Save The Trail Petition

Excerpts from a Sample of  More than 1,500 Emails

Sent from Trail Users to Maryland Governor  O'Malley

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"I use this trail almost every day. My life changes for the better every time I go out for a walk, a hike, a bike ride or a run; and I see this sense of serenity on the face of the many other trail users I come across daily." 

"This trail is key to maintaining the ‘livability’ of this area, and provides a unique resource that encourages many people to exercise outdoors."

"We have lavished praise on visionary decisions by political leaders in the past to save our natural areas, from Rock Creek Park to the C&O Canal Trail. We need the same kind of vision now with decisions that both meet our transit needs and preserve our dwindling natural places."

"As a long time member of the Montgomery County Road Runners Club, runner and coach, I have had the opportunity to witness firsthand the great numbers of county residents who regularly utilize the trail for a wide variety of activities.  Please do not underestimate the importance of this resource to our community-it is of much greater significance than you can imagine. Please save this resource for all of us and those who will come after us. Once its gone we'll never have the chance to get it back."

"There are alternative routes for the Purple Line, but there is only one route for the Capital Crescent Trail."

"Why do I care enough to spend the time to write you this letter today? I'll tell you why.  Because I spend countless hours each week running and biking up and down the trail."

"My move to Montgomery Country from downtown Washington some six years ago was largely predicated on having access to this beautiful trail. It is a natural wonder set so close to an urban setting yet exuding unbelievable rural peace and beauty—something not easily found or replicated." 

"Locating the Purple Line on our unique and spectacular Capital Crescent Trail would be a throwback to the primitive transportation planning of half a century ago -- when government was far less responsive and less sensitive to the value of amenities like parkland, recreation areas, and historic treasures." 

"Although I am a fervent supporter of mass transit, I am heartbroken over the plan to sacrifice the natural beauty and culture of the Capital Crescent Trail.  If there is one thing that trumps mass transit, it is the pageant of people walking and biking to their destinations, carrying their groceries home, and catching up with old friends while strolling under the beautiful mature trees that line the Trail."

"My visitors from the USA and abroad are amazed that such a treasure exists in an urban setting."

"As a senior heart patient I depend on the Trail as a safe convenient way to get the exercise I need."

"I commute to school on the trail and run on the trail with my fellow Bethesda Chevy Chase HS cross country runners. I consider this trail my home away from home."

"It affords a beautiful protected path into the city.   It is cooler in the summers and out of the cold wind in the winters." 

"I am a 79 year old woman.  The Crescent Trail has been a very important part of my health regime - it takes me places and forces me to walk.  I love it as it is." 

"I'm writing to you because it would absolutely break my heart to see a light rail system built along the Georgetown Branch Trail.  The trail means a lot to me.  It is where I began my 40 pound weight loss, fell in love with running, trained for a 150K Bike Tour to benefit Multiple Sclerosis, and enjoy walking into Bethesda for summer nights out with friends."

"It is one of our biggest enjoyments and part of why we continue to live in Chevy Chase/Montgomery County." 

"In my eighties, I am concerned about the Montgomery County I will be leaving for the generations that will be following me." 

"This trail is truly one of the most remarkable features of our great metropolitan area."  

"It is one of the reasons why we live in Bethesda, MD. In the D.C. Metro Area that is gaining population with buildings going up everywhere, the Trail is one of the sanctuaries in which to escape busy city life, and it makes living here much more enjoyable - and more civilized."

"I am bothered that we are telling underdeveloped and developing countries to preserve their forests, so that we can all breathe, but that we could even consider chopping down this pleasant linear forest, when alternatives are available." 

"I ride and run on the trail while training for tri-athalons. Also, my wife and I take our three young boys for bike rides on the trail.  When they were younger we ran with a baby-jogger."  

"I am a 6th grader at Newport Mill Middle School in Kensington, Maryland. I use the Capital Crescent Trail to go biking with my dad and uncle.  Places like the trail are few and far between in our urban area. We should do all we can to preserve them."  

"I just cannot believe that someone is actually considering altering our landscape so dramatically … at the same time not taking into consideration how many homes and families that may be affected by providing this train service.  Thousands of people use the trail everyday as an oasis in this urban jungle."

"The Trail invites an intimate interaction between Maryland residents and nature, allows a peaceful yet dynamic co-existence between walkers, runners, and bikers, and shelters all of the above from the crush of traffic and development that has pervaded this area of Maryland." 

"The Trail is a true asset to Montgomery County – with mature trees that cannot be replicated – and should not be dismissed as expendable, replaceable, or the unfortunate casualty in your decision."

"WHY KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAYED THE GOLDEN EGG?"

"I personally use the Capital Crescent Trail  every single week, rain or shine (sometimes blizzards!), summer and winter, to meet and connect with friends, as we run, jog, and keep track of our mileage.  Sometimes we are training for a half marathon or 10 mile race, sometimes I ride bikes with my children, but the Capital Crescent Trail is something that is so much a part of our lives, our experience here, and our community, that it would be devastating to lose it!"   

"To be able to feel the serenity in the midst of an urban environment that the Trail provides is incalculable."  

"What I’d like to impress upon this group of leaders making the decision for either the Trail or the Purple Line is that the Trail needs to be experienced to fully understand the beauty and the enjoyment that this area provides to our community." 

"I’d like to point out that Rachel Carson, author of the “Silent Spring”, lived and wrote this book from her home in Silver Spring.  The silent that the title of the book refers to is about the lack of birds after their environment was irrevocably damaged.  My wife couldn’t believe the “voices” of the birds and the other animals that inhabit the Trail." 

"hi, i am 15 year old girl who is also an avid runner. the capital crescent trial is a wonderful place for my friends and me to go for runs on the weekend or take walks with my family. if you build the purple line, you will be destroying a place that has become a sanctuary for many people. think about a place that you love to go to, maybe a beach or lake, and then imagine somebody coming and destroying your peaceful place. well, that is what you are doing to the capital crescent."   

"More than once a week, for over two years now, we use the trail from Bethesda to Silver Spring to go for a run or to walk with our three children. It is an exhilarating experience -  in this city, where everything in the public domain is so much centered on using cars, to find a trail that is quiet and that goes through nature, on for miles." 

"I'd suggest you walk or bike this part of the trail to see it with your own eyes. I have been running on this trail for the past 15 years with a group of 10 women.  We are out there every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 6 am every single week.  This trail is one of the things that makes this area great."  

Bethesda was recently featured in December 2008 issue of SELF MAGAZINE as "Best Overall" in the COUNTRY as The Healthiest City.  The Capital Crescent Trail was specifically cited as the top feature of Bethesda.  Why do you want to destroy it????"    

"This will be a voting issue for me.  I will vote against anyone who comes within a country mile of this horrendous deal."

"The Capital Crescent trail is one of the most beautiful places in Washington DC / Bethesda, Maryland.  It makes urban living enjoyable as a place to stretch your legs and get some fresh air."

"I believe that is good for the economy as it promotes businesses in and around the trail by creating an enjoyable outdoor public area."

"It is a destination and should be used as a model for planning urban areas."

"I believe this area should be preserved and expanded for future generations to enjoy as I have." 

"At a time when our President risks tarnishing his legacy by undermining longstanding protection of our national parks and forests in the waning days of his Administration, you, our elected officials have it in your power to preserve or destroy a unique recreational treasure in my neighborhood.  Among other things, it will be a test of your wisdom and restraint and how you decide to act will be remembered for a very long time.  Your first responsibility is to do no harm.  Destroying the Capital Crescent Trail would be irreversible and tragic and you can and must prevent that from happening." 

"The crescent trail has served my family and friends well, offering us a serene and beautiful place to enjoy, and a refuge away from the noise and traffic of everyday life."  

"Today, public infrastructure should be deployed in a way that *PRESERVES* our shrinking natural environment -- not decimates it." 

"I am not someone who writes to government officials on matters of general policy. But I am moved now because the State is considering actions that would directly harm my neighborhood and the lives of everyone living in the vicinity of the Crescent Trail."  

"Having a magnificent "urban park" so close to our residential area is rare and wondrous.  We must value, cherish and protect that greenspace, which brings beauty and grace to the people in Montgomery County, particularly as the population density in Bethesda increases over the next few years." 

"In today's fast-paced, stressed out environment, it is becoming increasingly important for people to have easy (and free) access to exercise."

"There are numerous articles and studies discussing the problem of obesity in Americans.  So why would we replace land that is used regularly for exercise and peace of mind, and replace it with mass transportation?"  

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