New Bike Trail
Patrons living in either
Washington DC homes or
Silver Spring, Maryland real estate may be happy to know that Montgomery County officials are pushing to get capital funding to complete a new bike trail. This bike trail would allow you to ride form Downtown Washington DC into Downtown Silver Spring MD. When completed the trail will allow renters and owners of
Montgomery County MD real estate in Silver Spring to walk or ride their bikes to the Silver Spring Metro station, as well as the new $91 million Silver Spring Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center which currently is under construction.
The Design phase of this Bike Path that would connect downtown Silver Spring to the District of Columbia began roughly three years ago, was known as Metropolitan Branch Trail, or the Georgetown Branch Trail. The Metropolitan Branch Trail was named after the “Metropolitan Branch” which was the first rail line that was built through the corridor by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. This corridor is now anchored by two major railroad landmarks the old B & O railroad station which is located in Silver Spring and the Union Station Metro stop in the District of Columbia. According to planning officials, one reason that this trail was never completed and the design came to a halt was due to the proposed alignment of the Purple Line Metro. The Purple line is a planned rapid transit route that would connect New Carrollton and Bethesda. This Metropolitan Branch Trail would also connect with the Capital Crescent Trail. The Capital Crescent Trail allows you to ride all the way from Bethesda to Georgetown, it runs through the Silver Spring Metro Station, Takoma Park, and then back to the District of Columbia. It lets you out near Union Station.
The Construction and Funding of The Metropolitan Branch Trail
A portion of the funding for The Metropolitan Branch Trail will come from the transportation fund, and then the District of Columbia will match these funds. The design of this trail within the District of Columbia’s boundaries will mostly be managed by DDOT, but the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will be doing the construction of the New York Avenue section of the trail. Once the trail has made it into Maryland, the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) has already completed its portion of the plans for the trail. While the City of Takoma Park has already gone as far as completing construction in the Summer of 2003 on their segment of the trail.
