Anacostia Tributaries

Route 1 road diet could extend Trolley Trail in Hyattsville

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A small-but-crucial gap in the Route 1 corridor’s bicycle network could be filled in under a plan being developed by the Maryland Department of Transportation. The gap in question is a roughly half-mile stretch of Rhode Island Avenue between the present-day southern terminus of the Trolley Trail at Farragut Street in Hyattsville and the Anacostia Tributary Trails where they cross Rhode Island Avenue near its intersection with Charles Armentrout Drive and 41st Street. The Trolley Trail runs through College Park, Riverdale Park and Hyattsville. But once you reach Farragut Street, the trail disappears. Cyclists who wish to continue south from there to the Anacostia Tributary Trail System are then forced to either take to the roadway or ride on sidewalks.

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Heavy rains swell Anacostia tributaries

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While there were no reported sewage leaks into Prince George’s County’s Anacostia River tributaries, recent heavy rains have likely added tons of additional sediment and garbage into the waterways. Moving south to north along the Route 1 corridor, the Anacostia River’s tributaries include the northernmost tidal branches of the main river, near Bladensburg, as well as the Northeast and Northwest branches in Mount Rainier, Hyattsville and Riverdale Park, and the Paint Branch and Indian creeks in College Park. After this past weekend’s storms, the normally vegetated banks of many of these creeks are topped with fine sandy sediment deposited by the rising waters. “In a normal undeveloped landscape, with rains this heavy, most of that water would be infiltrated into the ground as opposed to running off, refilling groundwater and helping to keep the streams at a more consistent base flow,” said Matthew Gallagher, manager of community-based restoration for the Anacostia Watershed Society. “Now, most of that water ends up in our storm drains.