Georgetown Waterfront Rebuild

Ground was recently broken (see photo at left) on the "largest park to be created in the Nation’s Capital...since Constitution Gardens was completed on the National Mall in 1976."  The Georgetown Waterfront Park project will completely reshape a very visible part of the city, and impact - hopefully in a positive way - both the CCT and the Rock Creek Trail.

The park will contain a promenade along the shoreline punctuated with three overlooks - with views of the Potomac River and recreational boaters - from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to Key Bridge. These overlooks will contain sculpted granite slabs etched with historic images of Georgetown’s maritime heritage, a separate bike trail to link the Capital Crescent Trail with the Rock Creek Trail (emphasis mine), a labyrinth containing intertwined pathways for contemplation, edges of native plants to replace aged concrete bulkheads, floral displays, shade and ornamental trees, rain gardens to retain storm water, lights for evening enjoyment, and benches to relax and enjoy the setting.

(I, for one, can't wait to start doing some contemplating). This area, though valuable, has been slow to develop. It was originally a rail yard (you can still see tracks bulging under the asphalt in some spots) used to transfer cargo between the Georgetown Branch railroad (now the CCT), the C&O canal and the Potomac. It was once scheduled to be a freeway. For a long time now, it's been a parking lot. The park is going to be a step up from any of these uses. The post does a good job of covering the history of the project and what it will include.

The third phase of construction would create two separate paths for bicycles and pedestrians, and would install trees and benches, from the Kennedy Center to about a half-mile upstream near Thompson boathouse, where visitors can rent kayaks, canoes and bikes and where many rowers keep their shells.

The work is going to be in three phases, moving gradually downstream.  Once the work is complete, it's hoped that a staircase connecting the Kennedy Center to the waterfront will be created (I'm always shocked that this wasn't built into the original design of the Kennedy Center). From what I understand a promenade will go along the waterfront in Phase One, with the bike trail along K Street/Water Street all the way to Rock Creek. There was hope that a bridge would be built across Rock Creek just south of K Street, (as part of the Swedish Embassy project, but that never materialized). So the bike path will then run south along the west side of Rock Creek to the improved Rock Creek Bridge and then along the Potomac on a separate path from one for runners.

The Swedish Embassy project is almost complete and the connecting space between the Thompson Boat Center and the Washington Harbour is now open (see photo at left).

One further change to the waterfront is being planned. As discussed before, there are plans to build a boat house at the Georgetown trail head of the CCT. WABA, after staying neutral on the subject has come out against THIS boathouse.

The integrity of the Capital Crescent Trail in DC is under threat from the construction of a large boathouse for the crew team of Georgetown University.  Access to the site would require construction equipment, boat trailers and delivery vehicles to share use of the Capital Crescent Trail for a distance of several hundred feet.  The user experience on the trail will be diminished by blocking the views of the river.  In addition, the sheer size of the structure will give the trail a "tunnel-like" feel and create shadows that will prevent the melting of ice during the winter.

The comment period for this project is over. Now we can only sit and wait for the Park Service's decision. That, and write editorials and letters to the editor about it. Harry Jaffe says it so well, that I'll just say I agree (rather than add my own opinion).

»  Georgetown’s proposed boathouse is enormous. At 50 feet high, it would dominate the shoreline from the river and block views from the trails behind.

» It would block parts of the Capital Crescent Trail and bring vehicular traffic onto a path that has been the domain of bikers, walkers and baby carriages for more than a decade.

» The dealings between the National Park Service and Georgetown University are starting to reek of the same scent that came from the NPS arrangements with Redskins owner Dan Snyder and also its plan to close parts of Beach Drive.

The Capital Crescent Trail has become a regular commuting route from Bethesda and a destination for travelers from around the world. It is one of the premier biking trails in the nation. It took years for community groups to negotiate with the Park Service to create the trail. Why obstruct it now?

“I don’t know why the needs of a university rowing program trumps the needs of everyone else,” says Eric Gilliland, executive director for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.

Thousands of Washingtonians wrote letters to the Park Service opposing the boathouse in the public comment process that ended June 15. Hopefully, the Park Service will have the good sense to reduce the size of the building or move it to an alternative site.

But, to avoid confusion - I think the park is great, I think the boathouse is too big for that spot, and I like to contemplate. 

The Purple Line Elevator

Though the Dulles line seems to be the big Metro story of late, for this week at least the Purple Line is getting the headlines. On May 9th, the Montgomery County Council voted to spend $5 million to study the addition of a south entrance to the Bethesda Metro Stop.

The Bethesda south entrance will be a bank of elevators going down from the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Elm Street to the back end of the Metro station. The Purple Line (also  known as Bi-County Transitway) will have its Bethesda terminus in the tunnel that goes under Wisconsin Avenue at this intersection.

The Capital Crescent Trail now uses that tunnel, but if the Purple Line is built the tunnel would house both the trail and the Bethesda stop.

The new elevators are expected to cost $50 million and will increase ridership - even if the purple line is never built.

it would help boost Metro ridership from residential areas by 3.2 percent and increase commuter ridership at the station by 7.5 percent, according to a Metro analysis.

The Station Access Demand Analysis considered three options: no build, a two-stop system (metro platform and street level), and a three-stop system (with an additional stop in the tunnel - with access to the CCT).  The CCCT is taking no position on whether or not the elevator should be built, but is taking one on what kind of elevator is built

If the county and WMATA decide to go ahead with the project, [Ernie Brooks, chairman of the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail] said, the coalition wants a stop at the trail level included.

 

‘‘We strongly recommend that they put the elevator stop in at the trail level,” Brooks said. ‘‘A lot of the traffic, not just car and bike traffic, but people traffic, is based around that intersection of Bethesda and Woodmont avenues. It makes sense to have an entrance there.”

I absolutely agree. It seems the added cost of a third stop is small compared to the benefit. One would have a quick, seamless transition between the trail and metro - unlike anywhere else in the system. Even at New York Avenue - which was built with the Met Branch trail - riders have to go down and into the station and then back up to the platform.

In addition to all of this, there are planned rallies in support of the Purple Line and informational open houses. I'm all for the Purple Line - as long as they keep their promise to enhance and expand the CCT.

When the light rail line is built, the paved trail will extend east from Wisconsin Ave. as far as the Silver Spring Metro station, running alongside the new tracks.  The old  railroad right-of-way is 60 - 100 ft. wide in Chevy Chase, leaving room for two tracks, a trail, and a vegetated buffer between the transportation facilities and adjoining houses.  The extension of the paved trail will replace a shorter interim gravel trail, called the Georgetown Branch Trail, which now goes part way to Silver Spring.  Instead of stopping to walk across busy highways, trail users will cross Connecticut Avenue on a bridge and go under Jones Mill Road through a tunnel.

CCT Trouble and Scenic Byway

Just south of where Newark Street NW would intersect with the Capital Crescent Trail if it went through, there's an area where the road bed under the trail is slowly washing away.(Map) A few years ago a small support was added to protect the trail, but if you ride by you'll see that the erosion is starting to occur around the support. We may be only one big storm (think Isabelle) away from the trail washing out. A complete collapse of the hillside is not out of the question and if that happened it might be years for the trail to be restored.

There's some question as to who is responsible for protecting the trail - with the Park Service and the District both trying to determine what to do and who should do it. One possible source of funding would be the designation of Canal Street (below the CCT) as a Scenic Byway. The Scenic Byway plan is filled with bicycle goodies (It's also a little hard to read since the text on some images is too small), Including:

• Between Foxhall Road and the Georgetown Reservoir, support the conversion of the trolley right-of way to a multi-use trail ed: This is the old Cabin John Trolley right-of-way that runs all the way to - you guessed it - Cabin John.
• Connect the Capital Crescent Trail crossing of Canal Road to the rail trestle (tow path to trestle on the east, Arizona Avenue to trestle on the west). ed: this is confusing since the crossing IS the rail trestle, but I think the part in parenthesis is what they're talking about.
• Connect Battery Kemble Park//Palisades Park Trail to the Capital Crescent Trail. Add directional signage. If feasible, convert the culvert to a secondary bike trail.
• Enhance the connection of Glover Archbold Park to the Capital Crescent Trail using the existing pedestrian underpass (Foundry Branch Tunnel). If feasible, relocate the existing sewer and restore the culvert to its historic configuration.
• Improve vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle access to Fletcher’s Boat House area.
• Install a pedestrian bridge over Canal Road to connect Battery Kemble Park/Palisades Park Trail to the Capital Crescent Trail in the vicinity of the access road to the Fletchers Boat House access road.

Like the Four Mile Run plan - it has good ideas, but we'll see if it gets the money. And we'll see if the CCT gets fixed before it collapses. The review period ended on Feb 17th, but here's one letter.

One last thing. For some time the Park Service has been trying to add lights and a call box to the Arizona Avenue Trestle on the CCT, it seems that that might be occurring "sooner rather than later." Wish I had specifics.

CCT Parking and Accolades

The Capital Crescent Trail, the busiest rail trail in the United States according to the Project for Public Spaces, got the Minkoff Company kicked off of CCT land because they failed to follow through on the 1998 agreement that allowed them to park there.

The agreement allowed the Minkoff Company to park its commercial vehicles on county land located next to its property at 5223 River Road along the Capital Crescent Trail. Minkoff’s use of the property, which predates the trail, was contingent upon funding and building a plaza for trail users including public parking spaces, a water fountain, benches and improved landscaping.

After years of delays and recent complaints from trail advocates, Duncan’s Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Scott W. Reilly said the county is cutting ties with Minkoff and will seek other means of building the trail plaza.

Mr. Minkoff had delayed the project because he planned to redevelop the land and he wanted assurances from the county that redeveloping his office buildings would not affect their agreement. The CCCT are quite proud of themselves.

In other news the CCT recently got a new accolade as the Rails to Trails Conservancy "Trail of the Month."  There are a lot of good tidbits in the article including this:

the trail has its own rush hour that coincides closely with that of local roads and at its most crowded the trail can verge on unpleasant.

In this month's RTC magazine there's an article on Peter Harnik, former head of the RTC and Arlington, VA local yokel. He's photographed on the Met Branch Trail next to the New York Avenue station, which is odd, since the Met Branch isn't a rail-to-trail and that section he's on isn't open. They also quote him with this:

Washington, D.C., and some other cities don’t yet have their trail advocates aligned with public officials. “Everything you do in a city is more complicated.” Harnik says 

I'll agree about the complicated part, but DC doesn't have a lot of abandoned railroad to work with. There's the Shepard Industrial Spur (which the city can't get their hands on), the old Glen Echo trolley line (which would need a lot of work),  a spur to St. Elizabeths, a bridge over NY Avenue and the obliterated right of way of the Chesapeake Beach Railway. On which rail-to-trail projects are local trail advocates suppose to align with public officials?