Prince George’s County will seek federal funding to complete dozens of new trails, including several along the Route 1 corridor.

The county council approved a plan Tuesday to work with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the state to request close to $25 million to expand the Capital Trail Network.

The 479-mile trail system runs through Prince George’s and Montgomery counties and connects to D.C. and Northern Virginia.

On the Route 1 corridor, the requests would include improvements to the Sligo Creek Trail in the Chillum area where it crosses Route 410 and Riggs Road and connecting a trail between West Hyattsville and Fort Totten, MNCPPC trail development manager Robert Patten told the Hyattsville Wire.

The Capital Trail Coalition has also called for projects including a 4.5 mile stretch linking Mount Rainier to Takoma Park along Eastern Avenue, extending the Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail north to Beltsville, extending the Indian Creek Trail to the Greenbelt Metro station, designated bike lanes along Paint Branch Parkway and a spur from the Trolley Trail through University Park.

The commission endorsed that plan but is not yet asking for money for those specific projects.

The Capital Trails Coalition, which lobbies for the trail system, has called for adding another 402 miles of trails, including 242 miles in Prince George’s County. With local trails seeing a dramatic spike in use during the coronavirus pandemic, now would be a great time to expand them.

Click here to view a diagrammatic map of the Capital Trails Network which shows existing and planned trails in Prince George’s County.

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