RTC TrailBlog : metropolitan branch

Watch: D.C. Residents Meet the Met Branch Trail

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:59:00 GMT

On June 5, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy celebrated National Trails Day by hosting an event with Kaiser Permanente on the Metropolitan Branch Trail. The event, called Meet the Met: Party on the Met Branch Trail, introduced surrounding communities to a new pathway that had opened only one month before. While some area residents had been involved with the long history of getting the trail built, many in the surrounding neighborhoods didn't know that the trail existed. By working with our partners to host a celebration that included something for and from all parts of the community - free bike repairs and rentals, garden plantings and shows by cheerleaders from nearby Beacon House - we hoped to christen the trail and introduce it to all of Northeast D.C.

Nearly 1,000 people turned out on a hot June day for the celebration, and of the over 200 we surveyed, nearly half had never been on the Metropolitan Branch Trail before. Photos and video (embedded above) can give you a flavor of the day's events, which included salutes to longtime trail advocates, a bike rodeo to teach kids safe riding skills, live music along the trail and a raffle of four bicycles donated by local shop Arrow Bicycle.

Meet the Met is just the beginning. A new listserv connecting neighbors who care about the Met Branch Trail attracted more than 100 members in its first week and a meeting is being held on July 8 to move the conversation from the online world to the real world. Even with community support, this trail faces challenges, such as littering and public safety. But the Met Branch is not alone. As part of RTC's Urban Pathways Initiative, this trail is connected to dozens of others across the nation addressing similar issues, providing a support network to learn about best practices from other cities.

A School Garden Begins to Bloom Along D.C. Rail-Trail

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:26:00 GMT

By Jesse Kurtz-Nicholl

As part of the Meet the Met grand-opening celebration on Saturday, June 5, DC Prep Academy Charter School and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy teamed up to add another school garden into the growing rolls of urban agriculture taking place around the country. The 1,000-square-foot garden, set in Northeast D.C.’s Edgewood community, will combine an edible forest of fruit trees, perennial vegetables, herbs, insectary plants and dynamic accumulators with a large space for growing annual crops like collards, corn, squash, tomatoes and more.

The advantage of this garden site is that it is located along the brand-new Metropolitan Branch Trail coming out of Union Station, which provides previously cut-off communities accessibility to the metro and to Union Station and the Capitol. The garden will not only beautify the new trail, it will hopefully connect the charter school to the community in a new way. DC Prep is housed in old industrial buildings that had used the nearby railroad, and even now their middle school campus has no playground to speak of. A true “urban” campus, DC Prep students are absolutely the students that most need to be reconnected to the growing of food and how it affects our lives

Plans are being made for how the garden will be used, but classes and teachers are already lining up to use the garden in their curriculum. Hopefully, the site will be used not only to educate students in genuine food production, but bring a small and steady stream of locally grown produce into the homes of the students and teachers at the school. DC Prep already is at the forefront of school food, using Revolution Foods as their sourcing agent, and we hope next year to collaborate with Revolution Foods in cooking demonstrations using food from the garden.

Crossposted at Center for a Livable Future. Photo by M.V. Jantzen/Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

A Long-Awaited Ribbon Cutting for a D.C. Trail

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Mon, 03 May 2010 20:32:00 GMT

This morning, District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty and DDOT Director Gabe Klein joined neighborhood residents, area cyclists and long-time trail advocates for the ribbon cutting of a key missing link in the Metropolitan Branch Trail. A photo set from RTC features images of today's event.

Residents of Edgewood, Eckington, Brookland and much of Northeast D.C. now have a seamless route to Union Station and downtown that bypasses busy arteries including Rhode Island, New York and Florida avenues. While this ribbon cutting was twenty years in the making, today is only the beginning of the fun for area residents. May is National Bike Month and this month the trail will host commute convoys, walking tours, and neighborhood bike rides culminating in Meet the Met, a grand opening celebration on National Trails Day, June 5. To keep on top of all the happenings, sign up for Met Branch Trail e-mail updates.

The process of completing this trail took a few twists and turns over its many years. In February, we were lucky enough to be joined by DDOT trail planner Heather Deutsch (in photo, with Mayor Fenty) at Urban Pathways to Livable Communities, a conference hosted by RTC to bring together professionals working on the challenging issues that surround trails in urban neighborhoods. Heather presented a short history of the trail and the hurdles it faced during construction. A video of her presentation is below:

Meeting of the Minds on the Met Branch Trail

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 18:28:00 GMT

Outdoor Afro author Rue Mapp, in town for the launch of President Obama's America's Great Outdoors Initiative, stopped by the Metropolitan Branch Trail for a walk with D.C. neighborhood residents, park activists and cyclists. As contractors worked over the weekend to complete a major new section of trail, the group discussed how to sustain engagement with the surrounding neighborhood and the city's larger African American population after the trail's grand opening celebration on June 5.

Recently, Outdoor Afro hosted a bike ride in Richmond, Calif., aimed to get many of that city's black residents back on their bicycles. Many aspects of that ride can be applied to rides near other urban pathways; for example, having the ride snake through the heart of a neighborhood before going to the trail helps raise consciousness among area residents. When a group of 25 cyclists go by on the street, after all, people tend to notice!

The potential of the Metropolitan Branch Trail to be more than a simple right-of-way also inspired many of the walk's participants. Along the trail's length, there are spots for permanent murals, gardens, bike stations and more. Although construction on this section of trail is nearing completion, the work is just beginning for many who live in the surrounding neighborhoods and care about this trail.

Trails and Trees: A Natural Fit in the City

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:29:00 GMT

Yesterday morning, RTC staff, volunteers and members joined with Casey Trees and NoMa Business Improvement District (BID) to plant trees on streets leading to the Metropolitan Branch Trail in Washington, D.C.'s Eckington neighborhood.

The morning kicked off with an introduction to the day's tasks and a few words from D.C. Council member Harry Thomas, Jr. Yesterday's planting was unique in that it featured plantings along the street, in residential backyards and on commercial property--a full-court press in an effort to restore the District's tree canopy. The District Department of Transportation pitched in, as well, cutting new tree boxes on Eckington Place, a street adjacent to the trail, in time for yesterday's planting.

There is more in store: street trees planted yesterday will be maintained by NoMa BID, and Casey Trees will be joining RTC at the June 5 grand opening of an important new section of the trail. Also, for those in D.C., be sure to be on the lookout for the Casey Trees Water By-Cycle, the greenest way to keep the capital green.

UPDATE (04/06/2010): Photos of the event from NoMa BID are available on Flickr.

What Do a Rail-Trail and a Grocery Store Have in Common?

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:33:00 GMT

Last week, the Safeway grocery store at the Rhode Island Avenue Shopping Center in Washington, D.C., closed its doors. Although the store location was walkable from the Edgewood neighborhood and close to a Metro station, the neighborhood is bisected by a traffic-choked road and a rail line, leaving the shopping center cut off from many potential customers arriving on foot and by Metro. Many elderly residents of the Edgewood Terrace complex had used the Safeway but now must negotiate narrow sidewalks on busy Rhode Island Avenue to access a different supermarket instead.

At NRDC Switchboard, Kaid Benfield took a look at this closing as a case where a potentially transit-oriented neighborhood has the right ingredients but an insufficient connection between development and transit, with the result hurting both businesses and residents:

Craig Muckle, an official for the Safeway chain, told Washington Post writer Hamil R. Harris that the Edgewood Safeway had been unprofitable for a decade: "While we are closer to the Metro, the Giant is more convenient for people coming off the Metro, and it is located in a plaza that is frankly more vibrant."

In addition to the Metro, the rail corridor bisecting the neighborhood is home to the Metropolitan Branch Trail. With the trail comes an opportunity to better connect the neighborhood with its Metro station. The Edgewood section of the trail is being completed this spring, and plans are already under way for a pedestrian bridge between the trail at the shopping center and the Metro faregates. Students of nearby schools and residents of Edgewood Terrace will no longer have to risk walking alongside speeding traffic on Rhode Island Avenue, or jumping a fence to cross active CSX tracks illegally. Along with a mural painted last summer (the city's largest), these new connections provide Edgewood an opportunity for transit- and trail-oriented development.

Rendering of pedestrian bridge concept by The Louis Berger Group

Rail-Trail Activities Can Help You Stick to New Year’s Resolutions

Lindsay Martin (RTC) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:35:00 GMT

It’s that time of year again. With holiday indulgences behind us and the promise of a new year ahead, one of the most popular resolutions for Americans is to start – and stick to – a regular exercise routine.

Here are some ideas for using your local rail-trail to help keep your exercise resolution:

Rail-Trail Exercise Club – Join a running or walking club, like the So Yo Trail Blazers, which meets on Saturday mornings at the Heritage Rail Trail County Park in Pennsylvania.
Rail-Trail Race – Training for a running or cycling race is another good way to incorporate regular exercise into your schedule. There are a number of races on rail-trails around the country, including the Pace of Courage in Portland, Ore.; the Katy Trail 5K in Dallas, Texas; and the Cumberland Valley Rail-Trail Race, Run, Ride, and Ramble in southern Pennsylvania.
Commuting Convoy – Join other bicyclists in your area in riding to work regularly, like the Don’t Sweat It! morning rides that RTC hosted last October on the Metropolitan Branch Trail in Washington, D.C.

These activities also help build awareness and support for your local rail-trails. If you can’t find a group in your area, invite your friends and neighbors and start your own. You’ll be exercising regularly in no time. And when you need a little extra motivation, the other members in your group will be there to nudge you on.

Photo by Stephen Miller/Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

Rail-with-Trail: Tracks and Trails Can Share the Corridor

Kelly Pack (RTC) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:24:00 GMT

As more communities seek to accommodate both active and rail transportation, rail-with-trail has become an increasingly popular concept. Many successful examples of rails-with-trails exist in North America, but it's not uncommon for local leaders and railroad companies to be apprehensive about developing multi-use paths within active railroad rights-of-way (ROW).

However, mounting evidence supports the claim that trails and trains can coexist, and more rail-with-trail projects are in development across the United States and Canada. At RTC, we are often contacted by local and state groups that want to know how to advocate for rails-with-trails in existing and planned railroad ROW. Through this exchange, we have a growing collection of resources that can help build the case for rail-with-trail. For a summary of rail-with-trail issues and a comprehensive list of studies, reports and photos, visit the rail-with-trail section of our Trail-Building Toolbox. Also, be sure to check out RTC's newest publication, California Rails-with-Trails: A Survey of Trails Along Active Rail Lines. There are also numerous resources available elsewhere online:

Photo Collections

Trails with Rails - John Luton's Flickr site: Luton is a councillor for the city of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, and executive director of the Capital Bike and Walk Society. His impressive collection of rail-with-trail photos provides a glimpse of the newly developed E&N Rail Trail (named for the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway) as well as examples from other jurisdictions.
Capital Bike and Walk Society - Rails-with-Trails Photo Gallery: John Luton's photos can also be found in this photo gallery, which includes images from Nanaimo, Seattle and Portland.
American Trails - Cool Trail Solutions, Rails-with-Trails: This gallery includes photos from rails-with-trails in California, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin.
Schuylkill River Park Alliance - Trail Crossings Photo Gallery: Between 2003 and 2007, the Schuylkill River Park Alliance (formerly Free the River Park) successfully campaigned to provide better access to the Schuylkill River Park Trail by urging the city of Philadelphia and CSX Transportation to allow safe street-level crossings and develop a connector bridge between the trail and the "original" Schuylkill River Park. Their collection of photos illustrates dozens of safe trail and rail crossings.

Statewide Rail-with-Trail Advocacy Efforts

The Virginia Bicycling Federation has garnered support from dozens of national and state organizations requesting a formal endorsement from Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine to support rails-with-trails along all major rail projects in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Read more about their effort to implement innovative rail-with-trail policy at the state level.

New Rail-with-Trail Projects

Capital Metro Transportation Authority of Austin, Texas, includes rails-with-trails in the long-range transit plan and completed a feasibility study in 2007 that illustrates how multi-use trails will be developed and integrated with transit development.
The Metropolitan Branch Trail in Washington, D.C., includes a segment that is directly adjacent to a large railroad ROW used by CSX Transportation, Amtrak, MARC commuter trains and Washington Metro Red Line.
Railroad Park, a proposed 20-acre multi-facility park in Birmingham, Ala., includes rail-with-trail.
The city of Kelowna in British Columbia, Canada, recently completed the first phase of a proposed 20-kilometer rail-with-trail project.

Photo of Cedar Lake Regional Trail in Minnesota by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

RTC Partners with D.C. After-School Program for Bike Giveaway Along Rail-Trail

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:37:00 GMT

UPDATE: The October 29 edition of the Washington Post has an article about the event. Be sure to take a look!

On Friday, October 23, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) partnered with Beacon House, a tutoring and mentoring organization in the Edgewood neighborhood of Washington, D.C., to give free bicycles, locks, helmets and safety instruction to 40 students enrolled in Beacon House programs. The $20,000 bicycle giveaway, which aims to encourage use of newly completed sections of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, was part of RTC's Metropolitan Grants Program, funded by the Coca-Cola Foundation.

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA), a long-standing advocate for the completion of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, provided bicycle safety training for the students who received bikes. RTC, WABA and Beacon House staff assisted the students with helmet fittings and bicycle adjustments prior to a ride along a newly completed section of the trail. Local bicycle shop Oasis Bike Works has committed to monthly check-ups for the next year with students receiving bikes at Beacon House to perform tune-ups and teach the students about bike maintenance.

Beacon House offers educational, cultural, recreational and athletic programs to roughly 400 children and youth, ages 5 to 18, from low-income families, per year. The bicycle giveaway is part of RTC's ongoing commitment to provide amenities, resources and opportunities to Ward 5 residents near the newly constructed Metropolitan Branch Trail.

RTC is committed to expanding the use of rail-trails in urban areas across the nation. Many neighborhoods in major urban areas face the challenges of obesity, congestion and scarcity of open space. In addition to the Metropolitan Grants Program, in 2009 RTC launched its Urban Pathways Initiative, enabling communities to become part of the solution. Rail-trails and urban pathways provide opportunities for healthier living, which in turn effect positive change in neighborhoods where the demand for improved health and community empowerment is greatest.

Photos by (L) Lindsay Martin/Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and (R) Stephen Miller/Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Interested in the mural in the background? It's D.C.'s largest, and it's right on the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Learn more about it. More photos of the event can be found on the Facebook page of event partner Oasis Bike Works.

RTC to Host October Commute Rides on Metropolitan Branch Trail

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:31:00 GMT

October is the perfect time for cycling around D.C. - summer's heat has cooled but winter's chill has yet to arrive, and key sections of the Metropolitan Branch Trail are nearing completion! To introduce interested residents to commuting by bicycle along the Metropolitan Branch Trail, RTC will be hosting Don't Sweat It! Morning Commute Convoys on Mondays in October - and you're invited!

We'll show you how easy it can be to commute by bike to work downtown, and you'll get to see the Metropolitan Branch Trail as a crucial section is completed between Franklin Street and New York Avenue, creating a safe connection between Brookland, Edgewood, Eckington, NoMa and downtown! With pick-up points near the Takoma and Brookland-CUA Metro stations, our convoy will arrive at Big Bear Coffee at 8:30 AM, located at 1st and R Streets NW. From there, we will split into groups heading for our final destinations.

For all the details and a route map, take a look at the latest Metropolitan Branch Trail update. Be sure to sign up, too - registration is required!

D.C. Residents Turn Out for Bike and Walk Tours of New Trail

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:12:00 GMT

A major section of Washington, D.C.'s long-awaited Metropolitan Branch Trail is now under construction and close to completion. The first layer of asphalt was put down last week between Franklin Street and Rhode Island Avenue, and construction continues south to New York Avenue along the rest of this 1.5-mile section of trail in the Edgewood and Eckington neighborhoods. Last week, RTC partnered with the Coalition for the Metropolitan Branch Trail, the D.C. Bike Ambassador and the Brookland Neighborhood Civic Association to host Bicycling in Brookland, an event to answer questions about safe cycling and the trail, which will connect Brookland residents with downtown.

In addition, two tours this past weekend took area residents onto the trail for the first time. On Saturday, a bike tour of Ward 5 led by Bicycle Advisory Council member Jeanie Osburn attracted 38 cyclists from across the city and prominently featured the new section of trail. A smaller group of about ten area residents came on Sunday for RTC's tour of the Metropolitan Branch with D.C.'s trails planner, Heather Deutsch. Many in attendance have been awaiting the trail's completion for years, and while one part of the trail has fresh pavement, the key missing link that would connect this new stretch to an existing section at the New York Avenue Metro station is still awaiting stormwater runoff permits from WMATA and may not be completed until spring 2010 because of this delay.

Photo: Cyclists on Saturday's tour use a newly-paved section of the Metropolitan Branch Trail for the first time. Finishing touches on the trail, including gravel running paths on each side, remain to be installed. Photo by Stephen Miller/Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

D.C.'s largest mural painted adjacent to future rail-trail

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:29:00 GMT

At left, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty cuts the ribbon with artists and community leaders on the city's largest mural, entitled "From Edgewood to the Edge of the World." Photo: Stephen Miller/Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

Graffiti has long been a fact of life in the District of Columbia, and the rail corridor that runs through the Edgewood and Eckington neighborhoods in the city's Northeast quadrant is home to plenty of illegal tagging and art. Instead of whitewashing walls only to have them be marked again weeks later, the District government has begun to connect youth with artists who help them hone their skills as part of the city's Summer Youth Employment Program.

One result of this effort is what is now the city's largest mural, covering a wall over 1,000 feet long adjacent to the Rhode Island Avenue Red Line station and the Metropolitan Branch Trail. A 1.5-mile long section of the trail is currently under construction next to the mural, and will soon connect Northeast neighborhoods to Union Station and downtown.

The arts group behind the mural is Albus Cavus, which was hired by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities to work with Summer Youth Employment Program participants on the mural, located beside a shopping center. Through our work on encouraging community engagement around the planned trail, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy helped connect the commission and the artists with the shopping center's manager.

The mural was painted over the summer at a rapid pace, with artists from across the nation moving to the Edgewood neighborhood for the summer to participate. Neighborhood residents appreciate the new art, as well. "The artwork is just amazing," Wayne Sumpter told the Washington Post. "It definitely gets your attention. It wakes you up. When I come through here I'm not thinking about a lot, but the wall stopped me. It pulls you to it."

UPDATE: A short documentary about the mural was shown on Current TV. Watch it here: