[RP TownTalk] trolley trail - what to call it?

[Dwight Holmes]

Thanks, Emily. Only trouble is I didn't have *one* idea!! :-) Rather,
I had suggested one possibility (Old Post Road) or a variation of it
(Old Post Road Trail); and then invited others to take a different
idea (working off our local highways Route 1 and Alt-1) and come up
with clever, succinct, catchy names for the trail that reference the
Route 1/Alt 1 and "green" themes...  So, what do you think?

I'd love to hear ideas, and discussion of same, either here on Town
Talk or over on the Wiki, where I copied my post to this page:
http://rpwiki.wetpaint.com/page/What+Shall+We+Name+the+Trolley+Line+Hiker-Biker+Trail%3F

Maybe if we can put together a handful of alternatives we could run a
poll on the Wiki to see what folks' preferences are...

On Mon, May 4, 2009 at 10:16 PM,  <OurDollMom at aol.com> wrote:
> Dwight - I really like your idea of what to
> name the trail.  Let's go for it.  Em
>
> In a message dated 5/4/2009 4:08:31 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> dwightrholmes at gmail.com writes:
>
> I'm not sure why I should be thinking ahead to the day our new bike
> trail is operational on such a rainy, dreary day, but so be it. I
> finally got around to posting the update on the trolley trail that was
> published in the February 2009 Town Crier, complete with map and photo
> (that were not included in the Crier). You can find it here, on the
> Wiki: http://rpwiki.wetpaint.com/page/Trolley+Line+Hiker-Biker+Trail
>
> There are several reasons why I think it will be absolutely fantastic
> to have this trail available for the use of pedestrians and bikers.
> For me, first and foremost is that it will really make biking a viable
> alternative to the car for doing errands, going out to eat, have a
> beer, etc. We are currently blessed with a great network of trails
> that, while some do indeed use them for commuting purposes, are
> largely used for recreational purposes.  And of course there's nothing
> whatsoever wrong with having recreational bike trails -- au contraire.
> More is better!  But to be able to add to that the ready ability to
> hop on the bikes and get to any of the business establishments
> starting with Rhode Island Reds to the south up to any of the many
> establishments in "downtown College Park" to our north will really
> enhance our lives here in Riverdale Park, I believe.
>
> I only have one question: What will we call the trail?  I fear that it
> will inherit some long and cumbersome bureaucratic name, as a result
> of its history.  Since it will subsume the old alignment of the
> Trolley Line, it is perhaps natural to incorporate that into the name.
> You'll note that the M-NCPCC refers to it in the February update as
> the "Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail". And I suppose it could be
> worse. But I believe it could be better. What do you think? I also
> fear that if we do nothing proactively, it will end up with a long,
> bureaucratic name that will be too long to use, and then we'll be
> reduced to calling it the "bike trail," only to cause confusion since
> we already have "the bike trail" a few blocks to the east (Northeast
> Branch Trail).
>
> One idea I've had is to tie the route into some even older history of
> our area. When Riversdale was one of the few things on the local map,
> it shared that distinction with the George Washington House (now home
> to the Anacostia Watershed Society offices) and the Rossborough House,
> which is now part of the campus of UMd.  The old highway that
> connected Bladensburg to Baltimore and served these 3 historical
> buildings was known -- as best as I can tell from available online
> documents, was the "Old Post Road."  (There may well have been other
> old names as well -- do you know of any?).  Although the alignment of
> that old 'goat path' highway may not precisely coincide with our
> soon-to-be hiker-biker trail, I think it would be a great way to bring
> in a bit of local history.  Painted arrows or footprints (or whatever)
> could direct tourists from each of the historical places to the trail
> itself, and the trail could be marked with "street signs" that say Old
> Post Road (or Old Post Road Trail); the signs likely would be brown,
> to denote historical significance.  That's one idea.
>
> Another idea plays off the "Alt 1" and "Route 1" highways we have.
> Since this trail is by definition "green" since it uses "alternative
> power", we ought to be able to come up with a short, sweet, succinct
> name for the trail that connotes "alternative," "green" and Route 1
> (since it parallels, and provides an alternative route to that ugly,
> unbikeable street 2 blocks to the west!)  I welcome suggestions for
> exactly what the name could be.  "Alt 1 Green"?  'Alt Green Trail"?
> ???????????
>
> Creatively done, this could perhaps even help attract some grant
> funding - at least for the signs and historical plaques and trail
> markings.
>
> It could also provide a more unique and prestigious address to our
> Town Center businesses.  Currently there is great ambiguity as to
> whether these buildings are on Queensbury Rd. or Rhode Island Avenue.
> Why not have them be on Old Post Road? or Alt-1 Green?
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