Tell the National Zoo to extend the Loop Trail hours of operation!

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On Friday, October 7th, the National Park Service opened the new Zoo Loop Bridge and reopened the rehabilitated Zoo Loop Trail to the public. This key segment of the Rock Creek Park Multi-Use Trail allows users to bypass the dangerously narrow sidewalk through the Beach Drive/Zoo Tunnel and marks the end of NPS’ years-long effort to widen, repave, and generally improve this ever-popular and heavily-used trail. Hooray!

One major catch: the Zoo Loop Trail will be operated by the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and only be open during the Zoo’s hours from 7AM to 5PM. This important trail connection will therefore be largely inaccessible for afternoon commutes and evening use. The trail must be kept open later—if not at all times.

Tell the National Zoo to expand the hours of operation!

On Friday, October 7th, the National Park Service opened the new Zoo Loop Bridge and reopened the rehabilitated Zoo Loop Trail to the public. This key segment of the Rock Creek Park Multi-Use Trail allows users to bypass the dangerously narrow sidewalk through the Beach Drive/Zoo Tunnel and marks the end of NPS’ years-long effort to widen, repave, and generally improve this ever-popular and heavily-used trail. 

We are so excited to see this segment reopened for the first time since 2018, and especially heartened by the improved safety the new bike and pedestrian bridge will provide to users by offering an alternative to the current tunnel route. Rock Creek Park and its miles of trails are a critical resource for transportation and recreation, a fact made clear by the huge increase in use during the darkest days of the Covid-19 lockdown. We commend NPS and DDOT for their work making this vital space more accessible and inviting. 

Unfortunately, this new segment will have some major restrictions, as it did prior to reconstruction. Being situated on property owned by the Smithsonian’s National Zoo means the trail abides by the Zoo’s hours of operations – 7AM to 5PM. This will severely curtail the trail’s utility for commuters in the early morning and late afternoon, as well as for folks running, walking, and rolling for recreation. 

Worse, the closure will route vulnerable road users away from the purpose-built bike/pedestrian bridge and back onto the dangerously narrow side path through the Beach Drive/Zoo Tunnel. And it will do so at exactly the times – dusk/dawn and at night – that people on foot and on bike can be most difficult to see and most at risk of being struck by a person in a vehicle.

A beautiful but barred trail has little benefit for residents or for the District’s goals around active transportation and recreation. We therefore encourage folks to speak out and urge Delegate Holmes Norton and Zoo officials to strike up a fresh negotiation towards a resolution that puts trail users’ needs first. Tell the National Zoo to expand access after hours to ensure trails through largely public spaces remain accessible to all.