Project planners for the hike-bike trail proposed from north of Riverdale Park to Franklin's in Hyattsville updated the town council and residents Monday night at the council meeting.

The Rhode Island Trolley Trail would allow Riverdale residents to safely cycle or walk to locations such as the Riverdale Park Farmers Market, Eileen Nivera of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission said.

The trail would run from Tuckerman Street to Farragut Street, and stretch 11 feet wide.  

Different materials for the pavement were considered, but the trail is expected to be mostly asphalt.  One break in the trail due to previously developed lots, however, would send cyclists through a parking lot and pedestrians along a sidewalk before meeting up with the paved area again, Nivera said. 

Nivera told the council that the organizers hope to install signs directing trail users through any such potentially confusing areas, eventually creating the capacity to safely bike or walk to the Riverdale Park Farmers Market.

The group still faces some potential conflicts with property owners whose land overlaps with the current trail design, as well as with the location of some PEPCO lines and storm water management.

Designers for the trail, which Nivera described as similar to the College Park trolley trail, are currently on track to receive permits mid-summer, with construction beginning in fall of this year. 

The overall cost of the trail is still undetermined.