D.C. may build out three-mile pedestrian and bike trail along Potomac River

The District’s trail network could become stronger with a roughly three-mile pedestrian and bike trail that is currently under consideration. Over the past few months, planning officials at the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) have been studying if such a multi-use trail could be placed on the Palisades Trolley Trail, a grassy stretch along the Potomac River.

The Palisades Trolley Trail once hosted the Glen Echo Trolley line, running from Georgetown to Glen Echo Park, in Maryland, during the city’s original streetcar era. The trail has largely been neglected for decades. DDOT says its ongoing study will explore “topography, utilities, site conditions, and historic resources” in Georgetown and Palisades—between St. Mary’s Place NW and Galena Place NW. “The study area includes the abandoned Foundry Branch Trestle Bridge in the historic Glover Archbold Park at Canal Road,” the agency points out.

DDOT, which will hold its first public meeting on the project on March 7 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Palisades Neighborhood Library, says it will also assess whether that bridge can be rehabilitated as part of any trail project. The study is anticipated to be finished in August.

• Map: What a regional bike trail network could look like in the D.C. area [Curbed DC]
• A former trolley line could become a walking and biking trail from the Palisades to Georgetown [Greater Greater Washington]