Washington, D.C., June 9, 2008… The emerging NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood of Washington, D.C. will soon be one of the city’s most bicycle-friendly destinations, with the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT) linking bikers to the New York Avenue Metrorail station, the National Mall, and north to Takoma Park, Maryland.Completion of the seven-mile section of the MBT within the District of Columbia, planned since 2005 by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), moved a step closer during May with Pepco’s agreement to grant right of entry to a property just north of New York Avenue, N.E. When Pepco formally donates the land to the District in the next few months, DDOT will immediately begin design and construction of a critical section of the trail between New York Avenue and Franklin Street, N.E.

This new addition to the trail will allow bikers to reach the New York Avenue Metro station while avoiding 18 lanes of heavily traveled roadway. The new trail section, expected to be completed by the summer of 2009, will take users over Florida Avenue, under New York Avenue, and over Rhode Island Avenue.

When fully completed, the eight-mile MBT will provide direct access to seven of Metro’s Red Line stations. It will connect to the Capital Crescent Trail, the National Mall, the Anacostia Tributaries Trail System, and will be part of the East Coast Greenway.

A number of private-sector developers in NoMa are planning their projects with the trail’s completion in mind. MRP’s million-square-foot Washington Gateway mixed-use development, for example, will have a three-story atrium connecting two office buildings with each other and the MBT. Inside the atrium, trail users will find bicycle lockers, water fountains, automatic air pumps for bicycle tires, refreshment vending, seating areas, and tourist information, as well as shelter from inclement weather.

“This new trail section will enhance NoMa’s status as a multi-modal transportation hub, with two Metro stations, Union Station, the Greyhound bus terminal, and now great bicycle connections,” said Elizabeth Price, President of the NoMa Business Improvement District (BID). “It also brings us much closer to our vision of creating a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly neighborhood.”

NoMa is an emerging mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington DC. Private developers have invested approximately $1.5 billion to date with plans to develop over 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space in the area covered by the NoMa BID over the next 10 years. The BID provides daily street and sidewalk cleaning, safety ambassadors, marketing, events, and other services to make NoMa a clean, safe, and vibrant neighborhood for businesses, residents, and visitors. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Website at http://nomabid.wpengine.com.