Did you miss our February newsletter? We are including it here. Want to sign up for our quarterly newsletter? Sign up under “Start Your Trail Journey” on our home page!
Has the cold and gloomy weather got you down? Hopefully this newsletter will bring you some joy as the winter weather has not slowed us down! We are excited to share some of the projects we have been working on since our last update back in October.
First, we’d like to welcome our newest Coalition members! We are thrilled to welcome 11 new members: ULI Washington, DPR, Multimodal Access and Public Spaces (MAPS), Sustainable Mobility for Arlington, Washington Women Outdoors, Medical Society of DC, AARP Maryland Chapter, Coburn and Greenbaum, University of Maryland Transportation Services Department, M-NCPPC’s Dept of Parks and Recreation, and Proteus Bikes! In addition to growing our membership base, we have also been building up our social media following. In the last 10 months, we have grown our Twitter following by 128%!
We are also growing our team. I am excited to welcome the Coalition’s first intern, Meredith Loui! Meredith is a senior at George Washington University and is majoring in psychology with a double minor in exercise science and anthropology. You can usually find Meredith outside, but when in, she is an avid baker, reader, and crossword puzzler! Meredith will be with us until May and we are very excited to have her.
Regional Updates:
- Each fall, the CTC meets with our jurisdiction partners to go through a round of map updates. We go through and add in new trail projects and ensure all the trail segments still match the latest design plans. Explore our interactive map to see if you can pick out some of the new projects!
- As you may remember from our last update, we hit our fundraising goal back in October to develop a report that quantifies the economic, health, and environmental benefits of the regional trail network. We are close to finalizing the report and will be doing a celebratory launch at the end of April! More details to come soon. We hope you will be able to join us as we celebrate this major milestone!
VA Updates:
- In November, VDOT held a public meeting to discuss the Boundary Channel at I-395 Interchange Improvement Project. We submit comments asking for 1) the trail to be designed for all bikes including tandems and cargo bikes 2) the trail to be extended to 12’ wide, and 3) for the ramps and crossings to be raised to give drivers a clearer cue to slow at the crosswalks.
- We are keeping our eyes on the W&OD Trail Bridge over Lee Highway. The bridge should open to cyclists and pedestrians in March!
- In January, we provided comments to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority asking them to continue to fund trail projects.The NVTA Funding Program has awarded funding to several projects in the Capital Trails Coalition Network including the Boundary Channel Drive Interchange, enhancements to the W&OD Trail, and the Route 7 widening/shared-use path.
- We sent in a letter of support for the Route 29 Northbound Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements near the Vienna/Fairfax GMU Metro station.
MD Updates:
- In November, wecelebrated the opening of the College Park Connector Trail!
- We sent a letter to the Director of Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) asking him to dedicate funding to the Prince George’s Connector Trail and the Oxon Run Trail. DPWT has $15M and is in the process of selecting bike/ped projects to invest in over the next 5 years.
- We developed maps for our 7 priority projects in Prince George’s County to better understand land ownership.
- We submitted feedback for the The Adelphi Road-UMGC/UMD Purple Line Station Area Sector Plan Project. We want to see a better connection for cyclists and pedestrians between the Northwest Branch Trail to the future Adelphi Road/ UMUC/ UMD metro station.
DC Updates:
- We wrote a blog post about the status of the Metropolitan Branch Trail in both The District of Columbia and Montgomery County!
- We partnered with the Department of Parks and Rec and with Friends of Oxon Run to organize morning walks on the Oxon Run Trail this fall. DPR plans to launch these walks again this Spring!
- DDOT is updating moveDC, the District of Columbia’s long-range multimodal transportation plan. The CTC shared our trail priorities with the moveDC project managers. The moveDC team is currently looking for feedback on their moveDC strategies. Feedback will be accepted through Wednesday, March 31st. Take the survey here! The survey does not mention trails as a mode of transportation. Please add comments asking to see trails included as a priority!
- WABA is hiring two Trail Rangers for the 2021 Trail Ranger Team! These positions are expected to begin April 29th and will end on September 30th, 2021. Pay will be $18.50 per hour for new Trail Rangers, and $19.00 per hour for returning Trail Rangers. These positions are seasonal, full-time opportunities. Shifts will still vary in start time, and will be scheduled on weekdays and weekends. Learn more about the position here.
Want to get involved with the CTC?
- Become a Member! Does your organization, company, or agency care about trails? Could you help us advance our vision to complete a nearly 900-mile network of multi-use trails across the region? Reach out to Stephanie Piperno at Stephanie.Piperno@waba.org to learn about how you and your organization can join the CTC!
- Follow us on Twitter: @TrailsCoalition
