Many Great Falls residents living along Georgetown Pike feel they’ve been betrayed by their local government and citizens association because of a plan to build a walking and riding trail along the busy road. A group of homeowners recently banded together to attempt to get a firm commitment from District supervisor Joan DuBois on whether or not she will support them in their efforts to quash the plan.
Donna Goal, who presented a letter signed by a number of her neighbors, opposing the trail, to DuBois at a Great Falls Citizens Association meeting, said the group's main fear is for the safety of residents who might attempt to use the trail. “There are accidents every day on that road. Every day. It’s very dangerous and this is an ill-conceived plan that we don’t want,” said Goal.
Several neighbors cite traffic, speeding and the magnitude of accidents on the stretch of Georgetown Pike between River Bend Road and Seneca Road as the paramount reason for not wanting the trail.
There is a secondary reason; they believe there is a citizens rights issue that is at play. The county would take a portion of their land to build the blue stone trail that would connect one side of Great Falls to the other. “I don’t want one person injured or killed. That’s my first priority. The second is that I don’t want to give away my land,” said Goal.
Homeowner James Kyp contends the county is “ramming the trail down our throats” and says he has “no intention of selling off our property for this trail.” Kyp said in the last year he has had to replace four mailboxes that have been destroyed due to accidents.
“From the beginning we have opposed it and told them we opposed it but they continue to sink money into it,” said Kyp.
THE PROPOSAL TO build the trail has been active for several years. According to Eleanor Weck, of the Great Falls Trailblazers and the co-chair of the GFCA Parks and Environment committee, “Essentially the plan has been done and the homeowners have been consulted about that plan.” Weck maintains it “really surprised us that we had this opposition” to the trail. However, she says they intend to work with homeowners and “if they don’t want it and there’s no right of way, it won’t be done.”
Homeowners along the Pike who don’t want the trail claim they have been barraged by county officials who have repeatedly indicated that they have no choice in the matter. “I asked point blank if they would take it by eminent domain and they said they didn’t like to do that but they didn’t say no,” said homeowner Margie Hojjati.
Nancy Lisas said, “We really feel we’ve been harassed. The words confiscated and condemnation have been mentioned. People say it won’t happen but they always say that and then there’s some legal maneuvering later on and it does happen.”
DuBois said during the GFCA meeting that residents have the right of first refusal and if they choose not to sell their property for the trail they will not be forced to. Goal said DuBois seemed to brush off the issue because it was done during her predecessor, Stuart Mendelsohn’s time. “She almost came across like don’t get in my face about it because I didn’t have anything to do with it,” said Goal. “She seemed like she didn’t want to be decisive on the issue.”
DuBois counters, “The basic bottom line is that I’m not going to force anything down anyone’s throat.” She also said, “I’m in favor of trails wherever we can get them. Connectivity is great. One of the major issues is that we want to be able to walk from here to here. That’s what I’m hearing from a lot of people.”
DuBois said there are already sections of the trail in place. “Sometimes just by getting those things started, you can fill in the gaps later,” said DuBois.
AS FOR TAKING THE PROPERTY against homeowners wishes, DuBois said, “If they don’t give it to you, you can go down there and condemn it but that makes things harder. That’s walking a fine line to me.”
Weck said the trail, like it or not, is a fait accompli. “It’s going to happen, just not necessarily on every property.”
Weck states that Georgetown Pike “has a full 50 to 60 foot right of way,” on which the trail can be built. “So it can be built whether they want it or not,” said Weck. There will likely be missing sections of the trail where there is homeowners resistance.
Surveyors have been out recently calculating the right of way. Along Georgetown Pike this can be tricky because of the gullies beside the road, which must be factored into the calculations. “Surveying is being done by right. That’s the only way to determine where the right of way is,” said Weck.
Weck does concede, “The main concern of the homeowners is safety. That’s a legitimate concern. I’m somewhat of the opinion that if their concerns can be addressed, they will be amenable.”
Hojjati said they will never want the trail and that they have begun to think further down the road on how to fight against the trail using political clout and perhaps even legal means.
“We’ve posed questions for better clarification of what they’re planning to do. Instead of six feet, they’re talking about taking 10-12 feet of our property now. According to one plan, they’re talking about taking all the pine trees down,” said Hojjati.
Weck states that is not in the plan and that they have worked hard to ensure the environmental integrity of the proposed trail. “We want to preserve as much as we can of the scenic nature of the road,” said Weck.
A few homeowners along the trail route suggest that the surveying could actually be an attempt by the county to surreptitiously widen Georgetown Pike later on. “Personally, that’s why we feel it’s plans to eventually expand Georgetown Pike. Some people say they can’t because it’s a state byway. But a state byway does not have the same protection that a national byway does. We understand the need because there’s such a bottleneck on Georgetown Pike,” said Hojjati.
“With all the construction going on, I feel this is a way to eventually expand Georgetown Pike through eminent domain,” said Hojjati.
“There are absolutely no plans to widen Georgetown Pike. It’s not going to happen. It’s not on any body’s near term or long term plan. It’s just not going to happen,” DuBois said.
ONE REASON THAT has been put forward for the trail are recent clinical studies showing the obesity of American children due to a lack of exercise.
“The only two example I’ve gotten from the county are that people want to ride their horses to the Safeway, and I wonder where they’re going to tie up their horses when they go in to buy milk and bread, and that there are obese people in the United States of America. Is there no other place obese people in America can walk other than Georgetown Pike,” questions Goal.
Last year a horse was killed on Georgetown Pike after escaping from its enclosure. “Only a fool would ride a horse down that trail,” said Kyp.
The homeowners say they have repeatedly petitioned the GFCA to help them but have gotten no support. “They are not on our side. I’ve been told to sit down at meetings. In that room, it not very friendly to us,” said Goal.
“It’s been years now. We’ve been going to meetings and voicing our opinion but something else always comes up,” said Lisas. “We’ve been at the meetings and expressed our opinion over and over again,” said Lisas. The president of the GFCA did not return calls for comment.
Kyp said, “I’ve got the impression that it’s coming whether we want it or not. I don’t feel that’s democratic. It’s an ill conceived idea and we will hold our position.”
Goal said she recognizes the difficulty in fighting the county but, “At least we will feel good about ourselves that we tried to stop it.”