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HVBF Monthly Meeting - Facilities,
Security, Transportation Roundtable Host: The Graduate Center at Loyola College Attendees: Bob Allen, Towson Times Bill Hughey of the Baltimore County Office of Planning gave us a history and an overview of the Walkability Survey that was conducted on March 15, 2005 in Hunt Valley. The survey was sponsored by the Baltimore County Office of Planning in cooperation with the National Center for Bicycling & Walking, the Maryland State Highway Administration, the Maryland Highway Safety Office and the Baltimore Metropolitan Council. The survey was held in the business community to examine safe access by employees, visitors and residents to places of employment, shopping and home from public transportation facilities. The focus is on safe access without dependence on private automobiles. Of particular concern is the routes taken by employees from light rail to their places of employment. The issues ranged from the lack of sidewalks, crosswalks and traffic control measures to trespassing through private business property as the most direct route to work. Mark Renbaum of Erwin L. Greenberg Commercial Corporation looked at the issues from the perspective of the developer of the Hunt Valley Towne Center while Ed Tom of Daft-McCune-Walker gave us the architectural and sire-planning history Towne Center and the mall, its predecessor. Joe Chadwick of The Chadwick Group, Inc., who lives at High View and has his office in North Park, is uniquely qualified to examine access as a resident and employer. This point of view will grow as planned residential communities in Hunt Valley unfold. The key issues developed during the survey and in this roundtable were:
The three areas of concern are:
Of special concern is the crossing at Shawan and McCormick Roads. Marty Lurz has since this meeting contacted Darrell Wiles in the Department of Traffic Engineering for Baltimore County about conducting a survey of the intersection with an aim to take steps to mitigate this dangerous situation. Bob Allen who attended this roundtable as a Patuxent Publishing reporter, wrote about the dangers in crossing Shawan in the November 29th issue of The Jeffersonian. What’s the next step? We will contact Councilman Bryan McIntire for his support in the County Council for remedies of some of the problems. Members of the Forum are invited to participate in solutions to the issues. Jamie Bridges and Bill Hughey will meet with those interested. Laura Kyle of Marriott’s CourtYard Hunt Valley and Donna Reihl of the Community College of Baltimore County have volunteered their assistance. Are there others? |