Arlington’s W&OD Trail is so popular it could be widened, but it faces opposition

The Washington and Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) is a popular amenity in Arlington - so popular that the number of people of walking, running, biking, and scooting on the trail has led to congestion. There’s a proposal to enlarge the trail, but it’s facing opposition from some people because it means cutting down some trees and adding pavement.

NOVA Parks (the regional park system that runs the W&OD Trail) wants to widen the W&OD Trail and provide “dual paths” to separate people walking and biking where possible. That’s because the heavy volume of users on the trail have made it less attractive for people with mobility issues and for families with young kids.

NOVA Parks began with a project to widen a 1.2-mile segment in Falls Church, which already received a $3.2 million grant from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) and $500,000 from the Virginia Department of Transportation. That project should be completed by the end of 2020.

Now, NOVA Parks is beginning a similar process for two miles of the trail between North Roosevelt Street and Carlin Springs Road in Arlington by applying for another funding grant from NVTA. They have asked Arlington to support the grant application. If NOVA Parks gets the grant, it would start designing the trail changes in conjunction with Arlington County staff and would address stormwater management and potential flood impacts. The application envisions completing construction in Fiscal Year 2023 (which spans 2022 and 2023).

This support was initially on the consent agenda for Arlington County Board’s meeting on Saturday, November 16. However, a group calling itself Arlington Tree Action is opposing the changes, which led the board to delay consideration to its meeting on Tuesday, November 19, starting at 6:30 pm.

Opposition arises around trees and wetlands

The opponents call this “the most environmentally destructive project that has ever occurred in Arlington’s public spaces” (almost surely a stretch, given the highways that were blasted through the county or the GW Parkway). They primarily cite cutting down trees and adding pavement to some amount of land. Most large and established environmental organizations have not yet taken a position on this issue.

The group also cites the county’s 2019 Public Spaces Master Plan, which calls to “Address the protection, restoration, reforestation and expansion of natural resources in the Four Mile Run planning corridor and master plans for parks along Four Mile Run, as well as others leading to riparian areas.” That plan does, however, contemplate widening trails and separating modes, saying to “Explore ways to safely separate modes, where space allows, on high traffic trail routes and where user conflicts commonly occur, while minimizing impact on natural resources and trees.”

Trees are indeed important, as is riparian land and open space. A trail, however, will bring far more environmental benefits.

Sustainable transportation protects our planet

As the Bicycle Element of Arlington’s Master Transportation Plan explains, increasing safe spaces for people to bike helps the environment. By addressing unsafe congestion on this segment of trail, Arlington would make bicycling more attractive, which would reduce car trips. Transportation accounts for 29% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and trips within Arlington account for 24% of Arlington’s emissions. That is why reducing vehicle miles traveled and increasing use of alternative and public transportation is one of the primary goals of Arlington’s recently adopted Community Energy Plan.

In the project to improve the W&OD Trail in Falls Church, NOVA Parks has been able to improve stormwater performance by including new planting features that absorb more water in less space than the current greenspace.

We are working on improving the W&OD with dual trails (parallel paths for pedestrians and cyclists). While we are widening the trail for a better experience, we will also be improving the stormwater performance of the Trail property.https://t.co/nKZ1BqwLfE

— The W&OD Trail (@WODTrail) November 18, 2019

This is also very early in the project. If the grant is awarded, as the staff report to the County Board explains, Arlington would be involved in the design phase which has to comply with state and local environmental rules. Because the project is close to a stream, environmental impact will be evaluated in the final design. Thus, the local environmental concerns around trees and flooding can be addressed without needing to kill the whole thing and forego the larger environmental benefits.

Widening the W&OD is specifically called for in the Bicycle Element of Arlington’s Master Transportation Plan, and is consistent with Arlington’s commitment to Vision Zero, its Public Spaces Master Plan, and its commitment to reduce emissions made in the Community Energy Plan.

Michael Nardolilli, the chair of NOVA Parks, said in an email,

If the Board decides not to take the action recommended in the Manager’s Report, the County will lose the $5.7 million from the NVTA for this project. We understand that under the best case scenario, the project would be pushed back 2 1/2 years and, more likely, even longer than that. Falls Church approved a very similar request and the engineering has already been done on parts of the W&OD Trail there. As expected, the work on the trail in Falls Church will lead to less stormwater runoff than is there currently.

The County Board wants to hear from residents

The County Board should vote to support the NVTA grant application at the November 19 meeting to move forward to a design that addresses the safety issues on the trail while minimizing environmental impact.

You can add your voice to this discussion by emailing the County Board before the meeting or by speaking at the Board meeting, which begins at 6:30 pm at 2100 Clarendon Boulevard. This issue is the second item on the agenda and is called “Resolution of support for NOVA Parks application to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 and FY 2025 NVTA Six Year Program (SYP) Update for regional transportation funding (pulled Consent Item 25).”

Update: The board voted 5-0 Tuesday night to support the grant application. Members noted that they wanted to ensure robust public engagement as the project moves forward.