On November 16, 2022, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton held her quarterly National Park Service (NPS) town hall on zoom. Residents were able to submit questions in advance and also during the meeting. In the past, Congresswoman has published a list of answers from NPS to all of the questions received. I will share that once I receive it.

The major NPS park in Riggs Park is the Fort Circle Park (Fort Totten) that streches from Fort Totten Metro station east to the DC/Maryland line. It is part of the Rock Creek Park system. Julia Washburn, Superintendent for Rock Creek Park, provided answers about Fort Totten during the meeting.

I did not stay for the entire meeting because ANC 5A held its meeting the same evening. Fortunately several residents were able to get in questions about NPS parks in the neighborhood early in the meeting, so I do not think I missed too much.

I asked several questions ahead of time about Fort Totten Park. Answers provided by NPS during the meeting are below.

• Status of North Michigan Park-Fort Totten station pedestrian trail & keeping project website updated to inform residents of what is happening

NPS apologized for the lengthy delay of the pedestrian trail between Gallatin Street and Galloway Street NE that is supposed to connect North Michigan Park to Fort Totten Metro station. The project was delayed after discovery of an unexploded World War I ordnance. Following soil testing, NPS concluded there were no other hazardous materials. During the town hall, NPS described the shell as a “one-off,” but there were questions about what exactly NPS did to reach that conclusion. (In this post, I previously described what NPS said they sent to the ANC 5A commissioners about the soil testing earlier this year, which NPS forwarded to me after that meeting after I asked. This is the direct link to soil study they sent to me).

In any case, after that discovery and construction resumed, NPS contractors then hit the top of Metro’s green line tunnel. Now the project is still on pause so that Metro and NPS can determine whether the trail can be built and where it is safe to do so, NPS stated during the town hall. (They originally said that redesign would be done in November. After the town hall, I received an email from NPS with more information, which I shared in this post). They hope to issue a contract for redesign of the trail by end of this year or early 2023. If redesign is feasible, that should be completed in mid-2023. From there, they would need to secure funding in order to start construction.

There was a project website: Fort Totten – North Michigan Park Pedestrian Access Improvement Project Environmental Assessment. It has not been updated in a while (though some information has been removed). Hopefully NPS will update this page with this latest information and keep it updated.

• Trash along Galloway Street near Fort Totten Metro station

NPS acknowledged that trash is a problem along the parkland on Galloway Street leading to Fort Totten Metro station. Ms. Washburn said that NPS mainly relies on volunteers to clean up NPS parks, and she said they are always looking for volunteers to help keep the park clean. I think it would be useful if NPS could work out an agreement with Metro since Metro personnel have an everday presence in the area as opposed to NPS personnel.

• Setting up 311 type system for tracking issues in park, such as dumping, trash, overgrown vegetation, fallen trees, etc.

In response to my question about whether NPS could set up a system for tracking common requests and providing acountability, Ms. Washburn said that for issues regarding Fort Totten, residents can email NPS through the contact page on the Rock Creek Park website at https://www.nps.gov/rocr/contacts.htm or call the main number at (202) 895-6000.

• Status of sidewalk along south side of Galloway Street NE between South Dakota Avenue and 4th Street

NPS did not address the sidwalk along Galloway Street NE while I was still on the meeting, and I do not know if it was answered at all during the meeting. This project requires coordination between NPS and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). It had orginally been delayed because NPS designed a 6-foot path rather than a 10-foot path, so engineers had to redesign the path. DDOT did share the following information in an email to me on September 30, 2022:

We are working on engineering plans now which should be completed by August 2023. Construction would likely start in spring 2024 if there are no snags. Ideally, we want to build a 10 foot wide multi-use trail with a 4 foot wide grass buffer between the street and the path. We are doing a tree survey now to see if we can fit it all in without impacting any protected trees.

• Using Fort Circle Park for activities like movies in the park and other activities and getting a walking trail around perimeter of the park.

A walking trail and more passive activities are called out in the neighborhood’s area development plan. It is consistent with NPS’s long term vision for Fort Circle Park, which is that the park be used for “passive recreation.” At the town hall, Ms. Washburn stated that NPS is looking to update its long-range plan in 2023-2024 and will seek resident input on what passive recreation at Fort Circle Park could look like.

The official name of the Fort Circle Parks is the Civil War Defenses of Washington. NPS has long stated that because of the historic significance of these parks, they are not like other NPS parks that may have lots of amenties, such as playgrounds, soccer fields, tennis courts, and swimming pools. NPS has long said (at least with respect to Fort Totten) that they want the park to look how it did back during the Civil War. But we know that Fort Dupont Park, for example, does in fact have lots of non-historical amenities in the park. (Not to mention that our own park has a stray baseball net and did in fact have a playground or at least a basketball court at one time). I was told some time in the past couple of years by a park ranger that Fort Dupont has lots of different amenities because residents demanded more activities in the park following the assassination of Martin Luther, Jr. and NPS actually listened.

For what it is worth, NPS is currently undergoing a public process to rehabilitate parkland in Congress Heights. Planning documents are available at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/parkland. I imagine the process for Fort Circle Park could look a lot similar.

NPS did not get to my questions about placing recycling receptacles near the park at South Dakota and Galloway Street NE or putting dog waste bags in the park. There were lots of other questions about the multitude of NPS parks in DC. Hopefully we will get a read out of responses from NPS soon.

I have a recap of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s quarterly meeting with National Park Service (NPS) that was held on November 16 sitting in my drafts, and I just received an update today from NPS regarding the ill-fated North Michgan Park-Fort Totten pedestrian trail between Gallatin and Galloway Street NE. Recall that the last update they gave residents stated that the redesign would be done in November 2022 (as in this month). Well, we are going to have to wait longer to see if this project will get done.

I cannot say I am surprised, but I remain confused about why there seems to so much confusion between NPS and Metro. I thought it was common knowledge that Metro’s green line tunnel at Fort Totten runs underneath the park between Gallatin and Galloway Street NE east and west of South Dakota Avenue, and I guess I thought NPS and Metro would have figured out how deep the tunnel was before NPS started digging (kind of like “call before you dig”). I guess not.

In the meantime, I do hope NPS and Metro will come to an agreement about keeping the edges of the parkland along Galloway Street clean.

Look for more emails in your inbox imploring residents not to use the “construction zone.” Seriously though, it is getting dark earlier, so be careful.

NPS message below:

Good Day Fort Totten community leaders and residents, please note this latest update on the project to construct a paved trail between Gallatin Street and Galloway Street NE, just east of Fort Totten.

As most are aware, the National Park Service stopped work on this project earlier this year– after uncovering a portion of the Metrorail’s green line tunnel during trail construction.

 After a thorough review and subsequent discussions with engineers and additional engagement with WMATA, the National Park Service has determined that we will need to redesign the trail with a new alignment. It is our intent to issue a contract for this redesign later this year or early 2023. 

If this can be done, we should have design completed in mid-2023. When funding is available, we will proceed with construction, but that may take some time, as we won’t know the costs of construction until we have a design completed.  In the meantime, we will update you on a regular basis as we proceed with the design. 

We ask again for the community’s patience as well as request neighbors/metro riders continue to detour around the trail construction site until the new trail is in place. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at kym_elder@nps.gov.

Sincerely,

Kym Elder

Program Manager

Civil War Defenses of Washington

From Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton

The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton invites you to participate in a Town Hall Meeting with the National Park Service. Congresswoman Norton will host representatives from the National Park Service to provide updates and respond to your questions, comments, and concerns about federal park lands and issues under their jurisdiction in Washington, DC.

The pertinent details are below:

Who: All DC Residents

What: Town Hall Meeting with the National Park Service

When: Wednesday, November 16th, 2022, 6-7:30pm

Where:  Zoom

Link: https://ushr.zoomgov.com/j/1603789012

Register: https://forms.office.com/g/Ln4bSq0JSH

If you have any questions, please email NortonEvents@mail.house.gov or call (202) 408-9041.

Ed. Note: Message below is from National Park Service regarding the North Michigan Park-Fort Totten Metro Station Pedestrian Trail received on August 11, 2022.

From Kym Elder

Thank you for writing and/or contacting us. We understand the frustration with this closure and project. 

The National Park Service (NPS) is finalizing the redesign of the trail, which includes protection of the WMATA Metrorail tunnels directly below the trail, which were uncovered when we re-started construction last year. 

As previously noted, we have completed all our munitions testing and have not found any issues of concern.

The re-design work should be completed by late November with construction to resume early spring 2023 and completion in the 2023 summer/early fall season.  

We are asking the neighbors refrain from moving the fencing or putting materials on the trail surface. Rather, we ask that users utilize the trail just to the east of the construction site, or walk around the block to get to the Metro.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact me, Kym Elder, Program Manager, Civil War Defenses of Washington at kym_elder@nps.gov.

We thank you for your patience. 

Kym Elder
Program Manager
Civil War Defenses of Washington
National Capital Area

Yesterday, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s office issued a press release regarding the meeting her office held with the National Park Service (NPS), US Army Corps of Engineers and WMATA. I covered NPS’s statement in this post.

From Congresswoman Norton’s Office

Mar 3, 2022 

Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released a statement on her meeting earlier this week with the National Park Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to discuss the unexploded ordnance found on Fort Totten Trail in the District of Columbia. Norton requested the meeting.

“I have been working to clean up the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site since ordnance were first discovered there, in 1993, and the discovery of an unexploded ordnance on Fort Totten Trail was extremely concerning,” Norton said. “However, we had a productive meeting, and I was reassured that there has been a thorough search of the area without turning up additional issues. I am committed to ensuring that residents across the District of Columbia are safe from ordnance, chemical weapons, and soil and groundwater contamination.”

Today, the National Park Service shared the following information with ANC 5A and myself.

On yesterday, the National Park Service (NPS), the US Army Corp of Engineers and others convened briefly via teleconferencing to provide DC Delegate Norton and her staff with an update on the referenced subject.  

NPS updated Del. Norton and her staff — as we did with your group on last Wednesday (2/23/22) evening.

Please note, the following highlights shared with all:

The National Park Service (NPS) is continuing design work on the pedestrian trail between Gallatin Street and Galloway Street NE. 

Last summer, after trail construction resumed, we immediately uncovered a portion of the Metrorail Green Line tunnel. The tunnel runs underground within the trail construction area. 

The National Park Service then contracted with a design firm to look at various options for the trail, including realignment and testing for unexploded ordnance in those areas that would be affected by a relocation of the trail.

This phase of the work is underway now. We expect this work will take about three months. Once a new realignment is chosen, work can resume on trail construction. 

We anticipate this will happen this summer, but we will provide a more definitive timeline once we have the trail design finalized. 

I am still working on the ANC 5A February 23rd meeting recap, which touches on this topic. That will be up in the next couple of days.

Updated with the reports shared in the ANC meeting recap: A document dated January 2018 outlines the community engagement that was done regarding testing of soil on the western side of the park where WMATA brought in fill dirt from Spring Valley to rehabilitate the parkland used by WMATA for staging during construction of the green line a few decades ago. A document dated April 2019 contains the preliminary testing results for that staging area. A document dated August 2021 is the soil study of the area on the eastern side of the park where the unexploded WWI ordnance was found during construction of the pedestrian trail