Central Prince George’s County is not a bicycle or pedestrian friendly area, but the county’s planning department is designing a new trail that will run from Capitol Heights to Largo Town Center.

Photo by Ken Mayer on Flickr.

The trail, which could have its own bridge crossing over the Beltway, would connect the Marvin Gaye Park Trail in DC, four Metro stations, Fed Ex Field, Largo Town Center, and all of the neighborhoods, employment centers, shopping areas, and entertainment venues in between. In the future, it might extend to Anne Arundel County.

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission completed a feasibility study late last year, mapping out a proposed trail alignment and estimating the cost of preliminary planning for the 8.5-mile long trail at over $630,000.

The proposed trail would start at DC’s eastern corner and follow the old Chesapeake Beach Railway right of way to Central Avenue.

The Central Avenue Connector Trail would run from DC’s eastern corner to Largo Town Center. Click for a larger, clearer version. Images from M-NCPPC unless otherwise noted.

It would then follow Central Avenue until the road splits away from Metro’s Blue Line, at which point the trail would continue running along the Blue Line en route to Largo. This part would all be 12-foot wide multi-use trail.

This is what the trail will look like west of the Morgan Boulevard Metro.

A southern alignment from DC’s eastern corner would go south to the Capital Heights Metro on the way to Old Central Avenue at Capital Heights Boulevard. It would then follow Old Central all the way to the Chesapeake Beach Railway ROW. This alignment would be a combination of bike lanes and shared streets.

Though the bulk of the land is owned by Metro, M-NCPPC or the Maryland State Highway Administration, some parts do pass over private property. Also, the trail is supposed to run over the Capital Beltway. The feasibility study shows some alternative routes if Prince George’s can’t acquire that property, or if it can’t build a bridge over the Beltway.

In the latter case, the result is a 1.5 mile detour to Brightseat Road. It’s unfortunate that a trail bridge wasn’t built in 2004 in conjunction with Metro’s Trotter Memorial Bridge over the Beltway.

1.5 mile Brightseat Road Detour.

Another challenge will be building the half dozen stream crossings that’d be necessary. But if these challenges can be overcome or mitigated it would greatly enhancing biking and walking in the area, and make it easier to get to Metro without a car.

Update: Just today, the Transportation Planning Board approved a $109,400 Transportation Alternatives Program grant to pay for the 30% Design for the easternmost 0.32 miles of this project between Morgan Boulevard Metro Station and Largo Town Center Metro Station. This includes he trail, pedestrian/bicycle bridge structures, and two trail crossings.