Remake Dale City: How the ‘Neabsco Greenway’ will bridge the gap

When I was a child, the woods behind Andrew Leitch Park in Dale City provided a great escape from the real world of a 9-year-old boy.

My imagination ran wild in those woods. We went hiking, used rope swings to cross a creek, built forts and treehouses, and always watched in despair when the creek flooded and washed them away. The fun part was building them all again.

More than 20 years later, it seems officials now see what I saw in those woods. The same paths we used to play on are now a part of the Neabsco Greenway trail system — a series of trails from Leitch, through the Mapledale section of Dale City, ending at Lindendale Road.

A total of $367,000 of county money has been spent on the trail. A total of five bridges have been added at Leitch Park, and a sixth is planned. Eventually, the Greenway will extend from where Lindendale Road meets Mapledale Avenue to the Sharon Baucom Dale City Recreation Center on Minnieville Road.

Today, children and the retirees use the Neabsco Greenway, Prince William County Parks, and Recreation Department Director Debbie Andrew told county officials this week. Many children use the trail to the get to Waterworks Waterpark at Andrew Leitch Park.

Someday, the Neabsco Greenway could link the two planned centers of Dale City — Mapledale and Center Plaza at Minnieivlle Road. Residents could use the trail, and an improved Dale Boulevard, to get between both neighborhoods, where a science center, amphitheater, and other amenities could be built.

Right now, Dale Boulevard links the two neighborhoods, but few would walk the distance between the two places unless they had to.

“The planners envision you could walk the trail, you could walk the boulevard,” said Prince William County Director of Planning Chris Price.

The planners, a team of experts from the American Institute of Architects Sustainable Design Assesment Team who visited Dale City last week. They made several recommendations on how to improve the area, envisioned new streetlights, park benches, and bus stops to be someday added along Dale Boulevard.

“People want walk a long distance unless it’s comfortable for them, so we’re looking for these types of improvements to make it a comfortable walk,” added Price.

The trail and an improved Dale Boulevard would be a part of a “Greenway System.” A map this post shows where the trail is now, as well as the section of Dale Boulevard that links Mapledale with Center Plaza. Several planned spurs on the Neabsco trail would connect to schools, like Saunders Middle School on Spriggs Road, as well as shopping centers, said Andrew.

Ultimately, the Neabsco Greenway could allow walkers, hikers, and bicyclists to traverse the distance between Mapledale to Benita Fitzgerald Drive in Dale City, near Interstate 95.