Photo by Jack McKay

We never thought we’d speak these wonderful words: the Klingle Road saga may finally be over.

Last week a federal court declined to order that Klingle Road NW—a short traffic artery crossing Rock Creek Park between Cleveland Park and Mt. Pleasant that was washed away by a storm over two decades ago—be rebuilt for use by cars. Instead, the roadway may finally become the hiking and biking trail backed by the D.C. Council in 2008.

The court order stems from a lawsuit filed late last year by a coalition of residents who have long argued that the road should be rebuilt for car traffic. The lawsuit oddly argued that with Klingle Road shuttered, nearby residents were victims of pollution from the increased traffic on other routes.

Should this be the end of the longstanding civic saga, we can finally celebrate that we will never again have to hear someone argue over whether a roadway measuring seven-tenths of a mile that no one has used in 20 years should be rebuilt.