Md. Grant To Back New Park In Waldorf

Charles Projects Get $1.8 Million

More than 200 acres in Waldorf's crowded development district are expected to become athletic fields, hiking trails, playgrounds and a dog park in 2011.

The state Board of Public Works approved $860,000 last week for the Waldorf park, one of 28 projects funded through the state's Project Open Space program. The park was the largest of three Charles County projects worth a total of $1.8 million approved by the three-member board.

No projects in Calvert County or St. Mary's County were included in the latest round of state grants.

The Waldorf plans address a complaint voiced by residents for years: that the quickly developing town does not offer enough recreation or untouched nature. The park will occupy 216 acres off Poplar Hill Road, land acquired through Program Open Space last year.

The county plans to contribute $734,000 toward building the park.

"We've been looking for a long time for a suitable property for active and passive recreation in the development district," said Tom Roland, chief of the county's parks and grounds division. "When you're competing with development, it can be hard to find land, so we're pleased that this worked out."

The park will provide eight to 10 athletic fields, easing congestion and overscheduling on existing fields for the legions of children enrolled in Little League, youth soccer and other sports leagues. Roland said the addition of lacrosse to county high schools' varsity offerings has increased the pressure to find more fields.

"We're short on sports fields in the northern part of Waldorf, especially with lacrosse becoming popular at the recreational level for the first time," he said.

Playgrounds and picnic areas also will be included in the park, but 60 to 70 percent of the land will remain wooded for hiking trails.

Another major Charles project to receive Project Open Space funding is Friendship Farm Park in Nanjemoy, a 382-acre site off Friendship Landing Road. The park, which has a handful of athletic fields, a boat launch and four miles of hiking trails, will add a visitors center, an amphitheater and barns for special events. The state awarded $750,000 for the first phase of the work, with the county adding $250,000.

The park sits on a 100-foot bluff over Nanjemoy Creek, providing what Roland called "one of the most spectacular scenic vistas in Southern Maryland." The park will include an expanded network of hiking trails and wildflower meadows.

"It's not on the [Route] 301 corridor, but I think it will be a destination location for people visiting Southern Maryland as well as residents," Roland said. "It will be worth the drive."

The third project is completion of the Indian Head Rail Trail, a 13-mile paved trail along an abandoned railroad right of way. Almost seven miles of the trail is completed, and the final section is due to be finished by the end of the year. The county will pay $83,750 for that project, money it earned by selling the steel rails and railroad ties removed from the site for salvage.