On February 10, 2021, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) presented the 65% design plan for the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT) extension from Fort Totten to Takoma. View the presentation here.
DDOT is accepting comments on this draft design plan until March 10, 2021. Send written comments to metbranchtrail@dc.gov.
There is a lot happening in this design that is a lot for a blog post, so if you care about this part of the project and missed the presentation, it is worth it to take some time to look at it. The design should be done this spring, with construction anticipated winter 2022 and project completion fall 2023.
A few highlights from the presentation
- Speed humps have been installed on 1st Street NE.
- DDOT anticipates construction on the new traffic signal at 1st Street and Riggs Road NE to take place some time this spring. The timing is dependent on the existing work that Pepco is doing for the Capital Grid Project on Riggs Road. When that signal is installed, it will not have a bicycle signal. The bicycle signal will be added later once construction on the trail begins.
- New traffic signal at McDonald Street NE/New Hampshire Avenue NE/South Dakota Avenue NE planned as part of the trail design.
- The plan includes a bunch of stuff around the Peabody Street NW/Kansas Avenue NW/Blair Road NW/North Dakota Avenue NW intersection to avoid conflicts between bicyclists and left-turning motorists from southbound Blair to Kansas.
- There will be a separate access trail for the community garden on Blair Road.
- There was a lot of discussion about impacts to parking along Blair Road and discussion about how DDOT will deal with the many driveways along Blair with signage, markings, and etc.
- The 6600 block of 3rd Street NW will become one-way southbound (at Whittier).
- A lot of discussion about Blair and Aspen Street NW. Really a lot of discussion about almost every intersection along Blair given that Blair is a well-traveled road, so take a look at the presentation for the details.
ANC 4B Draft Resolution
ANC 4B has a draft resolution regarding the design update on the agenda for its upcoming public meeting on February 22. View that draft resolution here. The ANC’s main takeaways, as copied from the resolution, are:
➢ As the design plans for the Fort Totten to Takoma section of the Metropolitan Branch Trail are finalized, the Commission requests that the District Department of Transportation include a turn signal and/or turn lane at the intersection of Aspen Street NW and Blair Road NW for vehicles on Aspen Street that are attempting to turn onto Blair Road.
➢ ANC 4B prefers relocating the 1st Street NE and McDonald Place NE sections of the trail to the nearby National Park Service land. The Commission requests that the District Department of Transportation expedite investigation of the alternative route with NPS, as the alternate route is safer for trail users and residents and has the support of the residents of 1st Street NE and McDonald Place NE currently impacted by the “temporary” route.
➢ The Commission supports the proposed enhancements that would turn the 6600 block of 3rd Street NW into a one-way, and further requests installation of a four-way stop at the intersection of 3rd Street NW and Whittier Street NW.
➢ At the intersection of Blair Road and Van Buren Street NW, the Commission requests inclusions of improved lighting under the adjacent rail corridor underpass.
My own thoughts about this portion of the trail are that while I still think this extension is pretty much an extra wide sidewalk with a portion being on the street, I am glad it is happening. It would be nice to have the trail aligned closer to the tracks through the South Manor neighborhood on 1st Street NE; hopefully NPS will approve that adjustment sooner rather than later. There are a lot of curb cuts on Blair Road. I travel that way from time to time, but it is unclear to me how active many of those driveways are. During the meeting, a representative from the Washington Area Bicyclist Association suggested placing maybe large planters or some other object to informally block off or narrow those driveways that are clearly not in use. Unclear if that is something DDOT will consider. Another person recommended public art along the wall on Blair Road to make it a little more attractive. More to come on that I suppose.
The project website for the Fort Totten-Takoma extension where you can find all project-related documents is http://metbranchtrail.com/met-branch-trail-fort-totten-to-takoma. The DDOT project manager/point of contact is Samer Alhawamdeh (email: samer.alhawamdeh@dc.gov).
Other MBT Section Updates
DDOT also took some time to provide a status report on other sections of the MBT.
- 8th Street NE: In design; completion anticipated December 2021
- Brookland to Fort Totten extension: Under construction, completion anticipated December 2021
- South Manor Off-street Alignment: Future environmental assesssment (ANC Commissioner Alison Brooks (4B08) requested a vigorous discussion with National Park Service to expedite this future alignment)
- Blair Road to Piney Branch Road: Planning and preliminary design to begin in 2021
- Eastern Avenue: Under construction; completion anticipated June 2021
Next Stop...Riggs Park 
Thanks for your helpful summary and thoughtful observations, especially about the need to pursue the NPS alternative to 1st/McDonald ASAP. That is only one segment, however, of a much larger project that is desperately needed safe transportation options for Ward 5 and 5 residents. After so many years (decades!) of public meetings and drawings on paper it exciting that it appears to finally be coming together to become a reality. I only hope someone does not object at the last minute by saying they had not been informed or consulted because they had failed to participate in all of these years of public meetings about it.