Extend the Paint Branch Trail North?
We’ve heard the concept tossed around a couple of times, but what would it actually take to bring this great trail north of its terminus behind Home Depot? Crossing under 12 lanes of beltway traffic doesn’t appear to be the biggest obstacle since there is already a substantial underpass in place for the stream. The real question is will there ever be enough of a political coalition together to convince the USDA’s BARC facility to give up the necessary right-of-way (in red on the map). Once the county bridges that gap and brings the trail to its property (in green) just to the north of BARC, where is there left to go and would it be worth the added environmental disturbance in the first place?
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December 14th, 2007 at 10:17 am
Can’t see them taking it North when they won’t even bring it a short distance East to connect to the Courtyards and College Park Woods. CPW residents have been asking for this for years. I’d jump on my bike in minute if this connection existed, but I won’t risk riding along Metzerott. Now I jump in my car to drive to campus and to Lake Artemesia. A connection to CPW would be so nice!
December 14th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
The College Park Woods trail branch has been difficult to get largely because of the need for an easement across a private property for a portion of the route. A trail extension north of the Beltway would have a very difficult time tying into the residential development at Ikea because of a significant difference in elevation there. Efforts are being made to achieve both, however.
December 14th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
So you can buy some swedish furniture and take it home on your bike? Just kidding, a lot of people live in that area now. I imagine the usda can be a difficult partner. The grade change couldn’t be any more difficuly than what that Mazza developer has to contend with, could it?
December 20th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Bob hit on the major hurdles. Some thoughts:
1. I have MNCPPC trails staff working with BARC and others to try to resolve the BARC issue. If that cannot be resolved, the plan would be to eventually place a bike lane on the upgraded Cherry Hill Road to get up to Sellman.
2. However, one gets to Sellman, their would be either a trail through the Beltsville Community Park (by the Community Center) tying back into the northwest end of Montgomery Road and/or a bike lane up the short distance of Sellman to Montgomery Road.
3. I have a Beltsville road improvement project under design for Montgomery Road from Route 1 to Powder Mill that will include a bike lane.
4. From there, it should connect up Old Gunpowder Road to Cross Creek. There is trail in Cross Creek presently that connects to a trail in Fairland Regional Park. That takes you up above the ballfields on Old Gunpowder Road.
5. The future plan is to (a) tie into Konterra’s development and additional trails and bike lanes, and (b) continue north on Old Gunpowder to the Reservoir.
In summary, there are several ongoing projects - real ones, not just musings - that would connect a lot of dots to get one from the trail end at Cherry Hill Road all the way to the Rocky Gorge Reservoir. While I oppose the ICC (still), we are negotiating with MDOT/SHA to use the ICC mitigation funding earmarked for bikes/trails to connect all of these dots.
Suggestions welcome.
December 20th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Very interesting. Obviously some sort of easement along the stream corridor and a connection to Ikea would be ideal, but I’m not sure it would be worth the environmental impact (and red tape associated with multiple federal agencies - USDA, FHA for going under the beltway, and USACE for wetlands) associated with such an alignment.
If the trail folks are already in talks with BARC, perhaps they should be talking about straightening and clarifying the Paint Branch Trail here:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&om=1&msa=0&msid=112165430054437073796.00000112e26e2d8391b8b&ll=39.008513,-76.935668&spn=0.00737,0.014462&z=16
Such a project could increase trail usage for commuting purposes (like Mazza), get some land for MNCPPC to install some active recreation facilities in the area, and provide some land for forest buffers in order to distance BARC’s agricultural operations more from the stream.
Just a thought…
December 21st, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Good thought and i will check it out and confer with MNCPPC. Additional thoughts welcome.
Please do not forget that there are many people NORTH of IKEA who would like good bike/trail access. I hear from many people who want to see an interconnected trail/bike lane system all the through the Northern portion of the County. It is very doable. Some of these people are UofMd employees and some just local employees who would prefer to avoid driving in the traffic.
Let’s make a deal - you rethink College Park and I will rethink everything north of it. :-)