Matthew Henson State Park | |
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![]() Boardwalk section of Matthew Henson Trail | |
Location | Montgomery County, Maryland, United States |
Nearest town | Aspen Hill, Maryland |
Coordinates | 39°04′40″N 77°03′53″W / 39.07778°N 77.06472°W |
Area | 100 acres (40 ha) [1] |
Established | 1989 |
Administrator | Montgomery County Department of Parks |
Website | Matthew Henson Trail |
Matthew Henson State Park is a publicly owned greenway with recreational features that runs along Turkey Branch, a tributary of Rock Creek, in Montgomery County, Maryland. [2] The state park is managed by Montgomery County under an agreement with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. [3] It was named for Maryland native and arctic explorer Matthew Henson. [4]
Matthew Henson Trail, an 8-foot-wide (2.4 m) hard surface hiking/biking trail, was completed through the park in 2009. [4] The trail runs 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from the Rock Creek Hiker-Biker Trail near Aspen Hill northeast to Alderton Road near Layhill. The trail features 0.6 miles (0.97 km) of wooden boardwalk through environmentally sensitive areas. [5]
Purchased by the state in the 1950s, [6] the land was originally called the Rockville Facility, which would have connected to Montrose Parkway [5] as a spur to the proposed Washington Outer Beltway. [4] In response to residents' calls to the preserve the stream valley corridor, the state legislature designated 83 acres of the land as a state park and 117 acres as a county park in 1989. [7] [8] The state land is owned by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and the county land is owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC). [7]
Planning for the Matthew Henson Trail began in 2001. After many public meetings and environmental studies, the trail's preliminary plan was approved by the Montgomery County Planning Board in 2003. [7] Funding was put forth in 2006. [9] The Montgomery County Department of Transportation paid for the design and construction, but the M-NCPPC managed the project. [7] Opened May 9, 2009, [4] the project cost $5.7 million. [7] The trail connects with the Rock Creek Hiker-Biker Trail at Winding Creek Local Park on Dewey Road and continues northeast to Alderton Road. [10] [11] The trail includes ten-foot-wide boardwalks to protect the most sensitive areas and solar-powered emergency cellular phones. The trail's design and construction were nominated for a Planning & Design Award as part of the 2010 National Trails Awards. [7]
Since opening, the Veirs Mill Road crossing has been redesigned several times for safety. Some time shortly after opening the crosswalk was painted. Then, after a cyclist was killed using the crossing in 2015, the state added a yellow, flashing light and signs alerting drivers. When a second cyclist was killed 6 months later, the state switched to a HAWK beacon. [12] Then in 2020, they upgraded again, replacing the button-activated flashing pedestrian signal with a full color traffic signal equipped with both a call button and sensors that alert drivers to slow down. They also upgraded to a "continental" crosswalk that is more visible to motorists, replaced the zig-zag crossing with a straight-line crossing in the median and installed “passive detection” — a system in which sensors detect pedestrians and bicyclists standing in the flat landing area and activate the pedestrian signal. [13]
Matthew Henson State Park | |
---|---|
![]() Boardwalk section of Matthew Henson Trail | |
Location | Montgomery County, Maryland, United States |
Nearest town | Aspen Hill, Maryland |
Coordinates | 39°04′40″N 77°03′53″W / 39.07778°N 77.06472°W |
Area | 100 acres (40 ha) [1] |
Established | 1989 |
Administrator | Montgomery County Department of Parks |
Website | Matthew Henson Trail |
Matthew Henson State Park is a publicly owned greenway with recreational features that runs along Turkey Branch, a tributary of Rock Creek, in Montgomery County, Maryland. [2] The state park is managed by Montgomery County under an agreement with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. [3] It was named for Maryland native and arctic explorer Matthew Henson. [4]
Matthew Henson Trail, an 8-foot-wide (2.4 m) hard surface hiking/biking trail, was completed through the park in 2009. [4] The trail runs 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from the Rock Creek Hiker-Biker Trail near Aspen Hill northeast to Alderton Road near Layhill. The trail features 0.6 miles (0.97 km) of wooden boardwalk through environmentally sensitive areas. [5]
Purchased by the state in the 1950s, [6] the land was originally called the Rockville Facility, which would have connected to Montrose Parkway [5] as a spur to the proposed Washington Outer Beltway. [4] In response to residents' calls to the preserve the stream valley corridor, the state legislature designated 83 acres of the land as a state park and 117 acres as a county park in 1989. [7] [8] The state land is owned by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and the county land is owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC). [7]
Planning for the Matthew Henson Trail began in 2001. After many public meetings and environmental studies, the trail's preliminary plan was approved by the Montgomery County Planning Board in 2003. [7] Funding was put forth in 2006. [9] The Montgomery County Department of Transportation paid for the design and construction, but the M-NCPPC managed the project. [7] Opened May 9, 2009, [4] the project cost $5.7 million. [7] The trail connects with the Rock Creek Hiker-Biker Trail at Winding Creek Local Park on Dewey Road and continues northeast to Alderton Road. [10] [11] The trail includes ten-foot-wide boardwalks to protect the most sensitive areas and solar-powered emergency cellular phones. The trail's design and construction were nominated for a Planning & Design Award as part of the 2010 National Trails Awards. [7]
Since opening, the Veirs Mill Road crossing has been redesigned several times for safety. Some time shortly after opening the crosswalk was painted. Then, after a cyclist was killed using the crossing in 2015, the state added a yellow, flashing light and signs alerting drivers. When a second cyclist was killed 6 months later, the state switched to a HAWK beacon. [12] Then in 2020, they upgraded again, replacing the button-activated flashing pedestrian signal with a full color traffic signal equipped with both a call button and sensors that alert drivers to slow down. They also upgraded to a "continental" crosswalk that is more visible to motorists, replaced the zig-zag crossing with a straight-line crossing in the median and installed “passive detection” — a system in which sensors detect pedestrians and bicyclists standing in the flat landing area and activate the pedestrian signal. [13]