East Campus Connections
October 2nd, 2007 | by Rob Goodspeed | Published in East Campus, Transportation | 6 Comments
Will the East Campus Redevelopment project be connected to Old Town College Park with through streets? While the issue is far from settled, rumors have emerged that there are city residents advocating for both blocking and keeping open to traffic the streets connecting East Campus to Old Town to vehicular traffic. We think closing the streets would be a mistake: enhancing connectivity would ease pressure on the intersection of Route One and Paint Branch Parkway, enhance the project, and if designed and managed intelligently would not negatively impact the residential streets.
In November 2006, well before any plans for East Campus were released, we published a list of ten principles for the development of the site. In our list we argued Old Town should be connected both to Paint Branch and also (by implication) the East Campus project. We have heard that there are Old Town residents advocating both for and against such connections, and hope this debate can become more public before any decisions are made. Luckily Foulger Pratt’s plan emphasizes connectivity and a widespread consensus exists that bicycle amenities and paths should be expanded.
Adding connections in both this area and elsewhere could add options and ease bottlenecks by creating a more permeable street grid.
The East Campus public Community Steering Committee meeting on Transportation will be held October 8th, 7:30 p.m., Atrium Room (1107) of the Stamp Student Union.
> East Campus Transportation Meeting Agenda
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:24 pm (#)
This seems like a ridiculous question to ask in the first place. The idea of closing off the streets and blocking access to the existing neighborhood could have horrible pedestrian and traffic implications. Residents should realize that blocking streets may prevent people immediate access to their neighborhood, but will also block THEIR access to using the new amenities. The one bright side of this argument is that the project is still in the phase where community members can get involved.
Instead of advocating for an isolated neighborhood, accept that the new development will be worthwhile, and get involved to make sure it is done RIGHT. The beautiful thing about this site and this project is that there are open forums for community members to voice their opinions. Use them.
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October 2nd, 2007 at 9:37 pm (#)
When I lived in Old Town, I remember the dread of having to drive all the way up Route 1 to Paint Branch, just to go east toward Kenilworth Ave. It’s a pain I’m sure many other Old Town residents face under the current configuration.
If it later turns out that an integrated grid causes more problems than it cures (though I think this is unlikely), the City could mitigate the problem with turn and entry restrictions (e.g. Do Not Enter 7-9:30am & 4-6:30pm). Many other communities do this when cut-through commuter traffic becomes burdensome.
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October 3rd, 2007 at 3:38 pm (#)
The city of College Park and its residents are more concerned with faux preservation of their community than its functionality and effectiveness in getting people around. How quaint. Get your heads out of the sand.
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October 3rd, 2007 at 3:47 pm (#)
I believe the city of College Park and its residents are concerned mostly with their current quality of life and preserving it.
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October 8th, 2007 at 3:27 pm (#)
College Park, it seems has done an excellent job of traffic calming already in the Old Town section. Many of the streets around Calvert Road have various forms of diverters and one-way operation which prevents cars from travelling through these residential streets, but still allows residents to access various locations within and around the city. The nice thing about these calming measures is that pedestrian movement is uninhibited.
It is important that local residents be consulted in regards to the plan for redeveloping East Campus. However, I think that any street connections to the surrounding neighborhood must include pedestrian and bicycle connectivity. Jane Jacob’s seminal work on planning, “The Death and Live of Great American Cities,” makes it clear that eyes on the street are the most effective safety device a place can have. Encouraging people to walk between a redeveloped East Campus and the surrounding neighborhoods will increase safety for the community even if it means (or perhaps because it means) additional traffic in the neighborhood. As has been demonstrated in College Park and elsewhere, additional traffic can be mitigated and need not be detrimental to the community.
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October 8th, 2007 at 3:40 pm (#)
There are many good reasons to extend College Park’s well-connected street grid throughout East Campus and all new development. More walking, reduced crime, less driving, and increased safety are some of the biggest reasons. If cut-through traffic becomes a problem, there are many traffic calming techniques available that will reduce cut-through yet maintain connectivity.
A detailed exploration of these themes is available from the “Street Connectivity” series of essays at http://pedshed.net/?page_id=130.
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