The Capital Crescent Trail

About the city. The Washington D.C. metropolitan area is one of the most educated and affluent Metropolitan areas in the United States. The metro area anchors the southern end of the densely populated Northeast megalopolis with an estimated total population of 6,216,589 according to the 2017 U.S. Census Bureau.

Goal

The aim of the project is to make an electric vehicle-free road that can be used for both recreational and commuting purposes, connecting residential, commercial, and employment centres of Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Silver Spring, and Washington.

Implementation period. The first section of the trail was established in 1996.

Fact

The Capital Crescent Trail is one of the most heavily used rail-trails in the US and is used by more than 1 million walkers, joggers, bikers, skateboarders and rollerbladers every year.

Solutions

The Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) is a public off-road trail from Georgetown, D.C., to Silver Spring, Maryland, suitable for walkers, joggers, bikers, and roller skaters.

The CCT is a rail-trail built on the former railbed of the 11-mile Georgetown branch of the B&O Railroad. The trail ends as a paved asphalt trail from Georgetown to Bethesda, with 6 bridges and a tunnel offering users gentle gradients, with grade-separated intersections on most (except two) roads.

The trail will not be completed until it is completed as an asphalt off-road trail into downtown Silver Spring, which is what the Purple Line project is intended to achieve. The coalition continues to work on completing the trail and providing features that will make the trail more attractive and fun to use.

Most of the trail passes through parks and other wooded areas; it runs over four bridges, through two tunnels, and offers beautiful views of the Potomac.

Challenges

• On September 5, 2017, the Georgetown branch was officially closed so that work on the Purple Line Light rail could begin. In conjunction with the Purple Line project, construction crews are extending the Capital’s Crescent Trail as a 12-foot-wide paved public road from Bethesda to Silver Spring. The Purple Line project should be completed by the end of 2023, and the trail could open a year before that, but the tunnel through Bethesda won’t be completed until 2026.
• In 2016, at the intersection of the Capital’s Crescent Trail (CCT) and Little Falls Parkway, a driver tragically hit a bicyclist. After this incident, the local parks service reduced the number of car lanes to one in each direction and lowered the speed limit. Since these changes were made, the number of accidents has decreased by 67%, and no one has died. Traffic was reduced by just 3%, and drivers had to wait an average of seven more seconds.

Team

Montgomery County Department of Transportation, Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail ( approximately 501 organizations)

Timeline

• In 2000, the Montgomery County Council voted to Fund the rehabilitation of the Rock CreekTrestle, after the Coalition along with civic groups sponsored two rallies and a petition to demonstrate broad support for the opening of the trestle. Then the Coalition made a successful attempt to include observation “bump-outs” in the design of the overpass and contributed $ 75,000 to their cost. The overpass was opened for use on the trail in May 2003.
• In 2005, CCT was named one of the “21 great places that show how transportation can enliven a community” by The Project for Public Spaces.

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