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.

First convened in 2016 by WABA, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, REI, and a host of other regional stakeholders, The Capital Trails Coalition is a collaboration of public and private organizations, agencies, and volunteers working to advance completion of an interconnected network of multi-use trails for metropolitan Washington, DC.  The Coalition convenes and coordinates among the public and private stakeholders who are critical to accomplishing the vision of an interconnected network.

Check out the CTC's website here, and explore the interactive map of existing and planned regional trails here.

Whether you're heading to work, out for a scenic ramble, or chasing a PR, or Rock Creek Park is wonderful place to ride a bike.

WABA has worked with grassroots advocates for decades to ensure that Rock Creek Park has the bicycling infrastructure it needs so you can relax and enjoy the scenery.

Recent successes include a recently widened and resurfaced trail, and large sections of Beach Drive that are now permanently closed to cars and open for biking and other forms of recreation.

Current priorities include longer hours for the Zoo tunnel, and more safe ways to get into the park on a bike.

Connecting neighborhoods between Silver Spring, Maryland and Union Station in DC, and paralleling the Metrorail Red Line, the Met Branch Trail is busy corridor for recreation and active transportation.

First conceived by WABA and others in the early 1990's, the trail is a showcase of both innovative urban trail design, and the challenges of multi-jurisdiction trail development.  The trail broke ground in 1998, and major sections have opened in 2010, 2015, and 2021, but it remains incomplete. An interim, on-street route bridges a gap between Fort Totten and the DC/Maryland border.

The Suitland Parkway Trail runs directly next to Suitland Parkway, from Sheridan Rd SE in the Anacostia neighborhood, connecting to Stanton Rd SE and Irving St SE before an abrupt dead end at the Maryland Border, failing to connect to Alabama Ave SE or Southern Ave SE.

In addition to missing critical neighborhood connections, the trail is uncomfortably close to a busy highway, with only inches of separation from traffic on some stretches. WABA DC Trail Rangers regularly remove the trash and remnants of car crashes that frequently block the trail.

WABA is working with the Capital Trails Coalition, the National Park Service, and a host of community partners to turn this trail into a safe, comfortable, well-connected community resource.

The Arboretum Bridge and Trail is a planned connection between the National Arboretum and the Anacostia River Trail in the Deanwood neighborhood. It's an incredible opportunity to create a new connection for residents to get across the Anacostia River and to provide access to some of the District’s most unique outdoor gems: Anacostia Park and the U.S. National Arboretum.

Currently in the planning stages, the project received a federal RAISE grant in 2023. Construction is projected to start in 2025 and be complete by 2027.

The Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail connects College Park, Riverdale, and Hyattsville to the Anacostia River Trail network. Unlike

After many years of grassroots organizing and budget advocacy, a final connecting segment between the Northwest Branch Trail and downtown Hyattsville opened in 2024, plugging this neighborhood resource into a network of more than 80 miles of trails.

Virginia and DC are planning to build a new rail crossing over the Potomac River next to the existing one, called the Long Bridge. After an extended campaign from WABA and the Capital Trails Coalition, the jurisdictions agreed convert the existing span into the first dedicated bike and pedestrian crossing over the Potomac River.

The project received a $20 million federal RAISE grant in 2022 and is slated to be complete by 2030.

The Arlington Boulevard Trail is a proposal WABA released in 2014, stretching from Fairfax County to the Potomac River by way of West Falls Church and Seven Corners. Several stretches of the trail have been built, but a continuous bike ride through the corridor remains a stressful experience.

Arlington Memorial Trail (sometimes referred to as the Cemetery Wall Trail) is a proposed connection running along the perimeter of the Arlington National Cemetery from Memorial Drive south to Columbia Pike along the west side of Route 27 and north side of Route 110. The trail fills a critical gap and would connect northern Arlington neighborhoods like Rosslyn with the growing National Landing area, along with facilitating additional east-west connectivity across the Potomac.

The tangle of roadways and corresponding management responsibilities in this sensitive area have tied up the project for years but there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. Arlington County assumed control of the project from federal authorities in 2024 and the Arlington National Cemetery is proactively including the trail in renderings for its proposed entry corridor improvements project.