[RP TownTalk] Hyattsville to College Park Trolley Trail Update

[Alice Ewen]

I would add a slight clarification - the title search was time consuming,
but is done. Some of the property owners are entities from 90 years ago
which no longer exist. M-NCPPC's legal staff are taking steps to ensure
clear title to the land for these parcels.

M-NCPPC met with the Town at our most recent legislative session. M-NCPPC's
goal is that Phase I of the trail between Tuckerman Street and the Town
Center will break ground a year from now. EYA will be constructing the south
portion, connecting us to Hyattsville. Like other trails in the system,
there will be no lighting initially, but it is the long term goal of M-NCPPC
to have lighting on the trail, because it is ideal for commuter use.

I'm looking forward to the new trail next year.

Alice Ewen


On Sat, Jul 10, 2010 at 10:44 AM, Sarah Wayland <sarah.wayland at gmail.com>wrote:

> 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
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-- 
Alice C. Ewen
Councilwoman, Ward 1
Town of Riverdale Park MD
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