By David Kosub (Contributor)

Thank you to all the neighbors who have expressed interest and shared thoughts on reactivating the National Park Service (NPS) Civil War Defenses of Washington (CWDW) parkland in our neighborhood (see these posts from October 2019 and December 2019 for more). This is the Fort Totten Park site bounded by Galloway Street NE, South Dakota Avenue NE, and Gallatin Street NE, between Riggs Park and North Michigan Park.

I have shared your feedback and enthusiasm with folks from NPS and they agreed to participate in a community discussion on this topic. Our original target date for this meeting was cancelled due to the COVID-19 emergency and will be rescheduled for when the stay-at-home orders are lifted and we can safely gather again in public. An online/virtual meeting would not be optimal.

This meeting is expected to be similar to an event NPS held last September  with the community near Fort Reno. For instance, an NPS park ranger will take us on a historical tour of Fort Totten, describe its role during the Civil War, and its life since. We will then move to hearing about the CWDW management plan, which is the guiding document that will help us better understand what is possible at this site. NPS will share what projects are currently underway or planned, such as wayfinding and historical marker signage, paving the long-awaited social trail, picnic pavilion improvements, and nearby trash mitigation efforts to restore the Anacostia River. It will conclude with NPS hearing directly from us on ways we would like to reactivate and use this CWDW site more for recreational, historical, educational, and cultural purposes, which are allowable under the management plan. Everybody in the community, from residents, to business owners, local developers, The Parks Main Street, civic leaders, and elected officials are welcome to attend.   

It is important to note that “reactivation” here does not mean commercial development. Both NPS and the community recognize the importance of keeping an open green space in our neighborhood. This is an opportunity, though, to have us come together with NPS to identify ways to better utilize this public asset for the community.

My NPS colleagues and I will have standing monthly meetings to prep for this event. During these meetings, I’ll relay comments from the community related to the nearby CWDW parklands and report back with answers. So, if you have questions and/or ideas on what to expect at the NPS community meeting to reactivate the parkland, scheduled construction projects, beautification, habitat restoration, etc., please share them with me in the Comments section below or via direct email here.

Finally, some more good news on this site. NPS informed me that the following projects have made progress over the past few months:

• Issued a contract to construct the paved and lighted trail between Galloway Street and Gallatin Streets NE. Construction should start later this spring or early summer, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of September.
• Authorized the District’s Department of Transportation to start construction of the section of the Metropolitan Branch Trail that goes over the Metro green and yellow line tunnel at Fort Totten metro station. Construction should ramp up significantly in the coming weeks.