CONSTRUCTION TO START ON BRINKLEY ROAD LINK.  At long last, the construction of the Henson Creek Trail segment at Brinkley Road is set to begin the week of November 13, according to Metro Project Engineer Ed Shepperson.  Construction of the 1,200-foot segment is expected to take about a week.  When completed, the new trail segment will bring the southern end of the trail directly across Brinkley Road from the existing northern part that goes on to Temple Hill Road.  Hikers, runners, bikers, and equestrians would no longer have to cross the busy Brinkley Road bridge over Henson Creek, which had been a major impediment to many trail users.  In fact, since there are no signs, many may not even have realized that the trail continues on the other side of the road.

   The Brinkley Road trail construction project involves at least one unresolved issue at this point, however.  The segment that Metro is building runs from Brinkley Road to the boundary of the property that Metro purchased to construct a wetland.  Unfortunately, there is still a 100-200 foot gap between the property line and the rest of the trail (at the point where the trail crosses Henson Creek).  We are hoping that arrangements can be made for Metro's contractor to complete that small portion as well.  Temporary repairs are also underway to the Henson Creek Trail just north of Brinkley Road, where erosion has undercut the trail. When everything is done, we hope to have a dedication ceremony in early spring.  I will pass along the date and time as soon as it is certain, so it can be announced in all the newsletters of the civic associations that make up the Southern Prince George's Trails Coalition.  A big turnout will show elected officials and policymakers that we appreciate the construction of new trails in our area.

   HENSON CREEK TRAIL EXTENSION.  Preliminary planning is underway for the extension of the Henson Creek Trail from Oxon Hill Road (near Livingston Square shopping center) to the Potomac River shoreline at Broad Creek. The trail extension would pass through the Broad Creek Historic District before following a shoreline easement in the Indian Queen neighborhood. The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) has received $240,000 to begin the project, although another $250,000 that was expected next year may be delayed (see news item below).

   M-NCPPC trail planners, local trail supporters, and residents of the Broad Creek Historic District met October 23 to discuss potential routes and then walked through the area on October 26.  Two major options were proposed.  The option preferred by the Historic District representatives would cross Henson Creek near St. John's Episcopal Church, pass near existing horse pastures off Livingston Road, and then re-cross Henson Creek to reach the Indian Queen shoreline easement.  The Historic District residents also want the trail surface to be suitable for horses, perhaps finely crushed stone.  Another option would be to run the trail connection straight along the west side of Henson Creek to the Indian Queen easement and build a spur that would cross Henson Creek toward the Livingston Road area.  The spur would eventually become part of the Potomac Heritage Trail Because much of the terrain appears to be wetland, the decision may depend largely on costs and available funding.

   DELAYS PROPOSED IN FUTURE TRAILS FUNDING.  We have just received generally bad news on funding for future trails.  The proposed six-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) by the Prince George's Planning Board (which sets policy for M-NCPPC in Prince George's County) delays funding for all the proposed trail projects in Southern Prince George's County by at least a year.  As a result, we have no new funding for our trails in the proposed capital budget for the upcoming fiscal year (FY2002).  Here is the proposed funding for Southern Prince George's trails projects:    

   Henson Creek Trail:  $250,000 previously planned for FY2002 would be delayed to FY2003.

   Piscataway Creek Trail:  $300,000 planned for FY2002 would be delayed to FY2003, although an additional $300,000 would be provided in FY2006. The additional future funding may be worth the delay in this case.

   Potomac River Trail:  $100,000 planned for FY2003 and $100,000 for FY2004 would be delayed until FY2005 and FY2006.

   Trail Renovation Fund (countywide):  $100,000 planned for FY2002 and $100,000 for FY2002 would be delayed two years.

   Tucker Road Park connection to Squire's Woods:  $50,000 planned for FY2002 would be delayed until FY2004 (although it is not clear how much of this is for the trail and how much is for restroom renovations).

   No funding is provided in the six-year CIP for the northern segment of the Henson Creek Trail to the Branch Avenue Metro Station, as sought by the Southern Prince George's Trails Coalition.

   It is clear that we will have to work hard during this budget season to reverse as many of these delays as possible, and to get the northern segment of the Henson Creek Trail into the CIP.  We will again meet with our County Council members and hopefully with the County Executive's office to demonstrate strong community support for these projects. Policymakers must be made aware that trails funding in Southern Prince George's County is a priority issue for voters and taxpayers.  So please try to make time to attend our meetings with policymakers this winter, and also plan to make a statement at the County Council budget hearings next spring.  In addition, please give your civic association an occasional trails update at your regular meetings or through your newsletter, so that as many citizens as possible are aware of these issues.  If you would like a Trails Coalition speaker at an upcoming meetings, please feel free to contact me.  I have given regular trails briefings at our association meetings, and people are always very interested in how things are progressing.  

   PROGRESS ON TRAILS FUNDING.  Proposed funding for completing the Henson Creek Trail survived the Prince George's County budget process this year, but a lot of work still must be done to ensure that the money is actually budgeted in the future as planned.  The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) just approved by the County Council includes $240,000 in fiscal year 2001 and another $250,000 in fiscal year 2002 for the Henson Creek Trail.  The next step is to get the first year of planned funding into the final FY01 budget that will receive Council approval a little less than one year from now (the FY01 fiscal year will begin July 1, 2000).  We will need to make statements at the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) budget hearings in the fall and then to the County Council in the spring.

   Because the $490,000 in the CIP will be insufficient to finish the northern segment of the trail (from Temple Hill Road to the Suitland Parkway), M-NCPPC will have to apply for federal matching funds.  The federal funding is available under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), which is divided each year among the states.  The application deadline is in October, and applications must include fully designed projects that are ready to go.  Unfortunately, M-NCPPC staff are pessimistic that the engineering and design work for the Henson Creek Trail will be ready in time for this October's deadline, so we may have to wait until October 2000.

   The County Council did approve $100,000 in trail funding for FY00, which started the 1st of July.  This money is for a new Trail Renovation Fund and is to be spent for rebuilding deteriorated segments of existing parkland trails in the county.  The Trails Coalition strongly supported this new funding at the April budget hearings.  A subcommittee of the Prince George's County Bicycle and Trail Advisory Group (BTAG) is being formed to develop countywide priorities for the trail renovation funding.  We are strongly urging that repair of the eroded areas along the Henson Creek Trail receive high priority.

   BRINKLEY ROAD UPDATE.  Delays are continuing in the construction of the long-promised Brinkley Road connection on the Henson Creek Trail.  But Metro, which is building the new trail section under an agreement with M-NCPPC, is optimistic that the legal wrangling will end this month and construction can begin.

   The problem is that when Metro bought the property to build the trail and a wetland (next to the golf driving range on Brinkley Road), a two-year construction easement on the adjoining property (on the other side of the golf range) was included.  The easement was supposed to be available during a two-year construction period, but it evidently wasn't drafted carefully, so the easement period actually ended before construction could begin. There was also another access easement shown on the maps used by the contractors, but that easement also had been previously terminated.  As a result, when the workers showed up in April and began driving across the adjoining property, the owners threw them off.  Metro is predicting that the problem will be solved soon.

   TRAIL ACCESS THROUGH NATIONAL HARBOR.  The most recent BTAG meeting, on July 9, was held at Oxon Hill Manor, partly so that BTAG members could tour the National Harbor area and see the various trail routes that have been proposed near the property.  The group bicycled from Oxon Hill Manor to the southern boundary of National Harbor along the Potomac shoreline, and then bicycled to the Oxon Cove Trail that leads to the District.  Bicycling up the steep slopes made it clear to everyone why a trail closer to the shore would be better than using Oxon Hill Road, where bicyclists would be sent under current plans for National Harbor. 

   Steve Paul of the County Executive's Office attended the meeting (before the bike tour) and made clear that the County would not support a shoreline trail through the National Harbor property.  However, we pointed out that lack of access to the National Harbor property at the southern shoreline would prevent the use of an existing shoreline trail easement that runs from National Harbor to Fort Foote, because M-NCPPC would not build a trail that dead-ended at National Harbor.  A possible compromise was discussed, in which a shoreline trail from Fort Foote would enter National Harbor at the southern end but then be routed somewhere else through the National Harbor property to link with an alreadly planned trail to the Wilson Bridge.  It was agreed that the County Executive's office would arrange a meeting between a BTAG subcommittee and the National Harbor developers to discuss such possibilities.

   POTOMAC HERITAGE TRAIL.   The BTAG meeting also made progress on the proposed Potomac Heritage Trail on the Maryland side of the river from D.C. to St. Mary's.  Congress designated both sides of the river as a corridor for the Potomac Heritage Trail in 1983, but it is up to local jurisdictions to locate the exact routes and find funding for construction.  BTAG decided to form a subcommittee to meet with staff from M-NCPPC and the National Park Service to examine specific Potomac Heritage Trail routes in Prince George's County.  A key segment, of course, will be the section in the National Harbor area.

   Another key section will be the shoreline area near Broad Creek, where -the Henson Creek trail meets the Potomac.  BTAG members attended a meeting of the Broad Creek Historic District Advisory Committee on July 13 to discuss plans for the Potomac Heritage Trail.  The Broad Creek Advisory Committee members expressed great interest in the trail and asked that the BTAG members return in the fall to discuss specific trail routes through the historic area.

July 13, 1999
Mark Holt