The Capital Trails Coalition is celebrating the completion of the final segment of the Anacostia River Trail. The official ribbon cutting will take place at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens on Monday, October 31, 2016 at 10:00 am.
The new trail segment is located along the Anacostia River between Benning Road in the District of Columbia and Bladensburg Waterfront Park in Prince George’s County, Maryland. It passes through the Parkside community and by the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, connecting 7 miles of existing trail along the Anacostia River in D.C. to more than 28 miles of paved trails in Maryland.
“This segment of the Anacostia River Trail System is a great example of of the type of multi-jurisdictional cooperation that is needed to develop a fully connected regional trail network in the Washington metro area. The Capital Trails Coalition is working to facilitate projects like this across the the region.” said Greg Billing, Executive Director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.
To design and construct this final link of the Anacostia River Trail, the District of Columbia, the state of Maryland, the M-NCPPC Department of Parks and Recreation in Prince George’s County, and the National Park Service executed formal agreements to address design, signage, construction permitting and maintenance. A federal TIGER Grant from the Federal Highway Administration was key in providing funding; Amtrak, Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) and various environmental agencies were key partners.
“The Kenilworth segment of the trail exemplifies the Coalition’s goal of creating a world-class network of multi-use trails which are equitably distributed throughout the Washington D.C metropolitan region,” said Liz Thorstensen, Vice President of Trail Development at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.
This segment provides walkers, bicyclists, and nature lovers access to scenic stretches of the Anacostia River, long popular with paddlers, where one can regularly see egrets, eagles, deer, and other wildlife. The trail also makes it possible for the area’s residents east of the Anacostia River in D.C. and Maryland to commute and recreate more safely.
“The Capital Trails Coalition applauds the many jurisdictions who have made this connection come to fruition and looks forward to working with these parties–national and local government agencies, nonprofit trail advocates, and many more,” said Jack Koczela, Chair of the District of Columbia Recreational Trails Advisory Committee.
The Capital Trails Coalition is a collaboration of public and private organizations, agencies, and citizen volunteers working to advance completion of an interconnected network of multi-use trails for metropolitan Washington, D.C. The Coalition convenes and coordinates among the public and private stakeholders who are critical to accomplishing the vision of an interconnected network. In addition, it continually works to identify trail funding, broaden the base of support, and cultivate widespread consensus that a capital trail network is a regional priority.
Find the press release here.
