Trail Tale Trilogy, III -- Still Sidetracked on the South Shore

One of the great Maryland visionaries in land preservation, conservation, and trail development is O. James Lighthizer -- Anne Arundel County Executive from 1982-90 and MDOT Secretary from 1990-94.  An avid outdoorsman and passionate historian, he now works his magic acquiring endangered Civil War battlefields, sparing them from development.

While County Executive, Jim established a county farmland protection program preserving over 2,500 acres. He also embarked on an aggressive waterfront park acquisition effort resulting in the purchase of over 900 acres and 7 miles of waterfront in the county.  One of his crowning achievements was the creation of Quiet Waters Park on the South River in Annapolis. 

Another major coup was the development of the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail, a linear park on the old railroad rightaway between Glen Burnie and the Severn River.  Like Torrey Brown, DNR Secretary at the time, Jim took his share of brickbats and invective when he proposed making both projects public resources.  Although new to the county then, I well remember the teeth gnashing and wailing from NIMBY neighbors who wanted nothing to do with trails that allowed the public near their property.

Until they opened.  Now, of course, both properties are among the most popular recreational attractions in the region -- not to mention quality of life amenities (and property value enhancers) to the communities they touch. With miles of trails, numerous educational exhibits, ice rink and catering facilities, Quiet Waters has welcomed more than ten million visitors since opening in 1990.   The B&A trail has likewise hosted millions of travelers since it opened.

Before leaving as County Executive (and going to MDOT, where he was responsible for preserving more land and also creating a statewide Greenways network on behalf of the Governor) Jim Lighthizer had one more mission.  It was a groundbreaking for the South Shore Trail, another rightaway that was part of the old Baltimore, Washington, and Annapolis railroad.  The South Shore connected Odenton (along with a spur to Fort Meade) with Annapolis.  It passed by the Naval Academy Dairy Farm in Gambrills, through Millersville and Crownsville before the rightaway terminated at the Annapolis Mall.  Long before anyone knew about BRAC, or the Bacon Ridge conservation area established in the South River watershed, the national East Coast Greenway (of which this is a segment) or even the county park that would go on the dairy farm property, Jim Lighthizer knew the significance of a linear park connecting the many neighborhoods on this side of the Severn.   The groundbreaking took place in November 1990, just weeks before he left office. 

That was the last time the South Shore Trail saw a shovel.

There are all sorts of reasons why things like this don't happen as planned.  Changes in administration, different priorities, diminished funding are all factors.  But this one is puzzling, simply because it has become more relevant as the years have passed.  Since Lighthizer's day, several schools have sprung up along the trail, home building in West County has burgeoned, the Mall has been expanded and the largest hospital in the county relocated next to it.  Parole (aka Annapolis Towne Centre) has popped up across West Street.

And, of course, the roads have become more and more congested.  And that's even before the BRAC effect is fully felt.

I keep checking with Anne Arundel County to see if there is any progress.  On various websites you'll see this trail was to have been completed in 2002, 2006, and 2008 (with a DRN site claiming it would be a reality in 1998). 

There are segments that have been in various stages of design through the years, and then-Congressman Ben Cardin even obtained federal funding in 2005.  Still, no construction.  Nothing even close.

The last response I got from the County was that one phase of the trail was slated for the 2013 budget and another segment was in the 2014.  But when I asked when the work would be done, they couldn't tell me because the money hasn't been appropriated yet.

I suppose the lesson here is that the government can't do everything.  There won't always be a Jim Lighthizer or Torrey Brown around to push them through.  There has to be a strong local, citizen-based impetus, too.

As a stockholder, I still have hopes for the South Shore Trail, and maybe it will be completed (even started) in my lifetime.  Or at the very least, Jim Lighthizer's.  He should be the first one down the path.  And I'm sure he'd be glad to give us the history of every stop along the way.

NOTE:   As a special irony, I see in today's news that a citizens meeting is scheduled for tonight at Meade Middle School to discuss how traffic and how improve mobility in West County.  If it weren't snowing, I'd go -- just to see if anyone mentions the potential of the South Shore Trail.  Or even remembers it.