[RP TownTalk] Hyattsville to College Park Trolley Trail Update

[Sarah Wayland]

It's my understanding that MNCPPC is in fact trying to figure out who
actually owns the land upon which the trail will be constructed.

>From the February 2009 Town Crier:
"Recently, funding was placed in the M-NCPPC budget to complete a
planning and design study for the Riverdale Park and Hyattsville
segments of the trail corridor....The M-NCPPC Department of Parks and
Recreation has funding in the FY 2009 Capital Improvement Program to
complete the design work and construct initial phases of the trail."

MNCPPC is funding the construction of the trail; the town(s) will be
responsible for policing and maintenance. Currently there is no
funding for installing lighting on the trail (MNCPPC and the
municipalities wanted lighting, but there is just no money to fund it
in these lean economic times.)

As I understand it, no one is quite sure who owns major portions of
the trail. The town had its lawyer investigate and he was unable to
determine who owned some of the land. Because of this, there is a
process MNCPPC must undergo before it can exercise eminent domain and
move ahead with construction.

That said, I do believe design and planning are well underway. There
are just a number of legal issues that must be resolved before we can
move ahead.

-Sarah


On Sat, Jul 10, 2010 at 10:27 AM, Dwight Holmes <dwightrholmes at gmail.com> wrote:
> But of course this trail will neither be owned nor operated by Parks &
> Planning - it's not park land.  I hold out hope that Hyattsville & Riverdale
> Park, perhaps in partnership w/EYA, will create the means to provide
> lighting & blue light phones. Clearly this will be a transportation route,
> not a recreational one.

On Sat, Jul 10, 2010 at 10:20 AM, Lisa Grob <lisagrob at verizon.net> wrote:
> Thanks for that item. To add to that - haven't seen it in writing but what I
> have heard is that the MNPCC doesn't do lighting because Parks are
> officially closed to the public at nightfall.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: watoto at att.net [mailto:watoto at att.net]
>
> Construction starts within a year and there won't be any lighting along the
> trail.
>
>On Sat, Jul 10, 2010 at 9:54 AM, Lisa Grob <lisagrob at verizon.net> wrote:
> I believe it’s in the design phase still.
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: towntalk-bounces at riverdale-park.org
> [mailto:towntalk-bounces at riverdale-park.org] On Behalf Of Melissa Avery
> Sent: Saturday, July 10, 2010 8:35 AM
> To: towntalk at riverdale-park.org
> Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Anacostia Trail Update
>
> Speaking of trails
>
> Now that final development is finally approved and plans are underway -
>
> Can we get an official report about the development of the trail between
> College Park and Hyattsville?
>
> Where is the trail going to be ?
> When is the ground breaking?
> What are the details about the type of surface?
> Any safety features?
>
> This trail is going to be a quick and pleasant way to get from Riverdale
> Park to the College Park Metro.




-- 
Sarah Wayland
sarah.wayland at gmail.com