tributary Trail system. (It's one of the reasons we wanted to live here.) This also places us right on the East Coast Greenway, which follows the Northwest and Northeast Branch Trails, and then the Indian Head Creek Trail up to Greenbelt Rd -- and beyond. All of this means that we have easy access to an entire network of trails that are ideal for recreational purposes. The proposed Trolley Line Hiker-Biker Trail will contribute enormously to making this a truly biker-friendly place to live, by making it convenient and safe to run errands around town while leaving the car in the driveway. But there is much more that we can do as well. For example, Rob Oppenheim earlier suggested designating at least one on-road bike lane that would provide a safe connecting route between the Northeast Branch Trail and the Trolley Line Trail. (I would think it makes sense to choose a route that aligns with the new Anacostia Trails signage in town).

The Hyattsville Bikers Unite group has made important strides towards Hyattsville someday being a safer, friendlier place to walk and cycle. You can see some of what they've accomplished on the Hyattsville Wiki site here: Hyattsville Bikers Unite. Riverdale Park is much more than just our Town Center. If some of us dedicate ourselves to the task, perhaps we can improve the safety conditions on our roads and sidewalks all over town -- including Kenilworth Ave and perhaps even Route 1!

And here's a powerpoint presentation on the Hyattsville end of the Trolley Line trail -- as part of the broader Hyattsville Legacy Trail, Concept Plan (PowerPoint) 2/17/04 - includes Trolley Line Hiker-Biker Trail.

Please share any ideas you have on how to make our town a safer place to live, walk, and ride.

Biking to Work

Some folks are biking to work from our area -- and some of these helpful, community-minded folks are using the Gmap site to plot and measure their route on a Google map. Here are a few that have been done:

• Marc Molino's Riverdale Park to Chinatown:
  http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1103282
• Jim Groves' Hyattsville to Logan Circle - Scott Circle
  http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1100960
• Anne Villeacres: Hyattsville to Bethesda
  

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1100912

Alice Ewen Walker's Riverdale Park to College Park

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1411753

What are your favorite rides?

Please share your favorite (or most-hated) rides. Where you go, why you like it. What wildlife do you see? Map it, too, if you desire, and share the link here.

• Riverdale Park to the end of Northwest Branch Trail (paved portion) and return via UMd Campus and River Rd [15.8 miles, Dwight Holmes] What a gorgeous ride the upper end of Northwest Branch Trail is. The middle six miles of this route, up from the University Ave crossing to the Beltway and back, are pretty spectacular. The creek travels mostly in a pretty deep ravine, and the trail follows it pretty closely. It's like a mini-Rock Creek Park - you really can't ever see any of the houses above you, on either side of the trail (this isn't true once the leaves fall, of course, but even then the feeling of seclusion endures). And the tunnel crossings of Riggs, New Hampshire and Piney Branch take you through true Kodak moments. I know the NW Branch Trail continues on beyond the Beltway, but it looks like you'd want a mountain bike for that portion of the trail. If you simply reversed your route along the NW and NE Branch trails to home, the ride would be 18 miles. Leaving the NW trail at University and coming home through campus and the pedestrian tunnel at the College Park MARC station makes the ride shorter by about two miles, but does give you the uphill between University and Adelphi. You can find photos of the Montgomery County portion of the trail (north of Piney Branch) at Neighbors of the Northwest Branch home page.
  

• Riverdale Park to Cherry Hill Rd (via Paint Branch Trail) and back [14 miles, Dwight Holmes]
  This is our regular ride - Northeast Trail to Lake Artemesia, Paint Branch Trail through campus and up to its end (Cherry Hill Rd), and home. Actually, the roundtrip distance is a bit less than 14 miles if you take the short side around Lake Artemesia on the way home (as we do). We don't seem to get tired of this trail at all (and Michelle rides part of the same route up to College Park to go to work and back too).
  Wildlife: We regularly see deer and rabbits. These days (summer '07) I think we've seen deer every single time out. I can't think of a day we didn't see at least one. On the section of the Paint Branch Trail between the RxR tracks and Rt 1 we usually see a family of deer -- and they don't seem to be bothered by our presence at all.
  (I once saw a fox in this area -- just after crossing the Trolley Line trail and heading into the woods between there and Rt. 1. But only once, and it's been a while).

There's an odd critter that lives near College Park airport. Perhaps a groundhog? It seems quite large. It lives in a rotting log on the west side of trail, just before the sharp turn at the end of the runway.
Of course there are the rabbits (almost always visible along the banks of Lake Artemsia on the south/west side (Paint Branch Trail side), and also near the soccer field just north of Metzerott, between Metzerott and University.

• Riverdale Park - Greenbelt Park-Lake Artemesia Loop (10.5 miles, Dwight Holmes)

We just tried this for the first time. Quite a shock -- we get spoiled with the lovely but flat Anacostia system trails. There are a couple of pretty good climbs -- the first one up Good Luck Rd to Parkdale High School, then one or two more inside the park. It's gotta be good for us, right? Next time it will seem easier... There are other ups and downs inside the park of course, but the first uphill was the killer. (though I doubt it's really any more of a climb than what we get in Rock Creek Park -- we just weren't prepared for it, I think.
Wildlife: We did the trip at midday -- not a time we usually expect to see much wildlife. We saw a single deer inside Greenbelt Park -- just as we passed a "Deer crossing" sign. Then we saw another single deer just as we were leaving Lake Artemesia, before the high-arched bridge before the airport. And of course, the proverbial rabbits along the side of Artemesia were there too.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1135196

• Riverdale Park - Takoma Park (downtown) (8.1 miles one-way) [Northeast Branch-Northwest Branch-Sligo Creek Trails + city streets in Takoma Park]
  

The Sligo Creek trail would be great if it weren't for the three grade crossings on busy, main roads that come in quick succession: Riggs Rd., East-West Hwy, and New Hampshire Ave!

Hiker - Biker Links

Media (articles, etc.)

• Without a Car, Suburbanites Tread in Peril

Loudoun Residents Blaze Their Own Risky Trails Where Sidewalks and Bike Paths Are Lacking
By Michael Alison Chandler, Washington Post, Monday, July 16, 2007

Mass Transit

• MARC Trains (live tracker & other info)
• WMATA (Metro trains/Metro bus)

Links to Bicycle/Advocacy Organizations

• ACTION ITEM: Sign on to WABA letter to the Powers-that-Be in PG County to fund the many bike friendly projects
• 
  
• Heard of a "Bike Bus"? Read about this eco-friendly commute idea from Australian website
• Bicycle and Trails Advisory Group (BTAG, PG Co. Planning Dept)
• Washington Area Cycle News Updates
• College Park Area Bicycle Coalition
• Washington Area Bicyclist Association
• Hyattsville Bikers Unite (Yahoo group)
  • Hyattsville Bikers Unite Wiki Page
• Rails to Trails Conservancy Group
• The East Coast Greenway (Maine to Florida via Riverdale Park)
• Metropolitan Branch Trail (Silver Spring to DC w/PG Connector from West Hyattsville Metro)
• Montgomery Co's Northwest Branch Trail Page
  

Mapping

• Map out and measure your route using Gmap -- and save the map, too.

Local Bike Shops

• Arrow Bicycles (Hyattsville)
• College Park Bikes (College Park)
• Proteus Bicycles (College Park)
• Mt. Rainier Bicycle Co-op (Mt. Rainier)
• REI (College Park)
• The Bicycle Place (Silver Spring)