tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post2193147525565762790..comments2024-03-28T03:16:23.997-04:00Comments on Baltimore InnerSpace: Baltimore Country ClubGerald Neilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03765375014163120449noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-81829089850801716552016-08-26T02:49:39.287-04:002016-08-26T02:49:39.287-04:00I personally love the architecture of Coldspring N...I personally love the architecture of Coldspring Newtown, but do think there is something a tad askew (separatist?) about the 1-car parking and members only school, swimming, tennis, etc. It would be nice for each of the draws of this area of the city to be more integrated and accessible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-69959778588729837472008-09-30T20:44:00.000-04:002008-09-30T20:44:00.000-04:00That's not a gas tank at Cold Spring and the JFX. ...That's not a gas tank at Cold Spring and the JFX. That is a waterless Gas Holder and one of the few if not the only remaining ones in the United States.<BR/> It's hollow inside and a giant piston moves up and down which controlled the gas pressure in Baltimore.<BR/> Gas Holders, especially of that vintage, really contaminate a site so I imagine that is what the holdup is all about. Somebody ought to declare it as a historical landmark.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-70288854404069402342008-09-20T23:06:00.000-04:002008-09-20T23:06:00.000-04:00Mike, with all due respect, simply because Roland ...Mike, with all due respect, simply because Roland Park has a history and fancy urban planning names and ideas associated with it (all of which I am very "informed" of, by the way), from a Century ago, does not make this current civic battle any more important. This is a conflict over a privately owned hillside and field down the street from several gas stations and two high schools. How this thing ever got so much momentum in the first place is puzzling, but please be aware that there are MUCH bigger issues in this city than this. That much I can can tell you for certain. <BR/><BR/>As for solutions, I'm still observing and pondering. I do think this idea of a road connecting Cylburn Arboretum with Falls Road and Roland Park is an excellent one. But, as I said above, seeing the neighborhood reaction of adding one retirement community, and not a cheap one either, on the Falls Road makes me doubt such changes are politically possible in this area of the city.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-11547248510913105462008-09-20T11:36:00.000-04:002008-09-20T11:36:00.000-04:00New Perspective, thanks for your comments. A new t...New Perspective, thanks for your comments. A new transplant to Baltimore would surely see Roland Park's battle to save the BCC grounds as marginal in the face of the city's other, more pressing problems. But someone familiar with urban issues in America would also recognize the legacy that Fredrick Law Olmsted left here in Roland Park. Someone who understood the issue we are contesting would also know about Olmsted's One Park vision for Baltimore, penned a century ago. An informed observer would realize that Roland Parkers are fighting not against change but to preserve a unique model for urban America. Olmsted's covenant for Roland Park aside, what do you propose we do to make Baltimore a more livable city? Preserving and connecting its green spaces, admittedly, is low hanging fruit compared to other potential improvements. But we've got to start somewhere. I assure you that Roland Parkers are already gladly helping to make that happen. Welcome to Baltimore, New Perspective. I look forward to hearing your suggestions.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17900369996732491726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-27499398244797862722008-09-19T21:29:00.000-04:002008-09-19T21:29:00.000-04:00Let me start by saying I love this blog. I'm part...Let me start by saying I love this blog. I'm part of the new traffic you're getting from the City Paper BOB, and I'm very pleased to find a place on the web discussing the kind of stuff I'm thinking about all the time driving around this town. I'm a recent transplant to the area having moved down from NYC. I also travel extensively to urban areas around the country and overseas for my business so comparing what works and doesn't work about them has become a hobby of mine.<BR/><BR/>I think this is an excellent idea. The problem as I see it though is that Roland Park does not want to be connected to basically anywhere else in the city, and particularly not anywhere west of the JFX. The moniker of Roland Park West would undoubtedly stir more fear in the hearts of residents of the exclusive neighborhood than the proposed Old Folks Home at the Country Club. This is a neighborhood that is absolutely resistant to any sort of change whatsoever for reasons not too hard to figure out. It has retained its wealth and standard of living by not changing in a city where so many areas have changed so drastically, often losing their wealth and way of life in the process. <BR/><BR/>Driving through Roland Park with my wife this week we noted how in a city with as many problems as Baltimore, what stirs Roland Park residents to political action is the potential loss of a hill where children go sledding, for a couple months out of the year, to make way for an retirement community. It's truly absurd when you stop to think about it, but it is very telling.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-38124045116908166702008-08-25T19:30:00.000-04:002008-08-25T19:30:00.000-04:00As you may know, this discussion about Roland Park...As you may know, this discussion about Roland Park West and pedestrian greenways takes place as Keswick Long-Term Care, LLC, prepares to request the City to rezone 17a of Baltimore Country Club so they can build a humongous assisted care complex. This will hack off most of the remaining 33a of green space in Roland Park. The Roland Park Civic League envisions a smarter use for that land. Neighborhoods elsewhere in northern Baltimore City are supporting RPCL in this fight. Now is the time to link those scattered green spaces together to make the area more livable. As often happens, necessity is the mother of invention.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17900369996732491726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-19848474389450072182008-08-25T11:33:00.000-04:002008-08-25T11:33:00.000-04:00WOW! Love this visionary, knowledgeable discussion...WOW! Love this visionary, knowledgeable discussion. I support these creative plans definitely. Are there ways to have these suggestions reviewed by the parties that make the decisions? If you could implement the Green aspects of the idea could you invite some organizations that work as liasons with all the parties? Maybe Environmental Defense or something local? Thanks for making this available!sp8cemunkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11530091773628526319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-12311188623327985632008-08-11T09:07:00.000-04:002008-08-11T09:07:00.000-04:00Gerald, I defer to your expertise. And thanks for ...Gerald, I defer to your expertise. And thanks for laying out the arguments; I'm new to all this. Now, can the proposed vehicular road to Roland Park West also have protected pedestrian/bike lanes? And can Falls Rd- all the way from Robt. E Lee Park down through Hampden- also be made safe for bicyclists and pedestrians? Can a lattice of connected greenways and green spaces be built over the entire area so that people can walk, jog or bike from Roland Park to Roland Park West and points beyond? Overlooking my skepticism about new development for the moment, what I've read and experienced elsewhere is that doing the urban area green retrofitting pays off in higher property values. Just look what's happened at Patterson Park.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17900369996732491726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-12145815599659756742008-08-11T08:49:00.000-04:002008-08-11T08:49:00.000-04:00You said it well, Mike, but you're not paying atte...You said it well, Mike, but you're not paying attention to your own answer. As you say, public spaces should be "well utilized" and should avoid "fast moving, heavy vehicular traffic", such as on the JFX and its interchange with Cold Spring Lane.<BR/><BR/>Creating a well designed new local street that provides continuity with other local streets in Roland Park, Cross Keys and Cold Spring New Town, as well as opening up new open space for Cylburn Park, will make this space as "well utilized" as possible.<BR/><BR/>The proven successful urban design of the rest of Roland Park demonstrates how slow moving automobile traffic can coexist very well with bikes and pedestrians, and therefore maximize the public-ness, surveillance, and safety of the public space.<BR/><BR/>Cars are not the enemy. Cities around the country, including Baltimore, have learned this with many failed pedestrian malls. If the new bridge over the JFX is not open to cars, the necessary continuity with Roland Park will not happen.Gerald Neilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03765375014163120449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-82851572732485217332008-08-10T21:22:00.000-04:002008-08-10T21:22:00.000-04:00Gerald,The idea of reclaiming and creating public ...Gerald,<BR/><BR/>The idea of reclaiming and creating public spaces is what motivates me. Research shows that a well-utilized, cared for public space- whether a bike trail, a park or a town plaza- reduces crime. In the Cold Spring- Falls- Northern quadrangle we see how fast-moving, heavy vehicular traffic creates barriers to using existing public space. How does building a new vehicular bridge across I-83 reduce that problem?Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17900369996732491726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-49232673926873799852008-08-10T09:54:00.000-04:002008-08-10T09:54:00.000-04:00"Roland Park West" - I like the sound of that as a..."Roland Park West" - I like the sound of that as a name for the new community, Mike.<BR/><BR/>A great place for the Jones Falls bikeway to cross Cold Spring Lane would be at its underpass next to the Vinegar plant, south of the stump dump and Cylburn Park, which I briefly mentioned. Cold Spring Lane itself is a nasty place for bikes, except for the expert riders who I would not presume to speak for. Attaching a bikeway to the existing Cold Spring bridge would hardly make it any better, because bikers would still need to negotiate the dangerous JFX interchange ramp conflicts that already plague bikes and pedestrians.<BR/><BR/>So a new bridge is needed over the JFX, totally divorced from that nasty interchange. And this new bridge needs to be a normal local street, to establish continuity with the rest of Roland Park. There are plenty of other places to spend the Federal bucks specifically earmarked for greenways.<BR/><BR/>Comparing Baltimore with a college/capital town like Madison is not very instructive. We don't put "high crime" in quotes. Our crime fears are real and remain a major impediment to getting folks to shed their paranoia and embrace greenways in places like Leakin and Cylburn Parks.<BR/><BR/>Planning greenways and development comprehensively, such as I have outlined, is very necessary to dispel these fears and create a new mindset, rather than the kind of less ambitious pure greenway plan you are envisioning.Gerald Neilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03765375014163120449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-76629959030970865012008-08-06T09:15:00.000-04:002008-08-06T09:15:00.000-04:00Thank you for sharing this hopeful scenario for "R...Thank you for sharing this hopeful scenario for "Roland Park West". One element you might weave into it is the new bicycle trail being built from Druid Hill Park up to Mt. Washington. It passes through the underutilized Cylburn Arb. In Madison, WI, where I lived until moving to Roland Park six years ago, planners pushed through a fairly ambitious network of bike trails, one of which runs through a pot-industrial, low income part of town. At the onset, citizens resisted this connection to one of Madison's few "high crime", minority neighborhoods. The day the trail opened everything changed for the better. New public space was created. Everyone uses it. Property values have risen along the trail. People commute by bike, reducing traffic congestion. I mention this because my vision to link Roland Park to the Cylburn and beyond involves building not a new road but a light pedestrian bridge across I-83. It might even be attached to the existing bridge, lowering costs. If memory serves, there are federal funds available to cover up to 80% of the cost of building pedestrian greenways. I'm thinking a less ambitious, green-oriented plan will more likely be implemented sooner than the commercial and residential redevelopment you propose. MikeMikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17900369996732491726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-54642039519080401522008-07-27T09:44:00.000-04:002008-07-27T09:44:00.000-04:00Thanks, folks...Hey Swamp Thing, how's Adrienne Ba...Thanks, folks...<BR/><BR/>Hey Swamp Thing, how's Adrienne Barbeau doing? You're certainly right about the City's motivation for a higher tax base, which is why they should satisfy that lust with underutilized land that the City already owns and is thus off the tax rolls.Gerald Neilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03765375014163120449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-3074054291082288362008-07-26T12:27:00.000-04:002008-07-26T12:27:00.000-04:00Great ideas..... but will never happen. The City ...Great ideas..... but will never happen. The City has seen what the County was able to get done at Bonnie View...just one mile away...and they would love nothing more than to do the same thing - eat up some low-tax-rate green space with some highly taxable dense development.Kirk Mantayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06556560258304201823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-57969566622404225662008-07-24T13:47:00.000-04:002008-07-24T13:47:00.000-04:00I think this is a great way to create interest in ...I think this is a great way to create interest in redevelopment of Cross Keys and Coldspring New Town. Although new in Baltimore terms their architecture have aged terribly and hopefully integrated with Roland Park will give this a shot in the arm. Now TOD in Roland Park, I don't know if the residents will go over for it. Polytech and Western Highs are grossly under enrolled hence the unused surface parking lots I did a post about better school utilization on my blog here's a link http://baltimorefuture.blogspot.com/2008/05/school-facilities-update.html it involves redistricting schools to the Poly Westerns Campus.Spence Leanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07961564411302768615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-73805034279220230662008-07-20T13:12:00.000-04:002008-07-20T13:12:00.000-04:00This is one the best ideas I've seen on this blog....This is one the best ideas I've seen on this blog. I've always thought that this area was sort of disjointed.<BR/><BR/>GregAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-2626913616847875122008-07-16T20:49:00.000-04:002008-07-16T20:49:00.000-04:00You're taking on an interesting and rarefied slice...You're taking on an interesting and rarefied slice of Bawlmer. In many places, including mine, the NIMBY's work to oust other uses and settle gladly for senior housing. We are warming up to letting Grandma age in place - just down the road, not our place. Anyhow, you are positing a true "connector" road in every sense of the word.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13298907000328055519noreply@blogger.com