Editing Rock Creek Park (section)

=== Rock Creek multi-use trails ===
[[File:Western Ridge Trail (48377535372).jpg|thumb|left|Western Ridge Trail]]
A set of hiker/biker trails in the park serve both commuters and recreational users. The mainline trail extends for about {{cvt|1.6|km}} from Broad Branch Road to the southern end of the park where the trail continues several miles to Arlington Memorial Bridge and Hains Point. The northern trails consist of a loop along Bingham Road, Oregon Avenue, Beach Road, and Military Road with spurs along Oregon to the Nature Center and Wise Road. In the park, the mainline trail starts at the parking lot just west of the creek and south of Broad Branch. From there, it is co-located with a section of the Western Ridge Trail south past Peirce Mill to a trail bridge over the creek, where the two separate. After a short distance on the east side of the creek, it crosses back to the west side on Bluff Bridge. Dating back to 1934, it is the oldest part of the trail in the park, and the same age as the [[Lyon's Mill Footbridge|Devil's Chair]] and [[Saddle Club Footbridge|Saddle Club]] Bridges farther south.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ross|first1=Amy|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0700/dc0770/data/dc0770data.pdf|title=WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA|date=1992|access-date=December 10, 2019|archive-date=June 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612002625/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0700/dc0770/data/dc0770data.pdf|url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> The trail remains on the west side until just south of Klingle Bridge where it crosses back to the east and leaves the park to enter the Zoo property.

The Park Service began to experiment with trails in August 1963 when mile-long Ross Drive was closed to cars from 6 am to noon on Sundays,<ref>{{cite news|title=Park Bike Trail Will Open Here|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=27 June 1963}}</ref> but planning for a separate trail system didn't begin until 1965, when the federal "Trails for America" report identified a trail along Rock Creek as one of many trails for the D.C. area. That same year, the "Fort Park System, A Re-evaluation Study of Fort Drive, Washington, D.C." report suggested running the Circle Fort Trail through the park.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tuemmler |first1=Fred W.|title=Fort Park System, A Re-evaluation Study of Fort Drive, Washington, D.C.|date=1965}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Trails for America|date=December 1966|url=https://www.nps.gov/noco/learn/management/upload/trails-for-america-1966.pdf|access-date=June 27, 2019|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614081440/https://www.nps.gov/noco/learn/management/upload/trails-for-america-1966.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Planning for trails led to action. In January 1967, NPS announced weekend road closures in April over a 5-mile loop in the center of the park, made up of Beach, Ross, Ridge and Joyce and they announced a plan to build a trail from Military Road to the District boundary.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hornig|first1=Roberta|title=Rock Creek Bike Trail Due|publisher=The Evening Star|date=24 January 1967}}</ref> That trail, the first hiker-biker trail in the park, was built in the summer of 1967.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Balchen|first1=Bess|title=Even The Wheels Are on Wheels These Days: He's Blazing Bicycle Trail|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=12 July 1967}}</ref> The crushed bluestone trail was constructed from the Nature Center, past Wise Road to a turnaround loop just southwest of Beach Drive and the D.C. boundary.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rock Creek Bike Trail is Now Open|publisher=The Evening Star|date=4 May 1968}}</ref>

[[File:Pine Trail - Flickr - treegrow (2).jpg|thumb|Fall foliage in the park.]]
Over the next few months, NPS announced plans to add additional unpaved trails along Military Road from Oregon to Beach, along Wise to Fenwick Branch, beside Fenwick Branch to the District boundary and through Pinehurst Parkway Park (most of which were never constructed).<ref name="beltway">{{cite news|last1=Clopton, Jr.|first1=Williard|title=Hike-And-Bike Trails Shape Up, Will Give City a New 'Beltway'|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=2 March 1968}}</ref> In 1968, they built a second trail along Beach from Joyce to Bingham.<ref>{{cite news|last1=House|first1=Toni|title=Wheels Go Round and Round|publisher=The Evening Star |date=12 May 1968}}</ref> By 1969, the two existing northern trails were connected with a trail along Bingham from Oregon to Beach.<ref>{{cite web|title=1969 Rock Creek Park Map|website=[[Library of Congress]]|url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3852r.ct005125/?r=0.543,0.15,0.566,0.196,0|access-date=16 July 2019|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613031541/https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3852r.ct005125/?r=0.543,0.15,0.566,0.196,0|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that year, NPS built the final section of the loop along Military between Oregon and Beach. By 1972, NPS had paved all of these trails except the section north of Wise to the DC Boundary.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bike guide, Washington area national parks.|url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3851e.ct004638/?r=0.215,0.47,0.551,0.191,0|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=11 July 2019|archive-date=February 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227164356/https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3851e.ct004638/?r=0.215,0.47,0.551,0.191,0|url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> The section along Military Road was originally intended to serve as part of the Fort Circle Trail, passing by [[Fort DeRussy (Washington, D.C.)|Fort DeRussy]], but work on the Fort Circle Trail ended in the 1970s with only three parts, the one in Rock Creek, a section of the C&O Canal towpath and another from [[Fort Stanton (Washington, D.C.)|Fort Stanton]] to Fort Mahon, completed.<ref>{{cite news|title=Morton Dedicates Hiking, Bike Trails|publisher=The Evening Star|date=2 June 1971}}</ref><ref name="beltway"/> Over time, the Rock Creek section ceased to be viewed as part of the Fort Circle Trail system. Between 1979 and 1981, the unpaved trail and turnaround loop north of Wise was abandoned.<ref>{{cite web|title=1979 Rock Creek Park Map|website=[[Library of Congress]]|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/79695172/|access-date=17 July 2019|archive-date=July 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717173135/https://www.loc.gov/item/79695172/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=1981 Rock Creek Park Map|website=[[Library of Congress]]|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/82693405/|access-date=17 July 2019|archive-date=July 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717173135/https://www.loc.gov/item/82693405/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Farther south, a trail along the creek was extended into the park in 1972. A trail along the Potomac built prior to 1967 was extended along the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway in 1971 and then into the park in 1972. It was built on a bridle path that dated back to the early 20th century up to the Bluff Bridge, which was built in 1934.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bike Way Test to End, Another Route to Open|publisher=The Evening Star|date=16 September 1971}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Sagnier|first1=Thierry J.|title=Newly Paved Path for a Freer Ride|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=31 October 1971}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hodge|first1=Paul|title=Bike Path to Extend South of Alexandria: Before Christmas|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=11 November 1971}}</ref> The section of bridle path used between P and Q streets was built in conjunction with [[the Pentagon]], as that project needed dirt and the park service needed dirt removed.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pentagon Project gets dirt from Rock Creek Hills|publisher=The Evening Star|date=12 October 1942}}</ref> These first sections of trail were 4 to 8 feet wide with rough pavement, steep slopes, poor visibility and sharp curves. By 1977, the trail was extended to Broad Branch Road, crossing the creek at Bluff Bridge and twice on newly constructed "breakaway" bridges.<ref>{{cite web|title=1977 Rock Creek Park Map|website=[[Library of Congress]]|url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3852r.ct005127/?r=0.695,0.507,0.282,0.098,0|access-date=16 July 2019|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613104641/https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3852r.ct005127/?r=0.695,0.507,0.282,0.098,0|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Rock Creek Park trail.jpg|thumb|A steep streamside trail]]
NPS and cyclists have long sought a way to close the gap on the north end of the park. After a 1973 proposal to extend the trail, NPS launched a study and announced a plan to do so in 1983, but quickly retracted it.<ref name="1980Study">{{cite book|title=Rock Creek Park, National Capital Park, Bicycle Trail Study and Environmental Assessment|date=November 1980|publisher=United States National Park Service|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ljc3AQAAMAAJ|access-date=July 9, 2019|archive-date=February 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227164413/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ljc3AQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> In 1980, NPS, inspired by road closures in [[Central Park|New York's Central Park]], prepared an assessment of alternatives for a Bicycle Trail Study of the park that analyzed nine alternatives for completing the trail system, including construction of a new bike trail and alteration of the existing road network. After a period of public comment, NPS proposed expanding the weekend closure; constructing an additional {{cvt|3.5|mi}} of trail, designating Beach Drive north of Bingham a bicycle route and studying the suitability of a trail in that section.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McNamara|first1=James|title=Pedal Power: Many Paths To Pleasure|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=12 September 1980}}</ref><ref name="EIS">{{cite web|title=Rock Creek Park, National Capital Park, Bicycle Trail Study and Environmental Assessment (EA) B1; Record of Decision, Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI): Environmental Impact Statement|year=1980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNk3AQAAMAAJ|publisher=United States Department of the Interior|access-date=9 July 2019|archive-date=February 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227164356/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNk3AQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> After years of additional study, public hearings and trial closures, NPS announced in February 1983 a plan to expand weekend closures and close Beach between Joyce and Broad Branch to automobile traffic. At first only one lane of Beach would be closed during rush hour, but after [[Washington Metro|Metro]]'s [[Red Line (Washington Metro)|Red Line]] opened in Montgomery County in 1985, the section would be permanently closed.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hodge|first1=Paul|title='85 Ban on Cars In Rock Creek Section Planned|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=17 February 1983}}</ref> Six months later, under pressure from The American Automobile Association and the governments of D.C. and Montgomery County, the park service decided not to close the section of Beach. Instead, they decided to go ahead with the weekend closures and build a bicycle trail along a horse trail between Joyce and Broad Branch by 1986. But that trail was never built.<ref name="The Washington Post">{{cite news|last1=Lynton|first1=Stephen|title=Closing Plan For Beach Dr. Is Abandoned|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=6 August 1983}}</ref><ref name="adminhist2"/>

In 1982, the Park Service built two new bridges for the trail. One was added across Rock Creek when the road bridge between [[Pennsylvania Avenue]] and [[K Street (Washington, D.C.)|K Street]] was rebuilt, enabling the trail to stop using a narrow section of the road bridge.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rock Creek Parkway Construction|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=27 August 1981}}</ref> As well, a high-water bridge was built just south of Peirce Mill, replacing the low-water breakaway bridge that had been washed away by [[Hurricane David#Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and New England|Hurricane David]] in 1979.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Morgan|first1=Thomas|title=Rock Creek Park Damage By Storm Set at US$374,000|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=12 September 1979}}</ref><ref>Based on the engraving on the upstream side of the bridge.</ref>

By 1990, biking on foot trails or bridle paths was no longer allowed.<ref>{{cite web|title=1990 Rock Creek Park map|website=[[Library of Congress]]|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/90684630/|access-date=17 July 2019|archive-date=July 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717173243/https://www.loc.gov/item/90684630/|url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> 

In 1991, a high-water bridge replaced the trail bridge beneath Porter Road, the other low-water breakaway bridge built in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rock Creek Span To Stay High, Dry|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=28 November 1991}}</ref>

The prospect of completing a bike route across the park re-emerged in the 1990s when the park was required to come up with a General Management Plan. In 1991, a loosely knit, cyclist-dominated group called "Auto-Free D.C." renewed the push to ban automobile traffic on Beach Drive. They suggested limited road closures to discourage commuters, but allow access to most locations in the park by car. When NPS failed to take up their suggestion, the group led a series of "rolling road block" protests which aimed to peaceably draw attention to the cause by disrupting rush hour traffic. Nonetheless, the protests led to some confrontations and arrests, and at one point the Military Road Bridge was graffitied with anti-automobile slogans. In 1996, NPS initiated a federally mandated General Management Plan for the park. In June 1997, NPS laid out several management alternatives, one of which would improve and expand the paved multi-use trails and add a new trail along Wise, with the police substation converted to a visitor center and bicycle rental facility. Another alternative suggested that sections of Beach Drive be permanently closed and converted into a wide multi-use trail and that Wise Road, Sherrill Drive, Bingham Drive, Grant Road, and Blagden Avenue be converted to paved trails. Both of these alternatives were less popular than the status quo. An additional alternative created by the People's Alliance for Rock Creek (PARC), a group consisting of the Washington Area Bicyclists Association, the [[Sierra Club]], [[Friends of the Earth]] and 18 other advocacy groups, suggested making Beach Drive auto-free north of Broad Branch as a means of completing the trail envisioned in 1965.<ref name="roads"/> In 2003, in an attempt to appease both groups, the Park Service proposed extending the weekend closures of Beach Drive to weekdays from 9:30&nbsp;a.m. to 3:30&nbsp;p.m. The proposal was one of several, but was the "preferred alternative."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Barker|first1=Karlyn|title=Park Service Proposes Beach Drive Closures|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=30 March 2003}}</ref> The plan had popular support, but no political support. Mayor Anthony Williams who had supported closure as a candidate, opposed it as mayor, citing the need to evacuate in a post-9/11 world. In May 2004, NPS proposed instead to only close the section from Joyce to Broad Branch, but again found opposition among politicians. So, in November 2005, the Park Service finalized their management plan which included no further road closures, the prospect of lowering speed limits and adding speed bumps, and improvements to the trail south of Broad Branch.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schwartzman|first1=Paul|title=Vision of the Future For Rock Creek Park|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/29/AR2005112901403.html|access-date=13 August 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 30, 2005|archive-date=August 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821085200/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/29/AR2005112901403.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Rock Creek Park (N.P.), Rock Creek Park and the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway Project General Management Plan: Environmental Impact Statement|date=2005|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CDY3AQAAMAAJ|access-date=13 August 2019|archive-date=February 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227164312/https://books.google.com/books?id=CDY3AQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Cranor|first1=David|title=Would it be the end of the world if fewer cars could pass through Rock Creek Park? We'll find out soon.|url=https://ggwash.org/view/41285/would-it-be-the-end-of-the-world-if-fewer-cars-could-pass-through-rock-creek-park-well-find-out-soon|publisher=Greater Greater Washington|access-date=27 August 2019|archive-date=August 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827191214/https://ggwash.org/view/41285/would-it-be-the-end-of-the-world-if-fewer-cars-could-pass-through-rock-creek-park-well-find-out-soon|url-status=live}}</ref> However, speed limits were never reduced and no traffic calming was ever implemented.

The management plan completion cleared the way for the Park Service and DDOT to rebuild Beach Drive and the trail. Despite planning that started in 2005, work on the project didn't begin until September 22, 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schaffer|first1=Ron|title=On Beltway, Full Access to Arena Drive Is a Few Years Off|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/19/AR2005101901367_5.html|access-date=13 September 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=20 October 2005|archive-date=December 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220193728/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/19/AR2005101901367_5.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Lazo|first1=Luz|title=Beach Drive closure next week likely to cause abysmal traffic in Northwest D.C.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2016/09/12/beach-drive-closure-next-week-likely-to-cause-abysmal-traffic-in-northwest-d-c|access-date=5 September 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=19 September 2019|archive-date=September 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905220530/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2016/09/12/beach-drive-closure-next-week-likely-to-cause-abysmal-traffic-in-northwest-d-c/|url-status=live}}</ref> The project rebuilt both Beach Drive and the trail. The trail section between Shoreham Drive and Broad Branch was widened to {{cvt|8|–|10|ft}}, repaved and realigned; the Shoreham Drive crossing, reworked in 2006, was again improved; the traffic lanes in the Zoo Tunnel were narrowed to widen the trail through it by {{cvt|3|ft}}; a new access to Harvard Street was built and {{cvt|1000|ft}} of new trail was constructed between the Porter Street Bridge and Bluff Bridge.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cranor|first1=David|title=Work on the Rock Creek Park Trail will fulfill a long-ago promise|url=https://ggwash.org/view/41340/work-on-the-rock-creek-park-trail-will-fulfill-a-long-ago-promise|access-date=19 September 2019|publisher=Greater Greater Washington|date=21 April 2016|archive-date=December 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220193729/https://ggwash.org/view/41340/work-on-the-rock-creek-park-trail-will-fulfill-a-long-ago-promise|url-status=live}}</ref> In conjunction with the project, the trail through the [[Klingle Road]] intersection was redesigned to connect to the new [[Klingle Road|Klingle Valley Trail]], which was built on the washed out section of Klingle Road and opened on June 24, 2017. The work on the trail south of Broad Branch was completed on January 8, 2018. Work on Beach Drive between Joyce and Bingham, which improved a short section of trail near the bridge over the creek was completed on September 27, 2019.<ref>{{cite web|title=Beach Drive Rehabilitation|url=https://www.nps.gov/rocr/learn/management/beach-drive-rehabilitation.htm|website=nps.gov|access-date=19 September 2019|archive-date=September 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907064159/https://www.nps.gov/rocr/learn/management/beach-drive-rehabilitation.htm|url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

In 2018, DDOT announced plans to rehabilitate and expand the trail within both Rock Creek Park and outside of it. Within Rock Creek Park, they will rehabilitate a section between Klingle Road and Bluff Bridge and a section on the west side of the creek south of Broad Branch Road. They will also build a new trail along Piney Ridge Road from Beach Drive to [[Streets and highways of Washington, D.C.|Arkansas Avenue]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Rock Creek Park Multi-Use Trail and Pedestrian Bridge Project|url=https://ddot.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ddot/page_content/attachments/2018-03-19_RCPT_Public%20Meeting%20Presentation.pdf|access-date=26 September 2019|archive-date=February 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227163557/https://ddot.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ddot/page_content/attachments/2018-03-19_RCPT_Public%20Meeting%20Presentation.pdf|url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

Though the 2005 D.C. bicycle plan only identified a need for "an improved bicycle connection" between Broad Branch and the Maryland Line, the 2013 MoveDC Multi-modal transportation plan includes a future trail on this section.

Sections of park roads have been subject to weekly closures to motor vehicles since the 1960s, though the times and locations changed. After the 1963 closure experiment, another was attempted in 1967 on Beach between Joyce and Broad Branch on Sunday mornings, but the response was not positive and it was discontinued. In 1970, NPS tried again, closing {{cvt|2|mi}} of Beach, and part of Morrow, every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but was again discontinued due to a lack of use. But, in 1972, NPS tried for a fourth time, again closing Beach between Broad Branch and Joyce from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays and it became a permanent feature.<ref name="EIS"/><ref name="roads">{{cite book|last1=Davis|first1=Timothy|title=Rock Creek Park Road System|date=1998|publisher=National Park Service|pages=150–162|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0900/dc0966/data/dc0966data.pdf|access-date=9 August 2019|archive-date=July 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713030642/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0900/dc0966/data/dc0966data.pdf|url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> On more than one occasion in the 1970s they experimented with Saturday closures in the summer, once to support a new bicycle concession near Carter Barron, which generated no negative response, but also little use.<ref name="EIS"/><ref name="renamed_from_1981_on_20190726220343">{{cite news|last1=Eng|first1=Peter|title=Park Service Closes Beach Drive To Autos on Weekends, Holidays|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=30 August 1981}}</ref>  By 1980, they added the section from Tilden to Piney Branch Road and expanded the hours to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and in August 1981, they expanded the closure to Saturdays and holidays as an experiment.<ref name="renamed_from_1981_on_20190726220343"/> In July 1982, the weekend automobile ban was extended to the section of Beach from Picnic Grove 10 to Wise, and between West Beach and the D.C. boundary.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hodge|first1=Paul|title=More Sections of Road In Park to Be Closed|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=14 July 1982}}</ref> In August 1983 they made the closures, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, official policy as part of the scaled back 1983 Plan.<ref name="The Washington Post"/> In 1985, the hours were increased from 7 a.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. Sunday from early April to [[Veterans Day]] on upper Beach Drive and year-round between Joyce and Broad Branch roads.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cars Give Way to Bikes in Rock Creek Park|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=11 April 1985}}</ref><ref name="adminhist2"/> By 1998 the closures had expanded to include not just the three sections of Beach but also the entirety of Bingham and Sherril Drives within the park and last all year long.<ref>{{cite web|title=1998 Rock Creek Park map|website=[[Library of Congress]]|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/98688148/|access-date=17 July 2019|archive-date=February 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227164807/https://www.loc.gov/item/98688148/|url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>