Capital Crescent Trail tops list of best urban cycling trails in America

The Washington, D.C.-to-Silver Spring Capital Crescent Trail has received national recognition by Momentum magazine, which just placed it atop its list of 10 Amazing Urban Cycling Trails for Exploring Cities. Starting in Georgetown, the trail winds through Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Lyttonsville before terminating in Silver Spring. The CCT beat out trails in much larger metropolises such as San Francisco and Chicago for the top spot. Momentum correctly noted that the trail route follows the Georgetown Branch of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, however, trains continued traveling its rails even after the B&O was absorbed by CSX, which ultimately abandoned the line in the 1980s.

Montgomery Parks seeks input on future of Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda

Montgomery Parks is seeking public input on potential alterations and renovations to the portion of the Capital Crescent Trail between Bethesda Avenue and the Washington, D.C. line. Two meetings will be held for this purpose. One will be in-person, on Thursday, November 2, 2023 from 7:00 - 8:30 PM in the All-Purpose Room at Somerset Elementary School at 5811 Warwick Place in the Town of Somerset. The second meeting will be a virtual Zoom meeting on Wednesday, November 8, 2023 from 12:00 - 1:30 PM. The content of both meetings will be identical. Registration is optional, but you can register online for either meeting if you want to ensure that you receive email updates about the project over the coming years (you'll have to utilize that web page if you want to join the Zoom meeting).

What sort of changes or updates are under consideration for what Montgomery Parks is calling "Capital Crescent Trail 2.0?" First on the list is the potential widening of the trail, which has been discussed for many years, as pedestrians using the trail have been struck or nearly struck by cyclists on the narrow route. New signage, access points, improved connectivity and new amenities round out the list the department has provided. But improvements and changes could include ones that residents like you propose that planners haven't thought of, if you provide your thoughts at one of these meetings.

Planters added to protected bike lane on Bethesda Avenue (Photos)

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation ended the week by adding planting boxes to the island running alongside the protected bike lane on Bethesda Avenue, between Woodmont and Wisconsin Avenue. This will soon form one leg of the surface route for the detoured Capital Crescent Trail until the county can deliver a new tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue. Those "coming soon" ads you see in the background are for a new pizzeria in the 4747 Bethesda Avenue office building, which have been up since last spring.

Capital Crescent surface trail goes green by Bethesda Row (Photos)

People transitioning from cars to bikes is supposed to be "green." The new protected bike lane on Bethesda Avenue is really green, though. Montgomery County workers yesterday applied a new green surface to the bike lane, which is also a leg of the Capital Crescent surface trail that was meant to replace the shuttered Capital Crescent Trail east of Bethesda Avenue during Purple Line construction. Of course, this being Montgomery County, the surface route will probably be complete about the same time as the Purple Line is finished.

Boy assaulted on Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda

A parent has reported their 11-year-old son was assaulted by other juveniles on the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda yesterday. The boy was riding his bicycle on the trail between Little Falls Parkway and Dorset Avenue at 4:30 PM Wednesday, and stopped to adjust his bag. Three white male juveniles allegedly approached him, pushed him and the bike over, and began punching him. The victim attempted to fight back, and the alleged assailants fled. 

The suspects are described as wearing bright-green and grey jackets, and are approximately 12 to 14 years old. Maryland-National Capital Park Police have taken a report on the incident, which the parent described in a post on a local listserv. Parents whose children use the trail alone may want to alert their kids to be aware of this.

Capital Crescent Trail surface crossing project stalls out in Bethesda

The Purple Line isn't the only project stalled out in Bethesda. A surface crossing of Wisconsin Avenue for the Capital Crescent Trail nearly a decade in the planning has again ground to a halt on Bethesda Avenue. This past spring, the project finally got started, with construction of a protected bike lane on Bethesda between Woodmont and Wisconsin Avenues. Trail crossing signals were also erected on Bethesda near Woodmont. But now the unfinished work is just sitting there, and the project website is blank.

Capital Crescent Trail sign also counting walkers

The new digital sign on the Capital Crescent Trail at Bethesda Avenue was officially unveiled yesterday, although I gave you an advance sneak preview earlier Friday morning. Now that the trash bags have been removed from the obelisk, the reverse side features a separate digital count of "walkers" using the trail that day. Both sides also display the number of cyclists or walkers who have used the trail this year, although the numbers currently shown are suspect, as the sign only began counting yesterday.

Capital Crescent Trail sign will count cyclists as they ride past

Montgomery Parks has just installed a new digital sign that will count and display the number of cyclists using the Capital Crescent Trail that day. It is located at the trail plaza on Bethesda Avenue by Ourisman Honda. On Thursday, it was partially covered with trash bags.

One other piece of important CCT news this morning: Montgomery County will cut down six trees along the trail next to the Washington Episcopal School. The deforestation will begin on Monday, April 19, 2021, and is expected to take two to three days to complete. Watch for temporary trail closures during that time.

Bethesda Capital Crescent Trail crossing taking shape on Bethesda and Wisconsin Avenues (Photos)

Years in the making, a new surface crossing route for the Capital Crescent Trail at Wisconsin Avenue is finally starting to take physical shape in downtown Bethesda. The protected bike lane is now visible along Bethesda Avenue, which will bring trail users up to Wisconsin from the trail segment that ends by Ourisman Honda and Paul Bakery. 

Bike crossing signal installed at intersection
of Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues

Bike crossing signals have just been installed (but are not yet activated) at the trail crossing of Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues, and are also being installed at Wisconsin and Bethesda. While the surface crossing is being completed much later in the Purple Line construction process than most expected, it won't become obsolete anytime soon. The fate of a replacement underground crossing for the CCT is hanging in the balance - literally.

Montgomery County's fiscal bottom line will determine the ultimate delivery of the tunnel - or if it is even constructed at all. The County Council quietly postponed the tunnel construction to FY 2027, at the earliest. But if you look at the budget deficit projection, the forecast continued revenue decline with the exit of wealthy residents to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region, and the County's moribund economy and nightmarish debt load, you could just as easily predict that tunnel will never be built. 

The funds won't be there, unless voters make drastic changes on the Council in 2022. And the Montgomery County cartel-controlled officials on the Council and Planning Board are resisting County Executive Marc Elrich's new proposal to single track the Purple Line under Wisconsin, which would make room for an underground CCT path that could be delivered many years sooner.

Wisconsin Avenue-Bethesda Avenue intersection crosswalk work underway (Photos)

A major Maryland State Highway Administration project is underway at the intersection of Wisconsin and Bethesda Avenues. It appears to be related to the effort to improve safety for a street-level crossing of the Capital Crescent Trail, until a replacement tunnel is constructed. The Montgomery County Council, despite having the authority to do so, infamously did not include a provision in the minor master plan amendment related to 7272 Wisconsin Avenue that would require any prospective developer of that site to construct the tunnel. 

Now, County taxpayers have to pick up the tab and wait for the Council to make the allocation of funds for tunnel construction. Until that unknown construction date, trail users will be forced to continue crossing at this busy intersection on Wisconsin Avenue. Just one more reason why it's so important to research the candidates, and their developer ties, before voting in the County Council races. A protected bike lane will be added to Bethesda Avenue between here and Woodmont Avenue as part of the temporary crossing plan.

Construction begins on interim Capital Crescent Trail on Bethesda Avenue

Years after it was promised to be built, and long after the Capital Crescent Trail was closed for the Purple Line light rail project to begin, construction of an interim CCT surface detour has finally begun on Bethesda Avenue at Woodmont Avenue. Separated bike lanes will take trail users up to Wisconsin Avenue. The oddly-configured Bethesda-Woodmont intersection will also be updated to improve pedestrian safety, particularly in crosswalks. 

Little Falls Parkway trail crossing update

A wide, flat speed bump is being installed at the Capital Crescent Trail crossing of Little Falls Parkway. The "road diet" illegally implemented by Montgomery County - and later endorsed by the County Planning Board over residents' objections - remains in place, complete with dozens of bollards that actually block drivers' views of pedestrians and cyclists crossing the road. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Kensington cyclist accused in Bethesda trail assault fired by MadeToOrder, Inc.

Anthony Brennan III, the Kensington man charged in the June 1 assault of three people posting George Floyd flyers along the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda, has been fired from his job. A few hours after Brennan's arrest, his employer - MadeToOrder, Inc. - announced that it had "terminated" him.

MadeToOrder called Brennan's alleged actions "disturbing, wrongful, and completely unacceptable behavior." The Pleasanton, CA firm manufactures custom branded promotional products.