Petition to rehabilitate Rock Creek Park Trail

[DCAKen]

At the meeting, the park representatives said the winning bid for the project should be announced soon. The road will not be widened, but the trail will be rebuilt to be eight to ten feet wide. The project is supposed to start in March 2016 and will be in five phases. Each phase will take approximately six months. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the precise boundaries of each phase.

Phase 1 – Rock Creek Parkway intersection to either Harvard Street
Phase 2 – Harvard Street to Piney Branch Parkway
Phase 3 – Piney Branch Parkway to Broad Branch Road
Phase 4 – Broad Branch Road to Joyce Road
Phase 5 – Joyce Road to MD county line

In each of the phases, both the trail and the road will be rebuilt with the road being closed to cars for the entire period. It sounds like the plan is for the trail to be done first, with trail users being allowed to use the road. When the trail is finished, the road will be rebuilt and the trail will be opened for use. I pointed out this would be a problem at the Piney Branch Parkway project boundaries, but the trail boundaries of those phases may be moved to Bluff Bridge. Also, this will mean that there will be no access through the Zoo tunnel in Phase 1 when the zoo is closed.

At the meeting, there were detail diagrams of each phase on the walls of the auditorium, with highlighted detour routes for cars and cyclists/pedestrians. There was also a detailed PowerPoint presentation that included much more detail about the project. I’ve written to the park superintendent (and I encourage you to do the same) asking where these have been posted, since they promised to do that during the meeting.

[PotomacCyclist]

If and when the documents are posted, they should be found here:

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/documentsList.cfm?parkID=198&projectID=34546

The site doesn’t appear to get updated that often. The last meeting notice is for the 12/14/2011 meeting:

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/meetingNotices.cfm?projectID=34546

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=34546

[DCAKen]

There’s another meeting tonight about the project. Again, I’m astounded about the lack of information about the project on the NPS website and any advanced notice about these public forums. It’s as if they don’t want anyone to know about the project.

WABA sent this out yesterday

Way back in February of 2014, you, along with 2500+ area residents, signed a petition demanding that the National Park Service and District Department of Transportation get in gear to repave, redesign, and just fix the long-crumbling Rock Creek Park Trail. Your response got the project moving. The Final Environmental Assessment was released in June and design work began. The project has been put out for bid and we just might see construction start this spring on some sections of the trail. Read the full story here.

Tomorrow night, DDOT and the National Park Service are hosting a stakeholder meeting to provide an update on the project and get input on the process ahead. If you want to see and hear some details for yourself, we encourage you to attend.

Stakeholder Input Meeting for the Rock Creek Park Trail and Pedestrian Bridge over Rock Creek Project.

WHEN:
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016
Open House: 4:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Presentation and Comments: 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.

WHERE:
Smithsonian National Zoological Park
Visitor’s Center, 2nd Floor Conference Room
3001 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008

For any project related questions, contact Steve Zeender at (443) 632-3045 or via email at steve.zeender@stantec.com

We hope to see you there,
WABA Advocacy

[BrettVA]

@DCAKen 135388 wrote:

There’s another meeting tonight about the project. Again, I’m astounded about the lack of information about the project on the NPS website and any advanced notice about these public forums. It’s as if they don’t want anyone to know about the project.

WABA sent this out yesterday

Once again I missed this. any update? Has it been put back again to 2020 or some such time? I noticed some construction activity surrounding the Klingle road area is that separate work or has it all been combined into one project?

[CWJW]

@BrettVA 136529 wrote:

Once again I missed this. any update? Has it been put back again to 2020 or some such time? I noticed some construction activity surrounding the Klingle road area is that separate work or has it all been combined into one project?

I think that’s the klingle road trail construction, which is a separate project.

So what’s the detour for phase 1 going through the tunnel? I believe the only roads going to the trail is either Calvert, Porter Street, or that road one way road across from the rear zoo entrance off RCP.

[DCAKen]

Over on Greater Greater Washington, David Cranor has posted an update about the rehabilitation project. Apparently the starting date has been postponed until August.

And while the PowerPoint presentation about the project still isn’t up on the Rock Creek Park website, it’s available here.

[BrettVA]

Sorry not the Metal Band. Just more Idle Threats from DDOT, FHWA, and NPS about fixing this trail. I have commuted on the trail since 1988. It sucked then, it sucks worse now and I doubt they will fix it before I retire.

[BrettVA]

I have heard from My ANC rep that work won’t start until September. Any confirmation? Also it looks like the work on Klingle road has stopped. Does anybody have news on that?

[chris_s]

@BrettVA 143490 wrote:

I have heard from My ANC rep that work won’t start until September. Any confirmation? Also it looks like the work on Klingle road has stopped. Does anybody have news on that?

National Park Service (NPS) recently announced that construction on the much-anticipated rehabilitation project that WABA has been advocating for for years will begin after Labor Day of this year!

http://www.waba.org/blog/2016/07/beach-drive-rehabilitation-is-finally-here/

[chris_s]

From a WABA email, info meeting coming up July 28 from 7:00 – 8:00 pm at the Cleveland Park Library.

[DCAKen]

I saw the first electronic sign on the Parkway yesterday stating Beach Drive would be closing on or about September 19.

[Author]

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