07/14/2015
I guess it’s time to say goodbye (for now) to the I-70 Trail Connector. I want to thank those many people who shared the vision and worked together to move it forward.
I do not know what the plans are now for the I-70 corridor between the Baltimore Beltway and the I-70 Park & Ride. The State Highway Administration would still probably like to downgrade its status as an interstate highway and transform it into a boulevard of sorts so that they can remove pavement and plant trees, thus gaining “green” credits toward lowering their “total maximum daily load” of sediments that state roads contribute to pollution of local water-bodies, specifically the Chesapeake Bay. This would open up the corridor to the kind of development that was a key component of “transit oriented development” associated with the Red Line. It seems to me those development options still exist, independent of the Red Line, and if done properly could have a beneficial impact on the communities surrounding the I-70 corridor. In-fill development for a couple of hundred acres.
A bike and pedestrian gateway from Baltimore County’s west side into Baltimore City’s Leakin Park and on to the Inner Harbor is one that should continue to be pursued. The I-70 bridge over Security Boulevard provided an excellent platform for making this happen. It lies right on the boundary line. An interstate highway bridge is way overbuilt once transformed into a bike and pedestrian pathway. This is a good thing – such a bridge would provide years of service to handle the lighter loads with minimal maintenance. And at approximately 28,386 square feet, the platform of the bridge is large enough to accommodate an elevated park that could serve as a community commons and provide a worthy gateway into one of the largest urban green spaces in the United States and vice versa, a gateway west into Baltimore County, Patapsco Valley State Park, and beyond.
The talented team of advocates who banded together to promote this project gained considerable political support locally and on the state level. Red Line officials grudgingly came to the conclusion that we were not going away and that we intended to hold them to their own promise of a “direct connection between the I-70 Red Line station and the Gwynns Falls Trail.”
Because of the I-70 Trail Connector project I have become more aware of bike and pedestrian infrastructure as I travel throughout the country, in particular, structures like bridges and separated bikeways. I see them everywhere, not only is areas that promote a “progressive” citizens’ agenda as one would imagine, but in states and locales that one would not expect, in rustbelt areas and other economically hard-hit parts of the country where budget discussions do not typically revolve around “feel-good” projects. And yet, it is often in those areas where I find much of the bike and pedestrian infrastructure building happening. Why is this? I believe it is because those local leaders understand the economic importance of making their communities more bike and pedestrian friendly. When I see a young person in an Arby’s fast food uniform biking miles to his workplace along a sidepath, safely separated from vehicle traffic, and then down the road, a mother with a stroller walking on the same sidepath, I know the leaders of that community get it.
I am tired of political leaders whining about things they cannot do because of political or budgetary constraints. It doesn’t make any difference to me what label a politician wears, I want to see results. Results that prepare our communities for a future that embraces the environmental quality of life issues that people who have the choice of where to live have come to expect – access to local parks, clean streams, and walkable and bikeable communities. It’s about not leaving the neighborhoods of inner-city Baltimore and the older communities of Baltimore County behind. It’s about making these communities pleasant and livable, on a human scale, not one dominated by urban grit and motor vehicle traffic.
The I-70 Trail Connector project was one that sought to assist in that transformation from grit to green. The vision lives on - not dead, just delayed.
Jack Lattimore, Chair
I-70 Trail Connectors
[email protected]
