Capital Crescent & Metropolitan Branch Trails
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Facility Plan for the capital Crescent & Metropolitan Branch Trails LardnerlKlein Landscape Architects, P.C. in association with Daniel Consultants Inc. Montgomery County Planning Board January 2001 The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is a bi-county agency created by the Ge~eralAssembly of Maryland in 1927. The Commission's geographic - authority covers most of Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The Commission's planning jurisdiction, the Maryland-Washington Regional District, comprises 1,001 square miles; its parks jurisdiction, the Metropolitan District, comprises 91 9 square miles. The Commission has three major functions: (1) The preparation, adoption, and, from time to time, amendment or exten- sion of The General Plan (On Wedges and Corridors) for the Physical Devel- opment of the Maryland-Washington Regional District within Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. (2) The acquisition, development, operation, and maintenance of a public park system (3) In Prince George's county only, the operation of the entire county public recreation program. The Commission operates in each County through a Planning Board appointed by and responsible to the County government. The Planning Boards are responsible for prepa- ration of all local master plans, recommendations on zoning amendments, administra- tion of subdivision regulations, and general administration of parks. The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission encourages the involvement and participation of individuals with disabilities, and its facilities are accessible. For assistance with special needs (e.g. large print materials, listening devices, sign language interpretation, etc.), please contact the Community Rela- tions Office, (301) 495-4600 or T.D. (301) 495-1 331. ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS COUNTY COUNCIL Blair Ewing, President Steven Silverman, Vice President Phil Andrews Derick P. Berlage Nancy Dacek Howard A. Denis lsiah Leggett Marilyn J. Praisner Michael L. Subin COUNTY EXECUTIVE Douglas M. Duncan THE MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION Elizabeth M. Hewlett, Chairman William H. Hussman, Vice Chairman COMMISSIONERS Montgomery County Prince George's County Planning Board Planning Board William H. Hussman, Chairman Elizabeth M. Hewlett, Chairman Arthur Holmes, Jr., Vice Chairman James M. Brown Allison Bryant William H. Eley, Jr. Wendy Collins Perdue George H. Lowe, Jr. Meredith K. Wellington Acknowledgements This plan was developed with the assistance of the following citizen and agency members of the Project Advisory Group (PAG) for the Capital Crescent and Metropolitan Branch Trails Facility Plan: Civic and Neighborhood Groups Jim Benfield, Takoma Park Civic Association John Carrol Joe Crossett, North WoodsideMontgomery Hills Citizen Assoc. Jim Evans, Takoma Park Civic Association Harry Sanders, Action Committee for Transit Jim Sebastian, Takoma Park Civic Association Webb Smedley, Gateway Georgia Avenue Development Corporation (and Neighbor) Rick Sniffin, Silver Spring Community Vision at Progress Place Nancy Urban, Montgomery Preservation, Inc. Trail User Groups Ellen Jones, Washington Area Bicyclist Association Heather Anderson, Washington Area Bicyclist Association John Dugger, Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail Wayne Phyillaier, Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail Roland Halstead, Coalition for the Metropolitan Branch Trail Paul Meijer, Coalition for the Metropolitan Branch Trail Robert Patten, Coalition for the Metropolitan Branch Trail Henri Bartholomot, Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail Scott Brewer, Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail Municipal, County and State Agencies Michael Madden, Mass Transit Administration, Office of Planning and Program Gail Tait-Nouri, Montgomerty Co. Dept. of Public Works and Transportation Joel Gallihue, City of Takoma Park Suzanne Ludlow, City of Takoma Park Michelle Pourciau, DC Dept. of Public Works Chahnaz McRae, Montgomery College Rusty Mllace, Montgomery County, Silver Spring Regional Center he Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commissior Table of Contents Introduction/Executive Summary .................................. .... ......... 7 Purpose ....................................................................................................................1 Planning Process .......................... .......................................................................1 General Phasing and Implementation ..................................................................................................2 Regional Context ...................................................................................................... 3 Related Planning and Design Efforts ................................................................................................................4 Facility Plan Map (Proposed Alignment) .....................................................................5 Facility Plan Map (Phasing) ........................................................................................6 Overall Design Concepts ...................... ....................................... 7 Design User ..............................................................................................................7 Connecting Trails. Linkages and Access ....................................................................7 Converting Interim Trail Routes to Community Linkages .......................................... 8 Adjacent Land Use and Right-of-way Issues .............................................................. 8 Design Elements ....................................................................................................... 9 Schematic Design Recommendations .............................................. 73 Jones Mill Road Crossing ........................................................................................13 Jones Mill Road .Stewart Avenue ............................................................................17 Stewart Avenue .Talbot Avenue Bridge .................................. ............................23 Talbot Ave . Bridge . 16th Street ..............................................................................27 16th Street .Spring Street ..................... ............................................................ 33 Fenwick Lane .Silver Spring Transit Center .............................................................36 Ripley District .........................................................................................................39 Georgia Avenue . Fenton Street ...............................................................................43 King Street .Piney Branch Road ..............................................................................47 Implementation and Phasing ...................................................... 53 Technical Appendices and Related Docments Preliminary Design Drawings (1 "=SO') Statement of Probable Cost Natural Resource Inventory Public Comments Appendices and related documents can be reviewed by contacting the project manager for M-NCPPC Facility Plan for the Capital Crescent and Metropolitan Branch Trai Introduction~~ecutiveSummary The purpose of the Facility Plan is to select a final alignment and pre- Purpose pare preliminary design plans for the final two and one-half mile seg- ment of the Capital Crescent Trail from Jones Mill Road to the Silver Spring Transit Center and an approximately one-mile segment of the Metropolitan Branch Trail from the Silver Spring Transit Center to the District of Columbia (DC) line. The long-term goal, as stated in the appropri- The Facility Plan identifies locations along the Shared-use ate master plans, is to construct an "off-road" Capital Crescent Trail where sections of the Paths ... path as close as possible to the CSX and interim trail alignment can be constructed as a are typically VIIMATA rightof-way. The Capital Crescent permanent trail without affecting the construc- 10 Trail is also envisioned as an integral part of tion of the Georgetown Branch Transitwayl feet wide, the proposed Georgetown Branch Transitwayl Trail Project. In these locations, the perma- two-way and Trail project. The Capital Crescent Trail will nent alignment would become the Trail used by both run on the south side of the Transitway from component of the TransitwayITrail project. pedestrians Jones Mill Road to the Talbot Avenue Bridge and bicyclists. where it will cross to the north side of the CSX In other locations, it is not possible to con- According to tracks and proposed Transitway into Silver struct the permanent Transitwayrrrail align- the 1999 Spring. The Metropolitan Branch Trail will run ment without impacting future Transitway AASHTO on the north side of the CSX tracks to Piney construction and thereby requiring reconstruc- de for the Branch Road (see map, page 5). This tion of the trail, Issues that will take much alignment and associated linkages have been longer to resolve, such as a highly constrained v adopted as part of numerous planning right-of-way or an area slated for redevelop- documents and previous studies including: ment within the next five years also indicated Facilities. -these trails are Georgetown Branch Master Plan Amend- a need for an interim trail alignment so that ment (1 990) - recommending a trolley permanent trail improvements would not need designed with and parallel 10-foot wide trail to be later removed. the bicyclists Silver Spring CBD Sector Plan (2000) in mind,