Save The Trail Petition

Testimony before the

COG Transportation Planning Board

May 20, 2009

Aileen Worthington, Washington, DC

My name is Aileen Worthington and I am a DC resident who uses the Capital Crescent Trail for cycling.  Along with legions of others I started using this trail even before it was officially opened and delighted in each improvement…such as the bridge over River Road and the refurbishment of the trestle in Rock Creek Park. 

I often ride from the bike Trail in Rock Creek Park, and connect with the Capital Crescent Trail, heading either east toward Silver Spring or west through Bethesda, sometimes continuing to cross one of the Potomac bridges and onto the Mt. Vernon Trail.

As communities across the country are celebrating and enhancing their trails, officials in this area are seriously contemplating plucking out an integral piece of our regional trail system.  This is baffling and disheartening to me.  With the growth in population and density we need more green places of respite, not fewer. 

If the Purple Line takes the CCT route, a long section of the trail will be unusable for recreational cyclists, runners and walkers.  A few intrepid commuters (I used to be one of those!) might take on the challenge, but can anyone honestly think that a narrow cycling lane, just a few feet away from trains zipping by every three minutes, will remain an attractive recreational resource for families and children, or anyone but commuters?  Using this narrow bike lane, which will have to be fenced in on both sides, will be particularly frightening.  Who would dream of taking children there?

I have cycled in several European cities which have paths fairly close to “light” rail.  This makes sense when the purpose is to add a cycle path through an existing urban area.  With the CCT we are starting instead with a treasured, tree-lined, recreational trail/ linear park in an extremely narrow corridor and then actively planning to trash that park-like trail, when there are other options.

I am a supporter of public transportation who took Metro rail and Metro bus to work for almost 20 years and still use public transportation whenever feasible.   But in the case of the Purple Line there are other route options.  I think it is extremely shortsighted to send transit along the Capital Crescent Trail.   When the trail is gone, it’s gone.