CWL #3 - Suitland Parkway Trail

This is the third project on my 12-item Christmas wish list for DC biking projects. (photo courtesy of www.cyclemas.org)

#3 Extending and rehabilitating the Suitland Parkway Trail

Cost: ~$4Million
Status: Preliminary Feasibility Study done in 1994, but would need to be redone.
Probability: Medium

If you've ever tried to bike the Suitland Parkway Trail then I have to ask, really? It's not that the trail itself is so bad (though it is right up on the road and in less than ideal physical shape). It's just that the trail doesn't go anywhere. It dead-ends at the DC border and because it has steep embankments, it's hard to get to/from the trail.

Still a small extension from the DC border to the Naylor Road Metro station would make this trail a viable tool for commuters, and a better recreational trail. DDOT has said it will rebuild its portion if Maryland builds it (though not sure if that means build it to Naylor Road or all the way to Andrews Air Force Base as proposed in 1994 - that's the $4million project).

Here is the status as of July 19th, 2005

The Suitland Parkway is a unit of National Capital Parks East, in Maryland.  It is one of three scenic parkways in the national capital region, the other two being the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and the Mount Vernon Parkway.  It was designed as a scenic limited-access roadway during World War Two and opened in 1944.  It runs southeastward from Anacostia in the District of Columbia to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

In 1994 the NPS did a preliminary design study.  It identified substantial physical obstacles due to slope of the embankments, relatively narrow ROW, sensitive forest and wetlands.  There are also some security concerns in the vicinity of Andrews Air Force Base, and the original route going past the front gate may no longer be viable. No funding has been identified for this project since the preliminary feasibility study was done some years ago.