The coronavirus pandemic led to a dramatic spike in bikers and joggers on local trails.
According to data compiled by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, nearly every week of 2020 saw a dramatic spike in trail users along the Route 1 corridor compared to the same week in 2019.
At the Bladensburg Waterfront Park, where the most detailed information is available, the spike began immediately, with 14,072 walkers, joggers and bikers counted in March of 2020, compared to 8,410 the previous March.
But when summer hit, the numbers went off the charts. In May, 35,612 trail users were counted at the park, a 227 percent increase from the 15,642 counted the previous May.
The times that people used the trails also changed. Before the pandemic, some trails were popular with early-morning joggers and people who had just returned home from work.
But hourly data from 2020 show high levels of use throughout the day from people who were now working from home or out of work.
As the Capital Trails Coalition noted in an analysis, the high rate of use was also sustained all year long, meaning that residents had formed new routines over the year. Trail backers hope that this will lead to a higher level of public support for trail extensions.
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