RTC TrailBlog : metropolitan branch

Trail Voices: Megan Odett

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:00:00 GMT

By Megan Odett

Before I had a kid, I used to be a cyclist of the "strong and fearless" variety. No road was too busy and no bike lane too narrow to stop me from getting to my destination by the most direct route. After I had my son Alex, though, it was as if I had become a newbie all over again. Suddenly I was hyperaware of every vehicle, every pothole, every pedestrian and every hazard on the road. I began to prioritize traffic calmness much more in choosing my routes.

Around the same time, I discovered the Metropolitan Branch Trail.

A little miracle in the heart of Washington, D.C., the Met Branch Trail enables Alex and me to bike from our Bloomingdale home to some of our favorite destinations while avoiding some of the city's most dangerous roads. From our house, it's an easy four-block ride to the trail's R Street access point. From there, we can head south to NoMa and Near Northeast, skipping the twin nightmares of New York and Florida avenues. Or we can pedal north to Brookland, gliding over the commuter artery of Rhode Island Avenue.

The Met Branch is a huge help during our several-times-a-week commute to daycare. For those trips, we bike north on the trail to Brookland, then zigzag on side streets over the Maryland border to Hyattsville. The trail helps us bypass the commuter traffic of Rhode Island Avenue and converts the exhausting ups-and-downs of Edgewood into a persistent but manageable uphill climb.

My favorite part of our daycare commute is the trip home, when the sweat from the morning's uphill climb pays off in a long downhill run and we fly past the trees and the railroad tracks, with the Capitol dome ahead of us and Alex waving his hands in the air to feel the wind.

The Met Branch is still a work in progress. The District Department of Transportation and numerous other partners are still working to complete the trail from Union Station to Silver Spring, Md. Even before the rest of the trail is completed, there are projects that will improve the trail's connection with neighborhoods and transit stops.

Since we live in Bloomingdale, we use the R Street NE entrance in Eckington to access the trail. For us and many others, R Street is not only a gateway to the Met Branch Trail, it's an important cross-town street for cyclists, stretching nearly three miles from the Met Branch Trail in Eckington to Rock Creek Park.

The only problem is that R Street is one-way for a single block in Eckington. In order to avoid illegally bicycling against traffic on our return trips, I hop up on the curb for that one block. Although a legal maneuver outside of downtown D.C., it's not the best solution. The sidewalk is narrow and residents store their trash cans there. I'm always worried that I'm going to run into a fellow sidewalk user or knock over someone's trash can--especially on days when we're using our bike trailer.

For that reason, I've been following the recent debate over proposed changes to R Street with interest. I support the proposed addition of a contraflow bike lane to the one-way block and sharrows to the rest of R Street NE from North Capitol Street to the trail entrance. It will make this section of R Street safer for cyclists, drivers and pedestrians by slowing down traffic in this residential neighborhood--without eliminating any on-street parking spaces.

This connection may face debate and delay, but it is critical to making our neighborhoods better places to walk and bike--not to mention raise a family. The Met Branch Trail has made it easier and even more fun to bike around town with my son. I'm so grateful to have this resource, and I look forward to many more miles on the trail with him.

Megan Odett is the organizer of Kidical Mass DC, which promotes safe, fun family biking in the Greater Washington area.

Crossposted at Kidical Mass DC.

DC Prep Brightens up the Met Branch Trail

Jake Lynch — Tue, 17 May 2011 13:03:00 GMT

The opening of the Met Branch Trail in Washington, D.C., last year provided a great resource for commuters and nearby communities. One year later, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) is working to help those who live, work and play near the trail make the most of this multi-faceted facility.

On Friday, RTC staff members Kelly Pack, Stephen Miller and Lindsay Martin joined local artist Quest Skinner, fitness trainer Chikaro Martin and a group of D.C. Prep School 2nd and 3rd graders for a special work party on a section of the trail in Edgewood.

Between their school building and the trail, the students already tend a vegetable and flower garden. Drawing inspiration from that garden on Friday, the students painted a mural with the bright and bold colors of tomatoes, grapes, apples and vines.

Out on the adjacent trail, Martin gave the youngsters an energizing workout, with relay races and agility exercises, demonstrating how the trail is a great place for recreation and an asset for keeping our communities fit and healthy.

The event was part of a growing partnership between RTC and DC Prep, whose staff and students use the trail regularly. Click on the photo at right for more pictures of all the fun!

Photos by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

Video: RTC Joins Tree Planting on the Met Branch Trail

Karl Wirsing (RTC) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:47:00 GMT

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Last Thursday, April 21, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) joined Casey Trees out on the Met Branch Trail in Washington, D.C., for a tree planting. RTC and Casey Trees staff were joined by a great crowd of friends, supporters and volunteers to plant golden rain trees and sweet gum along a particularly exposed section of the trail just north of the New York Avenue Metro Station, as well as a strand of fruit trees in one location adjacent to the Rhode Island Avenue Metro Station.

"The idea is that we're going to line this section of the trail with trees so that we have a continuous tree canopy, so during the very hot summers in D.C. it will be much cooler, and much more pleasant on the trail," says Heather Deutsch, bicycle program specialist and trail planner with the District Department of Transportation. Deutsch lives right along the Met Branch Trail and is a regular user.

The goal of the fruit trees is to create a small orchard that will become a popular community gathering place, with trail users stopping to enjoy not only the shade of the trees but also the persimmons and apples they will bear in a few years.

For RTC staff, it was a great to roll the sleeves up and work side-by-side with Casey Trees and all the volunteers who came out on a lovely spring day to improve the trail and celebrate Earth Day. A number of passers-by showed their appreciation of the new trees by stopping to say thank you.

"We are building life with our hands," said Jeff Ciabotti, RTC's vice president of trail development. "What could be better than that?"

The planting was made possible through RTC's Metropolitan Grants Program (funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation) and supported by D.C.-based BicycleSPACE.

(Also, read more about RTC's partnership with Casey Trees in the 2011 Green Issue of Rails to Trails magazine!)

Tree Planting with Casey Trees

Jake Lynch — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:05:00 GMT

One of the great things about being part of such an active community organization like Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) is getting to partner with our friends in the nonprofit world on projects where we share a common interest.

For the past couple years, we've especially enjoyed working with Casey Trees, which since 2002 has partnered with the neighborhoods of D.C. to make sure we have enough trees is this urban metropolis.

Improving the tree canopy of communities has a close relationship to the mission of RTC. Shady areas for rest and relaxation are important amenities for rail-trails, especially in the summer. Strands of healthy trees make trails more appealing places to visit; they also play a crucial role in the broader ecosystem, in busy cities as well as in wilderness areas.

This Thursday, April 21, RTC and Casey Trees are teaming up to celebrate Earth Day with a community tree planting along the Metropolitan Branch Trail in D.C.

If you live in the area and use the trail, this is a great chance to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty--improving this vital community facility and partnering with two nonprofits doing great things in your neighborhood.

There will be snacks and drinks from 3 to 6 p.m. Commuters--stop by on your way home from work!

For more information and to register as a volunteer, visit Casey Trees' website.

Photo of tree planting courtesy of Casey Trees.

Trail Voices: Michael Henderson

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:35:00 GMT

Rail lines and six-lane commuter arteries slice across the Edgewood and Eckington neighborhoods of Washington, D.C. Just to the south, across a dangerous intersection, sits the NoMa business district. This formerly industrial area has received $1.5 billion of investment, including a new Metro station, offices, retail and a supermarket. At the southern edge of NoMa is Union Station.

Michael Henderson has lived in Edgewood for nine years. To travel the two miles between his home and Union Station--a trip that can be made in 12 minutes by bike--Henderson would drive his car because he didn't have a safe, convenient way to get there.

That trip is now a little easier after the opening of the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Named for the rail corridor it parallels, the pathway soars over busy avenues and connects to neighborhood streets, offering a quick route for people to walk and bike between downtown and neighborhoods in Northeast D.C.

Since the path opened, Henderson has taken his bike more often, sometimes four times a week, down the trail to Union Station. "I've never ridden my bike more," he says, "because there's never been a trail."

In some ways, riding the trail is a return to childhood for Henderson. Growing up in Denver, Colo., he remembers biking three or four miles to school with his friends. Since moving to Washington, Henderson has tried to keep physical activity integrated with his daily routine. "I'm not someone who likes to go to the weight room," he says, "but I can get on my bike and ride." He adds with a laugh: "I coast a lot."

But Henderson is worried that some of his neighbors aren't using the trail as much as they could. "There are tons of folks like me who understand the value of a trail...but there's certainly a significant number of people in Edgewood who have never used a trail," he says. "Inertia is our biggest obstacle here."

The solution is reaching out to neighbors, through community celebrations, tree plantings, 5K races and good old face-to-face contact. "One by one, people will say, 'I guess that trail is real,'" Henderson says. Once they're out on the trail, "they love it...It will eventually meld into the culture of Edgewood."

Now, when he bikes past a group of people walking on the trail, he often knows someone in that group, who introduces him to the rest of the party. "Turns out, it's a neighbor that lives a block away," he says. As his neighbors begin to use the trail more, Henderson wants them to take ownership and become stewards of the trail. "You've got to invest in it."

Even as the trail has improved access for residents, there is still more to do. The only route to the Metro station at Rhode Island Avenue follows a narrow sidewalk underneath a dark railroad overpass, with six lanes of commuter traffic speeding past. Before the trail was built and fences were installed, many residents used a shortcut that crossed an active freight rail corridor.

A pedestrian bridge between the trail and the station is being designed that will provide a direct, safe route for Edgewood residents connecting to transit. It will also introduce new people to the trail. "They will use that to access the Metro," Henderson says, "then they'll see where the trail continues...and they'll say, 'Oh! That's the way to get there.'"

Trees for Trails! RTC Partnership Greens D.C. Rail-Trail

Kelly Pack (RTC) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 20:19:00 GMT

On Saturday, December 11, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) teamed up with Casey Trees to plant 29 trees on the Metropolitan Branch Trail in Washington, D.C. More than 50 volunteers braved chilly winter weather for the community tree-planting event, adorning the trail with a variety of species including Cherokee sweetgum, Kentucky yellowwood, Eastern Redbud, paperbark maple, crape myrtle, golden raintree and saucer magnolia. As the trees grow, they will provide a much-needed shade canopy along the trail, improve air quality, reduce storm water runoff and provide habitat for wildlife.

The planting was part of RTC's Metropolitan Grants Program, funded by the Coca-Cola Foundation. Casey Trees, a D.C.-based organization that works to restore, enhance and protecting the tree canopy of the nation's capital, will continue to water and care for the trees with their innovative Water By-Cycle and High School Summer Crew programs. Casey Trees' new headquarters is located a few blocks from the Met Branch Trail route, making them a natural partner and trail steward. RTC is grateful to Casey Trees staff and Citizen Foresters and looks forward to planting fruit trees on the trail in Spring 2011.

Interested in planting more trees along your trail? Check with your state's Urban Forestry Coordinator to learn more about available public resources and local nonprofits that can assist. Your local forester can also provide guidance on planting the right tree in the right place.

Trail Voices: Drew Snodgrass

Karl Wirsing (RTC) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 14:30:00 GMT

by Marshall Pearson

Up to four times each week, second-grade teacher Drew Snodgrass can be seen pedaling his vintage red Schwinn road bike along the Metropolitan Branch Trail, enjoying the early morning solitude before the forthcoming deluge of classroom activity. Joggers training for a marathon and other commuters punctuate the landscape, and Snodgrass has even witnessed the talents of muralists as they covered an adjacent wall with silhouettes of cyclists. He says the subdued activity on the trail has had a calming effect and makes it easier to teach throughout the day.

Snodgrass recently moved to Washington, D.C., to teach at DC Preparatory Academy, a public charter school. He has been a bicycle enthusiast since his days living in Chicago before attending Illinois Wesleyan University. In a metropolitan area where traffic is congested and car parking is scarce, Snodgrass found himself biking from classes to his job on almost a daily basis, depending on weather conditions. A move to the northwestern corner of Mississippi as a Teach for America corps member position saw his riding transition mostly to trail activity, and cycling was no longer a viable commuting option. However, Snodgrass moved to Washington sans automobile and, once again, he turned to his bicycle as a primary mode of transportation.

After discovering the eight-mile Metropolitan Branch Trail, or Met Branch, on Google Maps (which uses trail data from RTC's online trailfinder, Traillink.com, to formulate bicycling directions) and hearing about the trail from co-workers planning to start a girl's running club, he began utilizing the new path and has integrated it into his daily life.

"I don't own a car, but even if I did, I think biking on the Met Branch Trail is a quicker and easier way to make the commute," he says. "It's such a nice and convenient route between my house in Capitol Hill and my school in Edgewood. There's no direct street route connecting those neighborhoods, but the trail goes straight from M Street Northeast and drops me [right] at the backdoor of my school-and it's a relatively flat and easygoing ride."

Snodgrass merges with the trail near M Street, less than a mile from his home in the Capitol Hill area, and exits near Edgewood Street and the DC Preparatory Academy. All told, the journey takes approximately 20 minutes.

"Sometimes I catch a ride with a co-worker, and by the time we fight traffic, find parking and walk from the parking lot to the school, I could have saved 10 minutes by biking," he says.

Even though Snodgrass tethers his Schwinn to the school's chain link fence before the start of the school day, he allows his renewed hobby to follow him into the classroom. In fact, he recently created an assignment based on The Important Book, written by children's author Margaret Wise Brown. For the task, his second graders wrote a short story about an object of their choice. While his students may have selected an action figure or stuffed animal for their tale, Snodgrass chose his bicycle (you can listen to his story below).

This teacher's active commuting and lifestyle has significantly increased his passion for cycling as a recreational activity--and everyone at DC Prep has taken notice. After all, his students know him as the teacher who rides his bike to school.

Drew Snodgrass - My Bicycle by railstotrails

Photos by Stephen Miller/Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Note: This post has been edited from its original version. Drew Snodgrass moved to Mississippi, not Alabama, as was previously written.

Volunteers Create Teaching Garden Along D.C. Rail-Trail

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:29:00 GMT

On Saturday, the District of Columbia Building Industry Association hosted its 18th annual Community Improvement Day on the Metropolitan Branch Trail. More than 450 volunteers pitched in to help create a landscaped area along the trail through the Edgewood neighborhood. The new community amenities include a teaching garden, soft surface walking path, edible plants and a sitting area. WTTG-TV was there to document the day's events; you can view the video embedded above.

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.