BWI Trail is Open from Dawn to Dusk
A parking lot and playground are located at the Thomas A. Dixon, Jr. Aircraft Observation Area at 1911 Dorsey Road in Glen Burnie. Several scenic views of the BWI Airport are found along this loop trail. A spur trail from BWI Trail at Andover Road leads to the Linthicum Light Rail Station. Trails are open from dawn to dusk. There is a restroom (portable) at Thomas A. Dixon, Jr. Aircraft Observation Area.
Tom Dixon, as he was called by many in the community, was very active in the central Maryland community and beyond. He was president of the Harmans Civic Association in Hanover, MD for 20 years, and was the chairman of the Anne Arundel County Property Tax Assessment Appeal Board from 1973 until 1991, serving under 4 Governors. He was also an active member of the BWI Airport Neighbors committee working with the airport’s expansion.
Mr. Dixon was instrumental in visiting the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee to encourage the FAA to allow hush kits for jet engines for noise reduction as aircraft fly over neighborhoods at BWI and ultimately nationwide. Some of these conversations included him being the spokesperson for community discussions about planes taking off and climbing in specified patterns to reduce noise effects over neighborhoods.
An advocate for several issues of importance to the local community and beyond, Mr. Dixon helped to coordinate the route of Route 100 to protect a historically African American neighborhood, and advocated for an environmental clean-up site in the Harmans area be added to the EPA Superfund program’s National Priority List. For his years of service and dedication to the Central Maryland region and beyond, the Maryland Aviation Administration named the Aircraft Observation Area in Tom Dixon’s honor following his passing in 1994.