City of Frederick Bicycle History Trail

We’ve written before about the City of Frederick and their commitment to bicycling.  They are already building trails that connect the community and its various amenities.  They are engineering bike lanes on existing streets, following a comprehensive bicycle-friendly transportation system.  Now, they are taking their initiatives in yet another direction – heritage tourism.

Leveraging a $3,000 grant from the Tourism Council with some City funds and in-kind services, The City of Frederick has designated a ten-mile loop that connects 21 of the most significant points in their four centuries of history.

Desperately Seeking — South Shore Trail

An unexpected trip to Gambrills prompts this poignant plea. Is there anyone, anywhere in cyberspace who knows when “they” (whoever “they” is) WILL FINISH THE SOUTH SHORE TRAIL?

Heck, I’d be thrilled just to see them START the South Shore Trail. But other than declarations of “it’s coming soon” on various websites (some several years old) there is no evidence SST is shovel (forgive the cliché) ready.

South Shore is one of the long forgotten segments of the Baltimore Annapolis interurban electric railway. Its cousin on the other side of the Severn, now known as the B&A Trail, has enjoyed great popularity since the Lighthizer years. Some short spurs of the connector, running through Piney Orchard, have been complete for several years and others are in some stage of construction or litigation (or both.) The South Shore line, running 13 miles between Odenton (aka BRAC-world) and Annapolis, connecting schools, ballfields, parks, fairgrounds and neighborhoods, has been languishing on the drawing boards forever, despite receiving federal (don’t call it earmark) funding in a major transportation bill several years ago.

Sure, times are tough and $$$ for recreational amenities is tight, but why is the South Shore Line – a significant Washington-Annapolis-Baltimore link in the East Coast Greenway — always the caboose in the budget process?

This wonderful connector is more than a linear park and recreational asset. It will also provide safe alternative transportation for those living, working, attending school, or participating in activities in this rapid growth corridor.

So if anyone out there sees shovels actually moving, please let me know.