Individual Residents should Take Ownership
The Metropolitan Branch Trail is a valuable resource for citizens of DC and Prince George’s County, MD. Because citizens benefit from the trail, citizens should also take ownership of patrolling the trail and making it safe for our communities.
To an extent this has already happened, and with much success. The Guardian Angels, a volunteer safety watch group that’s been active in DC for over 20 years, began patrolling the MBT in 2011. They have an active sign-up form for citizens interesting in volunteering to join their patrol or looking for more information and posted a recruitment video on YouTube (see below). In addition, the Washington Area Bicycle Association (WABA) began a Trail Rangers patrol program in 2013. These trail rangers look out not only for crime but also for bicyclists in need of help and hazardous trail conditions (such as broken glass). This program hires qualified individuals for up to 25 hours a week and is funded through a $100,000 DC Department of Transportation grant.
These paid and unpaid groups have taken up the crucial work of looking out for their fellow citizens and providing the kind of community-based attention that will ultimately increase the safety of the MBT. The more people who use and patrol the MBT, the fewer crimes that will take place. The equation is simple. Two small groups of committed citizens, however, are not enough, as the still sky-high crime rate on the trail indicates. Additional volunteers, both to join these extant groups and to form their own, are needed.
There are other neighborhood groups and models that citizens can emulate or develop for the sake of the trail. One is the Orange Hat Patrol, a group of volunteers that work together to keep neighborhoods safe. While the Orange Hat Patrol was most active in the district in the 1980s and 1990s, many patrol groups are still active in DC. One active in the Kingman Park neighborhood patrols in order to deter crime and aid the local police force. The Friends of Meridian Hill Park neighborhood association (FOMH) is an example of a DC neighborhood patrol group that has had tremendous success, reducing crime in the once-notorious DC park by 95%. In its height in the late 1990s, FOMH had over 1500 members. There is also a MBT listserv, which seems like it could alert trail users to crime and help coordinate more watch groups, but it only has 342 members.
The small patrol numbers of the Guardian Angels group and the few paid WABA bike patrol units are not enough to keep the MBT safe for its riders. The small listserv membership needs to expand dramatically to maximize citizens’ role as vigilant trail users. Citizens of the area need to take on the responsibility of banding with their neighbors to keep an eye out for crime and each other.
To an extent this has already happened, and with much success. The Guardian Angels, a volunteer safety watch group that’s been active in DC for over 20 years, began patrolling the MBT in 2011. They have an active sign-up form for citizens interesting in volunteering to join their patrol or looking for more information and posted a recruitment video on YouTube (see below). In addition, the Washington Area Bicycle Association (WABA) began a Trail Rangers patrol program in 2013. These trail rangers look out not only for crime but also for bicyclists in need of help and hazardous trail conditions (such as broken glass). This program hires qualified individuals for up to 25 hours a week and is funded through a $100,000 DC Department of Transportation grant.
These paid and unpaid groups have taken up the crucial work of looking out for their fellow citizens and providing the kind of community-based attention that will ultimately increase the safety of the MBT. The more people who use and patrol the MBT, the fewer crimes that will take place. The equation is simple. Two small groups of committed citizens, however, are not enough, as the still sky-high crime rate on the trail indicates. Additional volunteers, both to join these extant groups and to form their own, are needed.
There are other neighborhood groups and models that citizens can emulate or develop for the sake of the trail. One is the Orange Hat Patrol, a group of volunteers that work together to keep neighborhoods safe. While the Orange Hat Patrol was most active in the district in the 1980s and 1990s, many patrol groups are still active in DC. One active in the Kingman Park neighborhood patrols in order to deter crime and aid the local police force. The Friends of Meridian Hill Park neighborhood association (FOMH) is an example of a DC neighborhood patrol group that has had tremendous success, reducing crime in the once-notorious DC park by 95%. In its height in the late 1990s, FOMH had over 1500 members. There is also a MBT listserv, which seems like it could alert trail users to crime and help coordinate more watch groups, but it only has 342 members.
The small patrol numbers of the Guardian Angels group and the few paid WABA bike patrol units are not enough to keep the MBT safe for its riders. The small listserv membership needs to expand dramatically to maximize citizens’ role as vigilant trail users. Citizens of the area need to take on the responsibility of banding with their neighbors to keep an eye out for crime and each other.