Trying to Save The Capital Crescent Trail

As I have said several times, one of my great hopes that most Americans will become physically active enough for good health is the emergence of a vast network of recreational trails, especially those built on abandoned railroad rights of way. Here in suburban Washington, DC, we have a fine example--The Capital Crescent Trail, which stretches along an abandoned B&O Railroad spur from Georgetown in DC to the main East-West railroad tracks in Silver Spring, MD.

It now appears that the Eastern portion of the trail from Bethesda to Silver Spring is in danger of being taken over by a light rail transit line. The Maryland Department of Transportation wants to build this light rail line to relieve congestion on the beltway and other local roads and also make it easier to use transit to go from Silver Spring to Bethesda. Currently, transit riders between these two points must go into downtown DC and then out again on Metro's U-Shaped Red Line.

The State says it will use the space for both the trail and the transit line. However, at a gathering today sponsored by neighborhood groups who oppose the trail, I learned that my suspicion that this is an infeasible, environmentally-dangerous proposal is well-founded. As a frequent user, I opposed this joint transit-trail use proposal because I felt there would not be sufficient room for a two-track transit line and a trail of adequate width for all types of users (bikers, walkers, runners, mothers and fathers pushing strollers) moving in both directions. That initial belief proved correct as part of the trail is only 66 feet wide.

However, as the organizers of today's event clearly showed there are numerous other more complex problems with the proposal:

1. Numerous tall trees, some 100 years old, shade the trail and thereby make exercise on it more feasible in the heat of Washington summers and provide habitat for resident and migratory birds. All these trees would have to be cut down, thereby eliminating the shade and wildlife habitat.

2. The existing trail is on a crest of high ground. The south side of the right of way is depressed and would have to be filled in with thousands of tons of earth after the trees are cut down. The State would then face the challenge of preventing storm runoff into adjacent residences.

3. The trail now passes through a tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue and under the Air Rights Building. This separates trail users from motorized traffic above and no doubt prevents car-pedestrian and car-biker accidents. The State proposes that the trail and transit line pass through the tunnel. They propose to depress the existing grade of the tunnel to allow enough height for the transit trains to pass through and to put the trail in an enclosed, capsule-like space above the train part of the tunnel. It is not clear that there will be enough space for this given the current height of the tunnel without major structural work. In addition, for bikers, walkers and other trail users to reach their top tier of the tunnel, long ramps with grades gradual enough to meet ADA standards would have to be built on either side.

4. The small green area called Woodmont Plaza at the Bethesda end of the tunnel would be almost entirely taken up with an end turnaround point for the transit trains.

5. It is not certain that a bridge for the transit line would be built over Connecticut Avenue. If not, trains frequently crossing that busy street would tie up auto traffic even more than the B&O coal trains used to do.

6. Although at the Bethesda end of the transit line, a new entrance to the Metro Red LIne would be built for a convenient transfer, those who wished to transfer to Metrobuses at Bethesda would have to walk three blocks. The fare for either category of transfer riders would be high. What level of gas prices and time saving would be needed to justify using the transit line instead of a private car? There are no answers.

Hats off to Pam Browning who organized today's event via email and to Sam Schwartz who patiently and clearly explained the defects in the state's proposal to attending politicians and media personnel and to me and others nearby.

I was disappointed that neither the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail nor the Rails to Trails Conservancy were present or at least they did not make their presence known. However, the large attendance showed that people in Bethesda and Chevy Chase really do care. That was encouraging. Politicians, we'll be watching, listening, and showing our support for our local gem!