Rethink College Park » Greenbelt

Greenbelt Sector Plan: Existing Transportation

Daniel Kessler — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:32:47 +0000

Prince George’s County’s planning department is in the early stages of creating a new sector plan for the city of Greenbelt, called the Greenbelt Metro Area and MD 193 Corridor Sector Plan. The goal of the sector plan is to guide transit-oriented development around the Greenbelt Metro Station and commercial revitalization and pedestrian-oriented improvements along the MD 193 (Greenbelt Road) corridor. The last sector plan for Greenbelt was completed back in 2001, before Prince George’s County released a few key publications concerning growth and development: the General Plan (2002), the Countywide Green Infrastructure Plan (2005), and the Countywide Master Plan of Transportation (2009). The county is looking to incorporate these more recent publications into a new sector plan for Greenbelt. It hopes to have a preliminary plan ready by this fall.

This plan is important to College Park because it will guide development in an adjacent city that attracts many of College Park’s residents. Yesterday, a presentation of existing transportation conditions was led by project manager Chad Williams at Greenbelt Middle School. Transportation in Greenbelt is certainly a relevant issue; the city is also strongly connected to the Beltway and has a metro station that a significant portion of College Park residents use regularly.

The presentation focused mainly on existing car traffic conditions, describing current levels of congestion on key roads within the sector plan area. These roads include the Beltway, Baltimore-Washington Parkway, Kenilworth Avenue, Greenbelt Road, Cherrywood Lane, and Hanover Parkway. Levels of service (LOS) ranging from A to F for peak hours were discussed, and it was explained that a LOS D is really not much “worse” than a LOS A, because traffic can move freely for the A, B,C, and D levels. The Beltway and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway had the lowest level of service (E), although I was surprised it wasn’t even lower.

The presentation also discussed who uses the Greenbelt Metro Station, with the data coming from the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA). It was found that about 69% of users drive to the station, with a large majority coming from origins 5 to 20 miles away, typically north and west of the station. A low but significant percentage come from 30 miles away or farther. This data was based on the home address of users’ Smart Trip Cards, and a couple of audience members noted that this source may not correspond well to where the users actually came from. Nonetheless, given that a lot of traffic entering the Greenbelt station can typically be seen coming from I-95 north of the Beltway, this data seems at least reasonably accurate.

Bus routes were discussed briefly with a map that showed all the bus routes (including 2 UM shuttle routes) in the sector plan area. Audience members noted that the map failed to indicate the quality of service that these routes provide. A lot of members were not satisfied with the weekend bus service and hope that it can be expanded.

Audience members requested that a study of pedestrian and bicycle LOS be attempted for several intersections, and the presenter responded that some data has been collected for this during peak periods. I hope that data can be presented at some point; it could be valuable in helping to expand Greenbelt’s bike and pedestrian traffic while taking some cars off the road. Greenbelt is considering a bike sharing program, which could potentially fit well next to College Park’s planned program.

A PowerPoint presentation of this event should be available next week on the sector plan website.

On Greenbelt Sector Plan, Krouse Asks Residents to Get Involved

Fazlul Kabir — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:26:55 +0000

John Krouse at the 2007 Greenbelt development balloon demonstration (RethinkCollegePark)

Former city councilmember John Krouse recently gave us an interview on why he is so troubled by the proposed Greenbelt development and why he thinks north College Park residents should get more involved in the process.

Along with other City officials, he is organizing a town hall meeting this Thursday (7 pm, March 31, 2011) at Davis Hall. Please spread tthe word and try to attend.

In terms of proposed Greenbelt development, there seems to be a lot of ambiguity. Can you please elaborate this?

The process of discussion and planning really only ends when something is built (and even then, it’s never really ‘over’). So far, nothing has been built.

Greenbelt, Berwyn Heights and College Park (including NCPCA) all supported the 2001 Sector Plan. Since that time, the County supported a different ‘vision’ for the area near the station that did not conform with the Sector Plan that we all worked on, and agreed with.

The approved conceptual site plan of the Developer allowed much taller buildings than the Sector Plan, and did not conform to the step-back in building heights required by the Sector Plan. Thus, the conceptual plan allowed much greater sight impacts and reflected noise impacts on the community. It also proposed greater density, and had greater traffic impacts.

The issue of the enormous parking garage at the end of Lackawanna Street was another major problem. Metro insisted upon construction of it’s own garage, just south of the station, which ended up as a proposed building about the size of the Washington Post Plant (!)

Is that the kind of building that we all want to see at the end of Lackawanna Street Street… and all the way down to Iroquios Street and beyond?

If not, then we might have to be involved in a process to ‘encourage’ the construction of smaller garages on the property, and less enormous buildings right next to our homes.

And there were other problems, too. It’s a long list, really.

The developers came to npca several years ago and talked about various constructions. Do you exactly know what is coming in the new proposal?

There is no new proposal yet. This only about the Sector Plan process. However, the new Sector Plan will guide any new proposals.

But I can tell you that the old development proposal will soon be officially ‘dead’.

The developer that NCPCA met with may be bankrupt, and no one knows the status of the agreements he made with the City of College Park. That’s a problem.

Most importantly, the detailed site plan that was approved by the County will expire soon, since it is only valid for 3 years. That’s also very important.

The permit for work in Narragansett Run on the east side of the tracks was never approved by the Md. Dept. of the Environment. And that might be the another major issue.

If anything will be built, a new detailed plan must be developed and approved. Will it be based on the 2001 Sector Plan, or a new Sector Plan?

So, we might now have a chance to make the project better, from the standpoint of the residents who live near the station, or near the tracks down to Greenbelt Road, since the development will fill most of that area. We need to understand what it all means..

The only thing I know for sure about the current Sector Planning process is the following:

1. It is time for the Greenbelt Metro Sector Plan to be reviewed and revised. Sector Plans are supposed to be revised every 10 years.

2. Our neighborhood was a very large area within the 2001 Sector Plan boundary, but the boundary of the proposed Sector Plan area stops at the railroad tracks. Are we no longer part of this planning process?

3. It is not clear how the interests of 2,000+ people who were within the 2001 Sector Plan boundary will be accommodated in the new Sector Plan if they are not in the Sector Plan boundary.

Is our voice less ‘important’ if we are not in the Sector Plan boundary’? We need to understand more about the implications of being ‘in’ or ‘out’ of the Sector Plan boundary.

4. The reason that was given at the NCPCA meeting [residents of North College Park were not included in the boundary to save money for mailings] is difficult to accept.

The last plan took over two years and an enormous amount of money to complete. 95% of the people who live within 1/2 mile of the station live in Hollywood!

I think we should be worth the price of a postcard and a stamp, especially considering our proximity and past involvement with this project, don’t you?

5. Park & Planning has proposed a major extension of the Sector Plan area to the east, which was not in the original Sector Plan Area.

As a result of this new boundary, it appears that Park & Planning is more interested in the views of people 2 or 3 miles away than those who live right next door (!) and that bothers me from many angles.

The new design of the creek “can” cause harm to the flow of water drainage on Narragansett Run. Since we do not know the engineering aspect of the design yet, what can be done to know the exact impact on north College Park?

There actually might be more to the ‘new design’ of the creek than just the creek itself… and that’s a long story, too.

The original c. 1999 ‘plan’ for developing the Metro area included buildings on all 240 acres from the Beltway to Greenbelt Road. However, after a major public outcry, the State bought 110 acres between the ‘North Core’ and the ‘South Core’… and that is why there are now twp development ‘cores’ in this area.

At the meeting with Park & Planning a few weeks ago, I got hints that maybe the 110 acre protected area might once again be considered for potential development!

Unfortunately, nearly all 110 acres are in the floodplain of Indian Creek. That area is our flood protection, as well as future parkland.

The change to the design of the creek is really about maximizing develop-able land, and perhaps reducing the area of protected land. It’s not about improving the creek. This is an issue we really need to be vigilant about.

We had a similar discussion on the subject in March NCPCA meeting. What do you think the 3/31 meeting will accomplish that the ncpca meeting did not accomplish?

The last NCPCA meeting could really only scratch the surface of the issues. As mentioned in the College Park Patch, there is actually 30 years of history behind this project.

On March 31, I hope we’ll have planning staff and many more residents present. This issue affects a very large area, and perhaps up to 750 homes with direct impacts.

We need to have a discussion about the implications of being included, or excluded, from the Sector Plan area, and we need to understand how our interests will be represented at Sector Plan meetings (and afterwards) if North College Park residents are not included in the Sector Plan area.

The fact that we were not automatically included in the new study troubles me.

The renewed interest in the creek and the fact that Park & Planning did not show the 110 acres of protected land on their maps troubles me a lot. They showed the entire area as zoned commercial!

The fact that they did not seem to recognize that so many people in College Park live so close to the station and the tracks really concerns me.

So yes… I think it’s very important that we get the word out to as many people as possible in North College Park for a special meeting on March 31.

The 2001 Sector Plan was developed with huge input of residents in North College Park, Berwyn Heights, and Greenbelt.

Although the proposed Sector Plan area includes Springhill Lake and a few other apartment building, the overwhelming orientation is now commercial. Is that the right approach?

We need to talk about that, among ourselves, and help our Mayor, Council, and Planners understand our concerns… and that might take a little time.

Greenbelt Metro Deal Leads to Johnson’s Arrest

Fazlul Kabir — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 20:09:50 +0000

The bribery related charges surrounding the Greenbelt Metro station development could be one of the reasons why the current county executive Jack B. Johnson, who will be leaving office after this term, was arrested yesterday.

WTOP reported that a source close to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baltimore says the investigation is linked to a developer who sought to involve Johnson in a land deal at the Greenbelt Metro station. The investigation is also linked to the transfer of a residential property involving Johnson, the source says.

As reported by The Washington Post:

“Since taking office in 2002, Johnson has been linked to investigations by various authorities, including a pay-to-play accusation involving a county contract to lease office space and a broad FBI investigation involving a massive development project near the Greenbelt Metro station that Johnson had strongly backed.

“Both investigations have involved a number of Johnson associates either requesting payment or receiving strong government support. A Washington Post investigation of Johnson’s first term in office found that he had given 15 friends and allies 51 county contracts totaling nearly $3.3 million.

“In all, Johnson has come under scrutiny for county development deals worth millions of dollars that have gone to people with ties to the county executive. Several of those people had little or no development experience or were given no-bid contracts, according to government records.”

The U.S. attorney investigating the case called it the “tip of the iceberg” and part of a broader corruption investigation in Prince George’s county.

You can see the original Jack and Leslie Johnson affidavit here.

Greener Greenbelt Initiative Launched

Evan Hauptmann — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:00:13 +0000

This coming weekend the city of Greenbelt will open its doors to local residents, business owners, design professionals, and architecture students by hosting a three day charrette focusing on current and future challenges faced by the city on its 70th anniversary. The session is a component of the “Greener Greenbelt Initiative”, a working partnership between the Potomac Valley Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA-PV) and Greenbelt Homes Inc. (GHI), the housing cooperative that owns and operates Greenbelt’s original New Deal-era homes.

Officials hope the three day charrette, or interactive brainstorming and design session, will foster a creative dialog and result in the development of a long-range plan to help ensure old Greenbelt will continue to serve as a national model for livable communities as it has since its dedication in 1937.

Specifically, a list of prepared goals on the initiative’s website include maintaining the appeal of families, enabling older residents to remain at home in the city, making original housing more energy efficient, and protecting Greenbelt’s nature and open spaces while preserving the community’s character. The “Greener Greenbelt” charrette will occur between Friday, September 28 and Sunday, September 30 at Greenbelt Elementary school, located at 66 Ridge Road.

For more information or to get involved, visit http://www.greenergreenbelt.org.

Friends Community School – Past, Present & Future

Chris Ellepola — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 23:21:18 +0000

The Friends Community School (FCS) has been located on 4601 Calvert Road for 21 years, since it was established by the Adelphi Friends [Quaker] Meeting. It has taught K-6 grades, and recently expanded to teach 7th and 8th grades. This past school year was the final term for FCS at Calvert Road. They will move to their new site in Westchester Park on Kenilworth Avenue in the fall. FCS has been leasing the Calvert Road building since its establishment in 1985. The Westchester Park school is being built by FCS through contributions from the FCS community in its Grounding Our Future Campaign. The new site will be the permanent home for the school.

There is strong community interest in Calvert Hills for the old school to remain a school. College Park City Council voted this past week to explore for 120 days a lab school concept (in partnership with the Prince George’s County School District and the University of Maryland) for the Calvert Road site. If a lab school does not pan out, the city may consider other options for the use of that site including other school options. The latter scenario would fall in line with an interest from new Prince George’s County superintendent John E. Deasy for more small local community schools.

The new school is 27,000 square feet and sits on 17 wooded acres adjacent to Greenbelt National Park. It will be LEED certified and employ non-load-bearing straw bale technology. Straw is a renewable building resource that acts as superior insulation and is fairly easy to build with. It is equally impervious to fires, insects, high winds and heavy rains as traditional insulation. Straw bale structures typically save on 15% of wood used in a conventional structure. The new FCS is now the largest known straw bale structure in the world.

The new FCS will also feature a vegetated roof, a rain garden designed to limit soil erosion and filter pollutants from rainwater, and flooring that absorbs sunlight and stays warm during winter months. On cloudy days, floors will be heated by water pipes installed underneath.

There is presently a FCS summer camp still at the old Calvert Road school.

See the Gazette’s report on the FCS move.