Photo by Schiek

Beginning next Monday, people who use the Metropolitan Branch Trail and some of D.C.’s other bike routes will have a bit of company. The Washington Area Bicyclist Association is launching its Trail Ranger program, to aid cyclists—and pedestrians—while they use the trails.

The program will deploy rangers sporting bright green T-shirts identifying participants as resources for emergency repair needs, trail directions, first aid, and maintaining the condition of the trails. In addition to the Metropolitan Branch, WABA’s ranger program, WAMU reports, will also send people out to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, Suitland Parkway Trail, and other bike paths managed by the District government.

The program is funded by a $100,000 grant from the District Department of Transportation. Rangers will be positioned on the trails during morning and evening rush hours, seven days a week.

And the Trail Rangers will also keep an eye out for incidents that might require the attention of the police. After a slew of incidents in which cyclists and pedestrians have been assaulted while using the Metropolitan Branch Trail, there is a growing unease about biking or walking on what should be a smooth, clean, demarcated route up the spine of D.C. and into Maryland. Most recently, the trail was the site of a vicious incident in which a cyclist headed home toward Silver Spring was attacked by a group of more than a dozen teenagers.