A new bike path in North College Park is adding a key connection to the Anacostia Tributaries Trail System.

The College Park Woods Connector Trail, which opened this month, links the neighborhood just north of busy Metzerott Road with the Paint Branch Trail, which runs south through the University of Maryland to Lake Artemesia.

Although it’s only a half mile long, the $1.3 million trail will make commuting by bicycle much more feasible for residents and connect the nearby Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi to the trail system.

Using existing right-of-ways, the trail includes a boardwalk that runs through wetlands, a split rail fence and new signs which should make a nice addition to the local greenspace accessible by bike.

Although they are short, connections like this make existing trails more useful, expanding the number of people who can make use of them along the Route 1 corridor.