Save Hains Point for People

The Trump Administration’s golf ambitions are threatening Hains Point—a classic recreational bike loop for both fast and slow riding.

Long celebrated as a destination for bicyclists of all ages and abilities, East Potomac Park is the site of Hains Point and the approximate 3-mile loop on Ohio Drive. On any given day, you will see families picnicking along the water, visitors taking scenic, leisurely rides around the park, and cyclists spinning by in efficient pace lines.

The park is also the home to hundreds of historic cherry trees, waterfront picnic locations, a public golf course and mini-golf course, tennis courts, and more. Residents and visitors alike have been able to enjoy the park for more than a hundred years regardless of whether we come to ride, walk, golf, birdwatch, fish, picnic, or recreate in other ways.

Sign the petition to help keep this valuable public space open to the public!

However, this celebrated space has reportedly been targeted for a potentially drastic overhaul. After terminating the National Link Trust’s 50-year lease on the golf course just five years in, the federal government started maintenance and tree clearing work as of Monday, May 4th. Despite claims that the work on the course is solely focused on deferred maintenance, evidence appears to suggest an alternate vision for the park.

President Trump has voiced his interest in turning East Potomac Park into “a beautiful, world-class, U.S. Open-caliber course” and a new nonprofit established to lead the redevelopment of the park showcase AI-generated images of an expanded golf course and sculpture garden that take over the entire park space, without the Ohio Drive loop, multi-use path ringing the park, picnic areas, or other recreational spaces.

The DC Preservation League and two residents filed suit prevent the Administration from taking steps to further renovate the course with legal support from Democracy Forward, Lowell & Associates, and Democracy Defenders Fund.

On May 4th, a federal judge warned of “serious consequences” if the Trump Administration initiates projects beyond the planned maintenance work that would require specific approvals. The plaintiffs, park visitors of all types, and local residents continue to be concerned about the future of this celebrated space.

East Potomac Park is National Park Service Land and has been intended to be used for public recreation since its inception. This public land has been and should continue to be used for the public good. Residents and visitors deserve recreational spaces that serve the people, not political agendas or private profit.

More about The DC Low Stress Network

Bike lanes are most effective when they connects to other bike lanes, protected bike lanes, even more so.

WABA works with teams of grassroots volunteers across the District to demand a network of low-stress places to bike. A network where you, your kids, nephews, nieces, or grandkids, can all get where you need to go safely, easily, happily on bikes.

More about Complete Streets

Complete Streets are streets designed to accommodate all users, and that prioritize historically underinvested modes of transportation like transit, walking, and biking. An incomplete street might lack adequate sidewalks, low-stress bike infrastructure, or safe and comfortable access to transit.

Effective Complete Streets policies change the way a jurisdiction plans and builds transportation infrastructure—sidewalks, low stress bike infrastructure, and transit should be included in any new or rebuilt street by default, rather than as an add-on when there's space or demand.

While most regional jurisdictions have a Complete Streets policy of some sort, they lack teeth and permit transportation departments to continue to build streets that put cars first and squeeze other modes into the margins.

More about Advocacy

WABA fights for a region where biking, walking and transit are the best ways to get around.

We educate policymakers and organize grassroots advocates for to speak up for safer places to bike and walk; and for laws and policies that protect people who are walking and biking, reduce dangerous driving, and facilitate changes to the built environment.