Fw: This bridge could be the foundation of a new rail trail in DC

[Gregg]

Thought you might be interested. It would be nice for us, but I know that this is actually a very controversial project as it would be VERY expensive and the neighbors in the Palisades whose properties abut the path are opposed to having it opened up again as a thoroughfare (I think Mark had sent around something about that earlier). And those who like the idea of a bridge to the path are opposed to allowed bikes on either the bridge or the path! And there are those who think that spending a few million in one of the weathiest neighborhoods of DC is not exactly a city priority. 

But I'd ride on it! 

Gregg

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: Alyssa Proudfoot Siegel, WABA <advo...@waba.org>

To: Gregg Solomon <g1...@netscape.net>

Sent: Friday, January 12, 2024 at 12:12:06 PM EST

Subject: This bridge could be the foundation of a new rail trail in DC

Hi Gregg,

It’s hard to imagine, but DC was once a bustling pedestrian-centered city, thanks in a large part to investment in electric streetcars. Many DC residents got to work, school, and more through over 200 miles of track and 16 route lines from the 1880s all the way up to the 1960s.

Save the Foundry Branch Trolley Trestle

Built in 1897, the Foundry Branch Trolley Trestle is one of the few remaining pieces of the old streetcar system that carried District residents around the city for a century. The trolley line it served ran from Georgetown into Glen Echo, Maryland, transporting thousands of Washingtonians to the Glen Echo Amusement Park, connecting and developing the communities in its path, and allowing its riders to enjoy the scenic views. The last trolley car crossed the Trestle in January of 1960, however, the bridge remained popular with both pedestrians and cyclists, who continued to cross over and under it. After years of neglect by WMATA, it is in significant disrepair. The deterioration has necessitated the closure of part of the southern area of Glover-Archbold Park.

WMATA is seeking to demolish the trestle, but this potential pedestrian and bicycle connection between Foxhall Road and Georgetown can be saved. Surrounded by unsafe infrastructure and dangerous roads, this trestle can open up the opportunity of safe passage for university students and community members alike. This connection has the potential to save lives, including the many students who currently walk to the numerous nearby schools in Georgetown and the Palisades by using dangerous Canal Road.

Stand with WABA and the DC Preservation League to revitalize this safe crossing. Tell Mayor Bowser to Save the Foundry Branch Trolley Trestle today.

Thanks for speaking up!

Alyssa Proudfoot Siegel
DC Organizer

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[Edward Ryan]

Wishful thinking!

Ed Ryan

Sent from my iPhone

202/2586828

On Jan 13, 2024, at 12:06 PM, 'Gregg' via Stretching Spandex <stretchin...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



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[Henry Azar]

Hi, all. The trolley trail from Reservoir Road to Potomac Ave. at the bottom of Q Street is a lovely little stretch -- great place to walk a dog. You can't do much more than walk on it (you could ride your bike, and I confess I once drove my car on it for the hell of it, but I don't endorse such behavior). It runs behind the Reservoir and above Canal Road.  There's a shorter stretch between Reservoir Road and the bottom of Nebraska Ave./Sherier Place, where it crosses Discovery Creek, although crossing Reservoir Road is dodgy at best.  Both of those stretches are just used as a Pepco right of way.  To connect those stretches to the trestle Gregg featured would require additional trestles over Reservoir Road and Foxhall, which would also mean millions of dollars per. And the trail simply parallels both the Capital Crescent Trail and the C&O towpath, so it's not like the area is crying out for trails. All of which has been proposed and is, as Gregg notes, very controversial, as is somehow keeping it just the way it is. And come to think of it I haven't been there for a few years, and I hope it hasn't somehow been ruined in the meantime ...

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[Mark Blumenthal]

Can we separate, for a moment, the supposed controversy over refurbishing the full Trolley Trail from the effort to save and rehabilitate the Foundry Branch Trestle Bridge from demolition? 

The underlying petition is about the latter. A rehabilitated pedestrian bridge would connect the Foxhall neighborhood to the Georgetown campus, providing an alternative to the unsafe sidewalk along Canal. 

There's not much controversy about that: The DC Council put $250K in this fiscal year's budget for DC to take ownership of the Trestle Bridge from WMATA and study the costs for rehabilitation. The DC Preservation League and the surrounding ANCs (3D and 2E) support this effort and the Georgetown University administration has communicated that they will not block it. We (and I'm part of the small group that organized the petition) are trying to convince DDOT and the Mayor to move forward on taking control of the Trestle Bridge. 

You can help. Please sign the petition!

What would it cost to rehabilitate the bridge?  The 2019 Trolley Trail Feasibility study put the costs of rehabilitation of the existing structure at between $2 and $3 million. Rebecca Miller and her engineers at the DC Preservation league think it could be done for just under $2 million, but either way, that's what the $250K study should help resolve.  

But back to the larger effort to rehabilitate the full Trolley Trail: Yes, I know there are some very loud residents of Sherier Place, who don't want ANY change to the public land visible from their back yards and object to spending "millions" of dollars if it involves ANY possibility of a rehabilitated Trolley Trail.  Maybe it's my bad memory, but I don't recall this level of voluntary austerity when it comes to repaving Palisades roads or repairing (or adding new) Palisades sidewalks, but I digress…

Let's consider, in the context of the larger DC budget, the potential $2-3 million cost for the Trestle Bridge or, if you want to dream, the additional $8 to $10 million to build three new bridges west of Foxhall: The 2024 DC budget calls for nearly $2 billion in transportation capital expenditures over six years (about $300m/year). It has allotted $182 million over the next six years for bike trails alone, with nearly all of that allotted to the Metropolitan Branch Trail, the Anacostia River Trail and the Suitland Parkway Trail Rehabilitation. 

Those priorities are as they should be, benefitting predominantly lower income neighborhoods in Northeast and Southeast DC. But the idea that spending a tiny fraction more on an improved trail in our neighborhood over the next decade or more is somehow "too controversial" — especially given the need for safe alternatives to automobile mobility everywhere  — is really foolish. 

PS: Yes, the Trolley Trail "parallels" the CCT and C&O Towpaths, but if you live southeast of Arizona Avenue, how to you get there, safely, on a bike? 

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[Tim Zimmermann]

Signed!

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[Ed Ryan]

Thanks for the background Mark -  I'll sign!

One footnote on your PS --- there's  progress, very slow, on building a safe path down to the bottom of Arizona that would allow easy access to the CCT and, across the bridge, the C&O.  That's what is behind all those ribbons on the trees along Arizona - 'they' did a survey this past summer to see what may need to come down.  Not sure if it's DDOT or the NPS behind it - either way, nothing will move too quickly I'm confident.  But I hope there's good local support for it.

Ed

.  

Ed Ryan

parro...@gmail.com

+202:258:6828

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[Gregg]

Thanks Mark. An informed opinion, b'gosh! I do recall your having talked about this a while back on a ride.  

As denizens of Foxhall, we would welcome a safer way of getting in to Georgetown (or riding to the Key Bridge). The sidewalk on Canal is really dangerous, no question. The bridge is also cool looking too. 

I like that you've separated the bridge effort from the effort on the trail west of Foxhall. Makes sense, though the petition letter below from WABA conflates them, at least implicitly. 

You might find allies in the new school being built on the old GDS site. That means even more kids on bikes and foot who will want to go to Georgetown. Someone in DC government might pick up on that. 

Also nice to point out funds in relation to the overall transportation and even bike-specific budgets. 

Minor point: Henry, I don't see a need for a bridge over Foxhall connecting to the trail west of Foxhall. As you know, I live right there and folks coming from the bridge would be just yards away from the light at the intersection of Foxhall and MacArthur (where it becomes 44th). No need for a bridge. Better yet, moving the crosswalk from the north side of the intersection to the south side would make it safer. Just a minor zigzag. (The current crosswalk is an invitation to jaywalking if you are going anywhere but the NW corner.) As I said, minor point. 

Gregg

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[Henry Azar]

I signed as well. Further to Mark’s PS, I lived in the Palisades southeast of Arizona, and when I came to the conclusion that I no longer wanted to ride on MacArthur to go down Reservoir (a bit scary crossing Canal), I rode the other direction on the remains of the trolley trail and over the pedestrian bridge over Arizona and eventually to the stairs from Manning. It was a few minutes out of my way, but very safe. And on days I wasn’t anxious to get to work, gave me a few more minutes of relative freedom. 

On Jan 14, 2024, at 12:05 PM, 'Gregg' via Stretching Spandex <stretchin...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



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