Save The Trail Petition

Testimony before the

COG Transportation Planning Board

May 20, 2009

Bonnie Naradzay, Silver Spring, MD

To the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board:  Have you ridden your bicycle or walked or jogged from Silver Spring along the Capital Crescent Trail to Bethesda and then on downtown Washington DC and back again?  If not, would you all please do so before deciding whether to replace it with the Purple Line?  Make no mistake, closing down the Trail for a number of years and constructing the Purple Line in its place will irreversibly end this down-county green space and hiker/jogger and bicyclist friendly connector. 

I've lived in Silver Spring for over thirty years.  I’m 64 years old.  I live near the intersection of Forest Glen and Georgia Avenue.  For untold years, I've biked to Bethesda as well as commuted to work in downtown Washington DC -- using the Capitol Crescent Trail's important link between Silver Spring and Bethesda -- to get everywhere.  It’s a joy and a blessing. 

To my mind, regional transportation planning must include systems for safe bike trails for commuting, and the Capitol Crescent Trail link from Silver Spring to Bethesda is unique for people like me who can’t afford to live in Bethesda.  Traditionally the lower eastern part of Montgomery County has gotten short shrift from county officials when it comes to protecting existing green space.  Call it demographics, but I would hope that you use your power to promote bicycling as the greenest means of commuting. 

I note that you’re applying for Recovery Act funds for a bus project.  Are you also applying for Recovery Act funds for adding to and improving bicycle commuter routes?

Just as this Trail is important to tens of thousands of Trail users, it is important to me.  When my two children were growing up, they rode the Capitol Crescent trail with me as well.  My daughter, when she worked downtown, rode her bike on the Trail to get downtown.  Now you’re threatening to close it down for years to tear it up and destroy our quality of life as “green” commuters.  I’ve seen the artist’s fanciful mock-up of how the trail is envisioned when the Purple Line is finally installed, at great cost.  If you’ve used this trail, you’ll know that illustration of a sunken single track and narrow sides for two-way commuting by both bicycle and tram is not feasible.

This trail that links Silver Spring to downtown Bethesda is a precious heritage and a legacy.  Running trains adjacent to a narrow bike lane would destroy this legacy.  Help us to preserve this natural green corridor, and our diminishing quality of life. 

Please protect lower Montgomery County from further ravaging and flawed decision processes that imperil our irreplaceable greenspaces, especially since doing so is a stated priority for the County Council.  There's a larger picture here. We can build the Purple Line as an elevated tram overor adjacent to an existing roadway, but there’s only one route for this part of the Capital Crescent Trail.  Thank you for your attention to this important matter.