Hiker/Biker trail on track with Railroad Avenue plans By ANNETTE ESTERHELD Staff Writer
Railroad Avenue in Old Bowie is a street that only exists on paper, but if plans work out, it could someday be a hiker/biker trail that would be a step further in connecting Old Bowie to Bowie State University and the MARC station.
Joe Meinert, the city's planning director, said the city is holding a community informational meeting Tuesday, May 6, at 7 p.m. at Bowie State University's Wiseman Student Center, Room 107.
"We've got a plan for the trail and we need community input," Meinert told the Blade-News.
He said, "The city's proposed trail would be 3,600 feet long and would connect Zug Road to the eastern city limits. Then hopefully someday the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission will finish the trail from that point to Bowie State and the MARC station."
Meinert said the trail design he wants to share with the community parallels the railroad tracks the entire 3,600-foot distance and is on the south side of the tracks.
"The trail is consistent with the Bowie Master Plan and with the city's Trails Master Plan," he said.
Senior planner Frank Stevens said the trail is significant in other ways because it would be a key link in eventually connecting Old Bowie with area, regional and national trail systems, like the East Coast Greenway and the American Discovery Trail.
"Both those trails merge in this area and are part of the WB&A Trail," he said. "The East Coast Greenway trail runs from Maine to Florida and the Discovery Trail goes from Delaware to California."
More local, Stevens said, the railroad trail would connect Old Bowie with an existing off-road trail in Tanglewood Park, which is south of Zug Road. Meinert said the trail will also help create a safe walkable community in Old Bowie, something residents told the city in 2006 they would support.
The proposed trail would start at Zug Road, cross the CSX Railroad tracks there and follow the right of way along the tracks. "The trail would go along behind the Knights of St. Johns Hall, behind the Old Bowie Town Grille, would curve behind the Railroad Museum, go under the railroad bridge on Route 564, go past 9th Street and up Myrtle Avenue and beyond to the end of the city limits."
"AB Consultants, a minority business enterprise, did the trail study for us last year using $5,000 in city funds and a community legacy grant of $50,000," Meinert said. "They recommended placing fencing in the areas where the trail will run close to the Amtrak and MARC train tracks that parallel each other."
The closest point to the high-speed Amtrak train is under the railroad bridge and would put the trail approximately 20 feet from the tracks. Generally the trail would be 40 to 90 feet away from the high-speed tracks. The trail itself would be a combination of paved walkway and boardwalk.
The cost for the entire project would be approximately $1 million. That includes nearly $668,000 for construction and also fencing along portions of the trail, something the consultant who did the trail study recommended, Meinert said.
The staff did not put any monies for the trail into the proposed budget for FY09. He said the staff wanted to present the trail proposal and get citizen's input before considering funding the project.
"We've mailed over 400 letters to everyone in the corridor inviting them to this meeting and tried to send word through local groups. We want to know how the community feels about the project at this stage," said Meinert.
For information on the meeting, contact the city's Planning Department at 301-809-3047. To read about the proposed railroad trail, visit www.cityofbowie.org and follow the link to status reports in February 2008.
