Arlington County Board Approves Easement for Washington Blvd Trail #bikedc @arlingtonva

The Arlington County Board in its meeting this week reportedly approved of an easement from the Navy along Washington Blvd in order to accommodate a new multi use trail for pedestrians and cyclists.  From the Board's agenda:

Deed of easement amendment 001 for public recreation, pedestrian and bicycle path on property owned by the United States Government and located on the Naval Supply Facility, Arlington, Virginia, RPC #34-013-001.

C.M. Recommendation:   Approve the deed of easement amendment 001 (attached to the staff report) for public pedestrian and bicycle path (amended deed) on property owned by the United States Government and located on the Naval Supply Facility, Arlington, Virginia, RPC #34-013-001. In addition, authorize the Real Estate Bureau Chief, Department of Environmental Services, or his designee, to accept, on behalf of the County Board, the Deed of Easement attached to (the) Board Report as Attachment 1, subject to the approval as to form by the County Attorney.   

Board Report #26 

Photo by BankBryan (cc Flickr)

This is an important connection between the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor and the Pentagon City area going North-South. This clears the way for the construction of the trail to be placed out for bid, with a potential completion date for the trail of the summer of 2015.

ArlNow recently reported that the path of the trail had been realigned in order to avoid the removal of multiple mature trees, but also necessitating the acquiring of the easement. 

This will be a tremendous addition to the Arlington trail system.  The Arlington Loop (the MVT, the Custis, and the WOD) has created a heavily used beltway of cyclist transportation along with a recreational opportunity for joggers, dog walkers, skaters, and pedestrians.  When bike commuters are polled where they come from, they predominately answer from along the trails.  Smart infrastructure leads to smart cycling transportation.

What is missing - badly missing - is a trail through the center of the county along Washington Boulevard.  A North-South trail will be another huge step forward in Arlington's cycling infrastructure, making access to everywhere in the county easy by bicycle.